Leafy Lambeth Leans Leftier with Labour Love-in - local elections

I'm afraid I've been away for the week, sunning myself on far-off shores, so have failed to provide anything of an analysis of the local elections.  The election night itself, and the post-election summary have both been covered exceedingly well over at Onionbag blog.  I was particularly keeping an eye out on Bishop's, Princes and Oval wards, since they're pertinent to this hyper-local patch.  I made a few Twitter predictions, but I hope nobody placed any bets as a result...!

I predicted that Princes Ward would stay Labour on account of the fact that none of the Lib Dem candidates really appeared in the ward before the election itself.  In that prediction I was correct, but that was my only correct guess.  Particular congratulations should go to Cllr Mark Harrison, who despite only winning his seat at the by-election last year, actually received the highest number of  votes in the ward.  It seems his hard work has paid off, and as a regular commentator here at Lurking about SE11, I'm quite relieved (in a non-partisan manner) that he's still around.  I was somewhat surprised that the Green Party's Joseph Healy did not receive a more substantial vote.  Dr Healy was present at all of the hustings, had a good online presence and has been dragging himself around campaigning locally.   Nobody had really heard of or from his colleague Dr Butterworth before the election, and yet she was awarded a greater number of votes.   Very strange.  I'm still convinced there might be something in the Onionbag's first-in-the-alphabet theory.  Anyhow, happily Joseph has said that he's going to keep blogging in some form, which is encouraging, as additional constructive political criticism is always good for democracy.  In Prices, the Tories also increased their percentage of the vote from 2006, but only very marginally, and the national elections might account for that trend.

I thought Bishop's ward might be lost by the Lib Dems to Labour (I was utterly wrong, since there were nearly 200 votes between the trailing Lib Dem and the leading Labour candidate), so Bishop's remains stubbornly Lib Dem.  I've got this vague hypothesis that Bishop's (surely a wealthy ward?) is only Lib Dem on account of the fact that none of the residents will allow themselves to vote Tory (since they live South of the river in the dangerous urban inner-city that is Bishop's ward), but neither can they bring themselves to vote Labour...  Why any Tory with any political ambition would live in Lambeth is somewhat beyond me...  Lambeth must be one of the few places in the country which can veer further towards the left at a time when everybody else was figuring how to get rid of Gordon Brown.

I also thought that Oval Ward would remain Lib Dem.  Arguably, that guess was closer to the end result, but since Labour now have two new Oval councillors, and the Lib Dems have kept only one seat, it seems that I was wrong!  It was a hotly-contested seat, with several re-counts and a late night for all involved, but Oval now sits very firmly in the red camp.

I'm afraid I must admit to more incorrect predictions.  How wrong could I have been?  *hangs head in shame*  I even predicted that Lambeth Council would be hung.  Well, it is.  Of sorts.  It's responsible for its own public hanging, for those readers who had hoped there might be some viable opposition against the Labour stranglehold.  But in terms of votes, I've done a quick map analysis of the 2006 elections (left hand map) and the 2010 elections (right hand map), and you can see the map has gone several shades red-er, but more interestingly, it has become stripier too:

By stripier, I mean that a larger number of wards are now represented by more than one party.  In 2006, only Herne Hill and Clapham Common had wards with split votes.  In 2010, Thurlow Park, Clapham Common, Vassall and Oval are all wards that will have to work out partnerships for the common good.  I wonder whether Clapham Common will continue to act so accurately as a barometer for the country as a whole.  If David Cameron and Nick Clegg fall out of bed, will Clapham return to Labour and the Lib Dems?  Maybe home-owners should use this map to figure out where to buy property.  If you bought in Clapham Common, you've done well, since everybody else did too...  Perhaps the Tories will shift their focus from the south-east corner of the Borough to the west.  I'm hoping too that the Greens won't give up on Lambeth as a lost cause.

