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I'm a councillor in the London Borough of Wandsworth; this blog mainly covers that, sometimes general politics and policy and occasionally anything else that takes my fancy.
Tag Archives: riots
Golfrate: a landlord with no interest in Lavender Hill?
Steve Jobs once expressed frustration that Barack Obama focused on the reasons why things can’t get done instead of just doing them. Part of the problem may be that he doesn’t have as much power as people think. And this is true of all politicians; right down to the humble councillor. The idea that there
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Put Your Love Letters Up
The music video may, or may not, be to your taste. However, it is undeniably influenced by the events following last August disorder in Clapham Junction. (Something highlighted by the artist in his direct marketing of the video.) What heartens me is that even months after the riots, the outcomes remain overwhelmingly creative and positive.
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Ghoulish arts and shopping
I’m a self-confessed Philistine, and while I leave it to others to decide how honest I am about my Philistinism, I don’t think anyone would imagine I would have willingly chosen to spend last Friday evening at a “process-based, community-focused project that will be part of the Exchange Radical Moments! Live Art Festival.” But that’s
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At the frontline
Reflecting further on the Neil Kinghan report I cannot help but feel a resonance with another report by David Hunter I read a few months ago on public sector health partnerships (which I think has relevance to all partnerships). Hunter’s conclusion, after getting through more than £250,000 on research, is that there is no proof
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Posted in Community Safety
Also tagged Clapham Junction, Hunter, Kinghan, partnership
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Kinghan report published
Neil Kinghan’s report in the looting at Clapham Junction (and elsewhere) was published today. It is, by necessity, not an in-depth look into the riots, they causes and consequences, but instead a first look: trying to show what happened and draw out some key recommendations. And it is, by the nature of the process, a
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Posted in Business, Community Safety, Regeneration
Also tagged Clapham Junction, disorder, Neil Kinghan
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The Kinghan inquiry: Battersea’s riot meeting
Last week I wondered if most people had moved on from the riots, mentally consigning them to history and getting on as if they had happened in another time or place. Last night I might have got an answer when 50 people attended the first of three public meetings being held at Battersea Arts Centre
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Wandsworth’s disorder review
The council has started an independent review of last month’s disorder. Leaflets with details are going through doors as I write. Neil Kinghan interviewed me yesterday; an interesting experience, not least because it forces you to think a little more objectively about something which has deeply affected the area. And I daresay it had something
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Battersea Buzz: ten days on
The riots sometimes seem such a long time ago, and it’s almost tempting to say that things are largely back to normal. Yes, there are a few scars remaining – perhaps most notably the boarded up Party Superstore – but most shops are fully restored and back in business. But some scars will remain for
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Posted in Shaftesbury, Wandsworth
Also tagged Battersea Buzz, Clapham Junction, disorder
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Some more thanks
I’ve just been into the council’s Community Safety division to thank some of the staff for their response to Monday’s disruption. It’s all too easy to overlook those that often work unseen, or who you might just think it’s their job. However, I felt it worthwhile publicly noting their work over the past few days
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And now: shop in Clapham Junction
Going through Clapham Junction is surreal experience. I went along it early on Tuesday morning and for a large part of it you would be hard pressed to know anything had happened. The council, businesses and some fleet-of-foot glaziers had tidied up so well it was business as normal for most. Even the cordoned off area
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