I've been asked by the Princes Ward Councillors to publish a reminder that they're holding a coffee morning at St Anselm's Church Hall (Kennington Cross) on Saturday 29th January from 11am – 12:30pm.
All three of the Princes ward councillors, Lorna Campbell, Mark Harrison and Stephen Morgan will be present. In addition, Kate Hoey MP, Val Shawcross (London Assembly Member) and Steve Reed (Leader of Lambeth Council) will also be at the coffee morning. I don't think I've ever known all of these distinguished figures together in one place, so it would be a great time to go and speak to them re. matters pertinent to the Mayor (TFL etc.), or to the Vauxhall Constituency or to the local ward. Has anybody got any ideas for questions?
Also on Saturday, from 11am - 2pm is a chance to view the Cinema Museum (2 Duggard Way, SE11 4TH) and its collection. You might like to take the chance to visit an exhibition about the history of two Waterloo estates, Wellington Mills and Cooper Close. The info. I've received says it's a family friendly event, with activities for children, cartoons in the cinema and a face painter. Tea and cake will be served in the cafe.
Will Morgan be holding one in South East London where he stood in the general election?
ReplyDeleteYou should stick this in the Google calendar on your homepage.
ReplyDeleteThanks for publicising.
ReplyDeleteJust to be pedantic - it's a coffee morning rather than a surgery. At surgeries people tend to bring private issues they want us to take up on their behalf - the coffee morning is intended for people to pop into and have an informal chat about any subject.
Lurker, you or anyone could ask whether there is any prospect of Lambeth Living ever doing an effective job. You often write that SE11 events are dominated by the same old middle class voices and concerns. The hopelessness of Lambeth Living is not a middle class issue. Steve Reed and others have dodged this question for years. Time for some answers?
ReplyDelete@Anon of 22:37.
ReplyDeleteYeah, good idea. However... This is what I think will happen.
I reckon that Hoey will blame Lambeth and distance her "nice" brand of Labour politics from Steve Reed. (This is an old article, but I find the portrait compelling: http://briandeer.com/kate-hoey.htm ).
I expect Steve Reed to decline to answer any questions on Lambeth Living or mention any specifics on the basis that one cannot talk about other peoples' jobs / ongoing disputes, or alternatively, to prevaricate and state that too little money is forthcoming from central government.
I'm not too sure it's fair to blame Cllr Harrison (too new), Cllr Morgan (highly unlikely to have anything to do with Lambeth Living). Cllr Campbell will probably claim her brief is the environment!
But I take your point that it would be good to divert from the same-old, same-old, "wouldn't it be nice if we had a Waitrose?" topics...
If you can think of a way that I might phrase a question in a manner that would grant a coherent answer, then I shall certainly ask. In the meantime, I'll certainly try to come up with something to ask about Lambeth Living.
Lambeth Living was set up on Reed's watch, and with his blessing. Of course he isn't likely to admit any failing that might result in a finger pointed at his administration. I imagine the same to a greater or lesser extent, applies to the Labour Group on the Council.
ReplyDeleteI asked Lib Peck about contingency arrangements being drawn up in the event Lambeth Living failed to meet their targets and there was a management change. She said in an email on 03.10.10 "...we are working on these [contingency plans] at the moment. There are obviously legal considerations that need to be taken into account and should we get into this position we will need to minimise the disruption risk."
You could perhaps ask Reed where that piece of work stands, since the management appear to be changing themselves!