Anyhow, all of this talk of a Lib-Con partnership at a national level matters not a jot for SE11-ites.  If you find yourself living in SE11, it's with Labour you'll be contending for the next four years.  That means, we need to focus on their election promises.  Only, I can't find them online.  Does anybody have any of the literature created by Bishop's Lib Dems, Princes' Labour or Oval Labour/Lib Dems?  I've found an Oval Labour postcard, but it doesn't really contain any promises.  Likewise, the Bishops' Lib Dems appear to have written to everybody, but I can't see that the letter contains any policy.  The Straight Choice website has a Vauxhall Labour leaflet, which will have to be used for the purpose of glimpsing the future:

1.  Council tax has been frozen for two years (good move).  But that, of course, does not really point to what will happen in the years to come.

2.  Labour seem to be planning a "borough-wide hit squad".  Jean McCarthy (quoted in the literature) is usefully a Princes resident, so I'll keep my ears open for any additional bobbies on the beat in Princes that might help reduce local crime.

3.  "Kate fights for local pool facility" reads the headline on the literature.  But it's not clear where Kate has been fighting that particular battle, unless it was for the laughable 12 metre swimming pool.  The leaflet then goes on to mention the former Lilian Baylis hub, which I will continue to focus upon.  I was unaware (but hopeful) that a pool was planned for the site.  In the meantime, I'm still waiting to hear news of the officers' report (see comments) on the site that Cllr Harrison was trying to procure back on the 18th March.

The above leaflet has more of a Hoey-esque focus, so it would be good if the Princes, Oval and Bishops election winners could leave some comments about their aims and ambitions for the next four years.  Links to election campaign literature is very much welcome, as I don't seem to have received much.

The SE11 Lurker is not impressed by the Lambeth Labour Lefty Love-in at a time when the rest of the country has returned a hung parliament.  I'd like to see a more transparent council, with document digitisation and the opening up of non-confidential Council papers, as they pertain to our individual wards.  There has been some stinging criticism made recently of Council officers, and I'd like to know how Councillors think internal bureaucracy might be better scrutinised by the electorate, who pay the officers' wages.  I will personally continue to demand local political accountability by focusing on the following:

1.  Former Lilian Baylis site - This now needs public consultation, or failing that, to be turned into a community facility that has more longevity and investment than current SAZ meanwhile use.  A swimming pool would be great, but the building needs over £10 million worth of repairs, and we're still waiting to hear what Labour's "community hub / John Lewis model" looks like.  Has a preliminary paper been written on the topic?  When might it be viewable?

2.  Former site of Beaufoy Institute - It would be good to see discussions about the future of this site, especially if it is to be an educational establishment, made public early.

3.  Re-zoning Kennington tube from Zone 2 to Zone 1 - I know Caroline Pidgeon has raised questions about this, but it's one for the Mayor. I'll also be closely observing tube closures and news about transport improvements.  I've seen some good news for the Northern line, which I'll write about shortly, but South London desperately needs improved transport infrastructure.

4.  Additional River Thames piers in Lambeth - Another one for the Mayor, but this would be a rather inexpensive means of improving the transport infrastructure for those in Bishops, Princes and Oval wards.

5.  Further development of Mayor of London / Lambeth Council planning documentation - It's not enough to keep blaming the Mayor's plan for permitting tall buildings, when the Vauxhall Supplementary Planning Document could be used to keep the ambitions of wayward developers in check.  Vauxhall should benefit from development and regeneration, but such development must occur as a result of proper town-centre design, instead of developing through ad-hoc developer planning applications.

6.  Council housing issues / leaseholder charges - The less said, the better, but I'll be reporting on any correspondence I receive re. the performance of Lambeth Living.

7.  Cycle issues - I will keep focusing on the development of the Cycle Superhighways, and on cyclist injuries/fatalities and on the development of local cycle routes/facilities.  The 20mph speed limit campaign could probably use some attention, so that's something that's worth keeping an eye on.

8.  Crime - Dangerous dogs, gangs, petty theft, burglary etc. will all be monitored, and there's no reason that we couldn't see a reduction in crime by closer resident co-operation.  Would be interesting to see if the Council have any local initiatives that might help with this, other than just increasing police presence.

9.  Green issues / recycling - I'll be looking out for an improvement in recycling levels within the Borough, as well as news on allotments/growing and healthy living.

