“Dear Resident,This weekend, the need for us to continue to do all we can stop the spread of the virus and #StayAtHome remains the most important message. News that the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary have contracted Coronavirus, brings i…Read more…
Unity is Strength – East Ham Trades Council donation of Ambulance Motorcycle 1937
Unity is indeed Strength. As shown by the fantastic show of solidarity for carers on Thursday evening.
This is great historic picture showing a hand built ambulance motorbike donated by East Ham Trades Council in 1937.
This was to help the Republican…Read more…
Newham Mayor Update on Coronavirus (COVID-19) #StayAtHome this weekend is vital 27.3.20
UPDATE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19): 146 PEOPLE CONFIRMED WITH CORONAVIRUS IN NEWHAM
THAT’S WHY #StayAtHome THIS WEEKEND IS VITAL
FROM MAYOR ROKHSANA FIAZ
27th March 2020
As we end the week, the need for us to continue to do all we can stop the spre…Read more…
Newham Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz response to Prime Minister statement 23 March 2020
“Dear Newham Resident,
Earlier this evening, the Prime Minister announced new measures to enforce social distancing across the country as the confirmed cases and deaths due to Coronavirus continue to rise in the UK.
In Newham, six deaths attributed t…Read more…
Keep on walking
Advice on the BBC web page confirms that it is still okay to go outdoors for exercise as long as you follow advice to stay 2m apart from others. This advice may change in the future.
Gill and I took advantage of the sunshine today to walk along the Ro…Read more…
Visiting the grave of Matchgirl strike leader Sarah Chapman
Today I finally went to find the grave of Matchgirl strike leader, Sarah Chapman, in Manor Park cemetery. The Matchgirls strike of 1888 at the Byrant and May factory in Bow is an important event in trade union history. It was led by women and helped es…Read more…
“Why I’m glad to pay money for my parking permit”
Hat tip Cllr Rachel Tripp (media caption mine from Public Health England)If you read this blog then you’re probably reasonably active online, and so you’ve probably already seen some discussion about the proposal that Newham should charge for…Read more…
‘Culture of insecure work’
The lack of permanent contracts for a small group of key educational staff at Newham council is systemic of the wider problem of insecure work across the UK, Unite said today (March 2). The…Read more…
Safe, Decent and Affordable Homes for All: UNISON’s vision for Housing
UNISON has launched a Housing manifesto. Over 1 million people are waiting on the housing list in England alone. While only 6500 social rented homes were built in 2017/18.
Do the maths.
60% of the housing budget goes on supporting home ownership (and…Read more…
“Labour Councils now have an even greater responsibility to defend people’s living standards”
Hat tip Labour Outlook
“As Labour members continue to take stock, in the wake of the General Election result, it is important to remember that in our Labour local authorities the party is still in power, and that Labour Councils now have an even great…Read more…
Why I am voting for Keir Starmer: Radical & Relevant
Yesterday Keir Starmer narrowly lost out being nominated by West Ham Labour Party by 5 votes. There were 110 members present compared to nearly 2000 members in West Ham.
East Ham, Ilford South and even Jeremy Corbyn’s seat in Islington North hav…Read more…
‘Marvellous victory’
A dozen council tax benefit managers at Newham have hailed victory in their grading dispute, Unite said today (January 30). Unite said that its members would now receive ‘a very significant…Read more…
Newham Council Meeting – Living Wage Foundation, Cabinet Reports and Pension Divestment
This evening at the Full Council meeting in Stratford Town Hall we started with a “State of the Borough” debate with speeches from the Mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz, and updates from all 8 cabinet members.
My very short update was as below :-
“As Cabinet lead…Read more…
Lewis in the morning on ReviveFM 94.0
Hat tip Tony Lewis Facebook who is also the joint chair of the Newham Homeless Action Group.
“This Morning on “Lewis in the morning” Breakfast Show on Revive FM 94.0, Cllr and Deputy Mayor for Housing, John Gray attended the Revive FM Stud…Read more…
The misery of being in opposition
Yesterday, I helped the Newham Mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz, with her surgery at Canning Town Library (next to the “Keir Hardie” room).
Trying to help the long queue of residents with their housing misery was far, far worse than before the election since th…Read more…
Success in Peoples Republic: Failure Nationally #GE2019
Congratulations to Lyn and Stephen for their “Landslide” victories for Labour in West Ham and East Ham (both in the London Borough of Newham).
However, as soon as I saw the exit poll on the 10 O’Clock news last night I knew that Labour nationally was …Read more…
Newham & Sadiq supporting Jon Cruddas as Labour Candidate for Dagenham & Rainham
Today I was with Newham Mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz & comrades from East & West Ham (and other parts of London) to support Jon Cruddas, Labour Candidate in Dagenham & Rainham. London Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, was also there.
After the obligatory …Read more…
Two Walkabouts & Groundbreaking at TwelveTrees Park
Amidst the madness of the General Election campaign I have to get on with the day job. On Friday I went to meet Residents in Ibex House in Forest Gate with local Councillors Rachel Tripp, Anamul Islam and officers from L&Q Housing Association. Ther…Read more…
Open letter: Put radical housing policies in Labour’s manifesto
Below is the open letter by Labour Campaign for Council Housing in full.To Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell and John Healey,We the undersigned welcome the unanimous support of Labour conference for:Building 100,000 social rented council homes a year;…Read more…
Newham Black History Month 1 Oct – 2 Nov 2019
“Join us this October for a month of poetry, talks, film screenings, exhibitions, oral history, singing and author events to explore Black History Month”.