Fallout from Vauxhall hustings - the good, the bad, and the downright mad

Local hustings might generally considered to be good for democracy, a time to question the candidates and distinguish constructive policies from dross. Sometimes they're even entertaining. What I hadn't realised was how effective they are for bringing all of the mad people (candidates and audience) out of the woodwork. Let a candidate speak for long enough, and one is left with no illusion about their suitability for office.

It all began well with quick intros from all candidates in which we learned that Tory Glyn Chambers has, as an Oxbridge economist, "skills and intelligence" to keep the country running. That as well as a track record locally for being a school governor gives him a passion for education. Additionally, he has "a record" through some kind of local campaigning to "keep Clapham Swimming", which he admitted "didn't happen". Oh dear.

Jeremy Drinkall, the anti-capitalist up next. He wanted to talk about his door stepping. Two of his party's policies are apparently very popular locally; to nationalise the banks and bring the troops back to the UK. On his tails was the green Joseph Healey, a local disability activist, but also an historian. He doesn't want us to make the mistakes of history all over again. He would also stop the war and spend money on the NHS.

Labour's reliable old hand Kate Hoey must be a bit tired of attending hustings. She launched into a "standing on my record" routine. She wanted to be known to have helped locally and made it known that the Vauxhall constituency has a high caseload, particularly re. immigration cases. She also wanted to stand on her record as somebody who gets things done and helps get peoples' voices across. Slight lack of substance I felt. But she wanted to stress that she's honest, and independent. Possibly a bit too independent for some, but more of that later...

Jim Kapetanos was quite frank about being a protest candidate, and made clear that his main role would be to speak up for the voiceless and for animals. If Kate Hoey were to resign her position (as MP or Countryside Alliance person, it wasn't clear), he suggests that he wouldn't be standing.

Daniel Lambert is a very very old style socialist who advised that people should not vote for him if they wouldn't shoulder the responsibility of so-doing. He wants "a society where the industrial resources of the our planet are the heritage of all". Quite a bit of waffle. Rather short on fact.

Many of the candidates were quite clear about how they didn't originally come from London. Lib Dem's Caroline Pidgeon decided to capitalise on the fact that she has lived in South East London for 16 years and proclaimed "a strong track record" in Southwark (which rather leaves Lambeth wide open!). She also mentioned that she had taken up many Vauxhall transport issues in her Assembly role, and had tried to save post offices, and had been trying to save SLAM and wanted to clean up politics... Phew. A lot to cram into an opening speech.

Our ex-DJ vicar host for the evening had also decided to throw in a question about where the candidates got their "moral compass" from. This led to lots of piffling about rural northern Ireland and Christian upbringings (though nobody mentioned any actual, you know, church attendance or practice). The alternative secular equivalent was socialism and vague notions of preventing exploitation of the defenceless. The best answer moral compass answer came from Joseph Healy who was actually able to name his heroes... St Francis, William Morris and Thomas Paine, and then provide some fabulous quotes! I particularly liked the way that he used St Francis as an anti-establishment character; it demonstrated some thought on his part.

Having got the tedious bit out of the way, we were able to move on to audience questions. My one criticism would have to be the chairing at this point. Whilst hustings are a time to hear the views of the candidates, and all candidates have a right to speak freely, it does not seem to me that everybody needs to be given the same access to the platform. There were some questions that really only needed to be put to one or two candidates. Some of the candidates utterly failed to self-censor, and so we were left listening to the lunatic fringes when it might have been better to actually quiz Kate Hoey on what she has been doing for Vauxhall over the last 5 years, or Caroline Pidgeon on the mansion tax or Healy on economic policy. It is not necessary to hear from every candidate on every question, and time would better have been spent taking more questions from the floor.

We had questions on whether David Cameron was fair in his assessment of "broken Britain", on the triangle playground, on the state of education, on the environment, on whether capitalism was a workable system and on representation of the gay community,

Healy thinks broken Britain was caused by David Cameron, and our schools are in a terrible state! Hoey doesn't accept that everything is broken in Vauxhall, and made the excellent point that people do actually work together locally, be they rich or poor. We can only hope she's right, or these co-operative style local governments aren't going to get off the ground. Hoey then started off the housing theme for the evening, and made the point that Labour has not focused enough nationally on housing. Caroline focused on gang culture. Glyn Chambers perhaps uttered the best quote of the evening when he seriously tried to compare today's crime rates with the crime rates of 100 years ago. Drinkall positively countered the broken society stuff, said that crime levels are actually going down, and welcomed further immigration. Exciting words from Lambeth politicians!

The Triangle playground was thrown into the mix as a bit of a trap for local politicians to see if they knew of its existence and issues. Hoey headed this off at the pass, and blamed the Council officers! Brilliant move... Maybe she should replace Brown on this week's Leaders' debate. Socialist Daniel Lambert utterly failed to mention the triangle in his response, and instead tried to consign capitalism to history again!

On education, Pidgeon was very keen on extra investment prior to the age of 7, and smaller class sizes. She sold the Lib Dem commitment to education. Kapetanos felt he had a platform to speak on education on the basis that "he want to school", but somehow also managed to be concerned that there might be "too big a green space in Vauxhall that Kate would have an eye on it for her hunting brigade". Hoey immediately flung back the most fantastic riposte when she commented that there are "masses of foxes in Vauxhall" and still managed to respond that we need to be proud of the achievements of local primary schools, and reinforced a commitment to church schools. A quiet evening, this was not! Healy would give academies back to the state. Drinkall wants smaller class sizes and to end academies and private schools. Glyn admitted there had been an improvement in local schools, but felt there was more work to be done re. GCSE results.

Everything had been progressing relatively smoothly to that point (except for ex-DJ vicar continually having to ask Daniel Lambert to sit down, as though he were a naughty Socialist school boy) until one audience member wanted to know whether any of the candidates thought that Jack Straw and Tony Blair should be taken to court. Ex-DJ Vicar decided to soften the question by turning it into a general question about the Iraq war. That was a slight mistake in my view, since unusual questions can be quite interesting springboards for debate. Audience member is unsurprisingly irked. Cue lots of shouting. Hoey stepped in diplomatically to re-iterate that she did not support the war. Hoey really is a genius politician because she managed to use the point to introduce Peter Tatchell and his "brave" action relating to the arrest of Mugabe in France several years ago, and thus ensure that the point about taking politicians to court was not lost. Glyn Chambers thought the war was wrong too. Phew. But then he also answered somewhat diplomatically that it's not the role of politicians to decide who is brought before court. Thank goodness the Tories still know how to keep the legislature and the judiciary separate. I was hoping Chambers might use the opportunity to object to the Terrorism Bill, but no such luck... Disaster narrowly averted.

...Until Caroline Pidgeon boldly stepped in to proclaim "it was an illegal war", which cued more shouting of, "are we going to indict Jack Straw and Tony Blair?" Ex-DJ vicar told audience member to sit down, and then to shut up! Crumbs. Not sure I can handle that much anger in one evening. I was beginning to feel a modicum of sympathy for the ex-DJ vicar on the basis that it's much easier to go off-air when on radio, but then the vicar threatened to call the police! Quite astonishing. I know it's harder than it looks to chair a debate, but still... Not a great performance.

I wasn't the only one with technology-fail, but at that point my recording device died so I turned to Twitter. We moved on to questions about the environment, but I'm afraid I started getting anxious in case nobody got a chance to question Hoey on her gay-rights record. Healy committed to renewable energy and tried to get us to think about reducing consumption. Hoey countered with her support for growing food locally. In my view, Hoey tried to score an easy point because it's hardly as though anybody /isn't/ going to support local food growth, and it's not going to have a huge impact on the environment. Glyn is unhappy things didn't work out at Copenhagen, but backs nuclear energy. Pidgeon does not back nuclear energy production, and wants to target flying (that's more like it; it's certainly more likely to reduce our carbon footprint than growing a small amount of local food).

At last, the Hoey question on gay rights pops up. Hoey appears affronted, since she has stuck her neck out on gay rights in Northern Ireland. But the question still stands. Hoey makes a clever move by retrieving Peter Tatchell from earlier conversation, and using him to make a point about free speech, and how people should not be barred from speaking their mind on certain matters. [In case anybody gets a chance to ask this question again, it's the absences that are more crucial than the voting record. I fail to understand Hoey's absence on the equality act regulations and the repeal of Section 28, and I'm not convinced that the Tatchell defence was strictly necessary.] Fortunately, Healy came to the rescue by condemning Hoey's record. Pidgeon supports the "hand-holding day" (what is this?) and is upset about B&Bs. Glyn Chambers seems to want free speech, equal LGBT access to goods and services, and freedom of expression for religious groups. Good on him, but one wonders if he might not be backing himself into the same corner as Hoey.

We're nearing the end, but there's time for a question on what the candidates think of capitalism. (This one has to be a plant. With four candidates ostensibly standing on tickets that range from pink (Hoey) to bright red (Drinkall), it really ought to be clear.) But Hoey's answer is really quite revealing of her as new-Labour, rather than old-socialist, since she says that she's just looking to "control the excesses of capitalism" on the basis that Stalinist societies won't help ordinary people! Kapetanos uses this moment to admit that he doesn't really want to be an MP! Healey thinks capitalism doesn't solve the carbon problem. And Pidgeon brings us back to policy (thank goodness) by revealing that the Lib Dems will bring in mansion tax and allow the first 10k of all income to be tax free.

Somebody slips in a brief question about domestic violence. This one should be easy, since everybody can be against it, and nobody needs to actually /do/ anything, right? But Hoey wants to ring fence money for domestic violence refuges, and help people go to court. Pidgeon mentions that she's been trying to ensure that Boris keeps promises on rape crisis centres, and calls for support of the voluntary sector. But suddenly, Daniel Lambert blames domestic violence on poverty. Whoa! Even Kapetanos manages to avoid using the opportunity to insult Hoey on fox hunting and instead argues that the roots of domestic violence are more complex...

And the evening ends with a question about what one piece of legislation each MP would seek to pass via a private members' bill. Am not convicned that all candidates knew what a private members bill was! The answers are rather shallow. Kapetanos would protect animals. Drinkall would merge all banks and form one large government bank. Lambert would abolish capitalism. Healy would introduce further taxation to pay for green jobs. Pidegon would invest in helping leaseholders across borough boundaries, and borrow money for building council housing. Chambers wants a separate vote on who gets to be Prime Minister. Hoey focuses on a bill for over-crowding and housing.

And that was that.

I was rather disappointed that the English Democrat and the Christian candidate weren't able to be present, but on the other hand, we'd never have left the venue if we'd had to hear them answer every question too.

I know there's a certain individual with an official journalistical career, who is tracking the every move that local bloggers make, but I utterly failed to notice (or meet) either @Jason_Cobb or @GarethWyn (who were both tweeting from the building) or anybody else with whom I'm supposed to be in league. That meeting will clearly have to wait!

I'm afraid I went to question Caroline Pidgeon about whether there are any Lib Dem PPC leaflets detailing her policies for Lambeth (I need this one for my collection), and she admitted sadly that the leaflets have not yet arrived from the printers. A serious case of #libDem fail!

You might want to look at the scarily similar reports of the evening from Jason and Gareth.

Advanced notice of forthcoming local and national hustings for SE11 folk

22nd April, 14:00 - 16:00 - Parlimentary Hustings for Vauxhall constituency. Organised by Lambeth Forum for Older People & Lambeth Pan-disability Forum and held at Lambeth Accord, 336 Brixton Road, Brixton, SW9 7AA. Conservative, Green, Labour and Lib Dem candidates have all confirmed attendance.

27th April, 19:30 - Parliamentary Hustings for Vauxhall constituency.
Organised by St Mark's Church and held at St Mark's Church (opposite Oval tube). All of the main parties will be represented (but not sure about the smaller ones).

27th April, 19:00 - Bishops (and Cathedrals ward) local hustings. Organised by Southbank Forum and held at St Johns Church (near Waterloo station). Arrive at 7pm to enter a question from the floor

29th April, 18:30 - Princes and Oval ward local hustings. Organised by Kennington Oval Vauxhall forum and held at Vauxhall Gardens Community Centre (on Vauxhall Walk, not far from Vauxhall station).

Any more for anymore? It's frustrating to hear about hustings on the day or once they've taken place, so would be useful to flag up any others that SE11 folk might be interested in attending. Feel free to leave a comment about any others, and I'll amend the post.

Vauxhall Prospective Parliamentary Candidates 2010

Lambeth Council have listed the nominated candidates motley crew representing the Vauxhall Constituency in the Parliamentary Election on May 6th 2010.  There are rather more than candidates than initially predicted, and whatever people say, I tend to think that elections are won on sound bites and slogans.  I've therefore tried to summarise each candidate's likes and dislikes as succintly as possible so that you can avoid watching televised debates or reading tedious campaign literature.  If in doubt, just vote for the person with the best picture:

Glyn Chambers (Conservative)

Likes: Faith & parent-promoted schools, renovating council houses, ombudsman schemes & greater"say" for leaseholders, cheap home-helps, pavement/road investment, planting trees, using bicycles and progressing leisure facilities.
Dislikes: Badly behaved pets, closed lavatories and residential dustcart depots.



Jeremy Drinkall (Anticapitalists - Workers Power)
Likes: Defending council housing, stopping wars, representing trade unions, taxing wealthy people, providing unemployed people with jobs, education for the masses, Revolution and meeting fire with fire.
Dislikes: Capitalism & the "free" market, paying for the bankers' crisis, privatised academy schools, pay-cuts for workers and poverty


Joseph Healy (Green Party)

Likes: Eco-socialism, stopping wars, supporting carers, trade unions, Palestine, LGBT rights and the welfare state.
Dislikes: Spending cuts that might affect people with disabilities, benefit slashing and ID cards



Kate Hoey (Labour) - Current MP

Likes: Fox hunting, supporting Zimbabwe, accountability in football, ousting Speakers, keeping her expenses trim, causing trouble, Boris Johnson, (to be continued as her website is down)

Dislikes: The war against Iraq, global warming, the digital equality bill, Trident missiles, Lycra lout cyclists, LGBT rights and student top-up fees

James Kapetanos (The Animal Protection Party)

aka "Fantastic Mr Fox" due to lack of available photo

Likes: Foxes, badgers, bears, dogs, cats, mice, birds, reptiles, hamsters, insects, snakes, wasps, hornets, squid and vegans.

Dislikes: Fox-hunting, dissecting live animals (vivisection), hunting, animal testing and the Countryside Alliance.

Daniel Lambert (The Socialist Party)

(A rather general statement from the party, I'm afraid, due to lack of available info.)

Likes: Making the world a better place, democracy, common ownership, peace, non-discrimination and material security for all.

Dislikes: Career politicians, poor schools, poor hospitals and poor housing, wages that don't pay bills, profit in general, and the failures of the current dreary system

Larna Martin (The Christian Party)

(Another general statement from the party, I'm afraid, due to lack of available info.)

Likes: Jesus, low taxation, abolishing inheritance tax, driving fast, "reasonable force" by classroom teachers, cutting green house gases, the abolition of the FSA, public sector cuts, nuclear deterrents and her husband (whose right ear is visible here)

Dislikes: Imprisoning drug users, the sex trade, bailiffs, primary sex education, the NHS, loose border controls and redefining marriage.

Jose Navarro (English Democrats)

(Another general statement from the party, I'm afraid, due to lack of available info.)

Likes: Fiscal devolution, a market economy (but not unrestrained), expanding manufacturing, ending mass immigration, individual liberty, St George, marital families (mother, father and children), the military and improved care for the elderly.

Dislikes: The EU, stealth taxes, Scotland, political correctness and the Commission for Equality & Human Rights 

Caroline Pidgeon (Liberal Democrats)

(Can't seem to find a Vauxhall Constituency Lib Dem manifesto, so this is rather generalised)

Likes: Public transport, promoting good mental health care, being a strong voice, affordable housing, leisure facilities, local issues.

Dislikes: Identity cards and profiteering from expenses, 

Oval Farmers Market and the political cakes (with photos)

Popped into Oval Farmers Market this morning for one of Lara's delicious cakes from SE11 based Cakehole.  I'd heard on Twitter that she'd baked some political cakes, and I was intrigued.  Despite being reasonably early (ok, I confess that "early" on a Saturday is about 11am for me), the political cakes were very popular, and the only flavour left was in David Cameron blueberry.   I just couldn't bring myself to buy it (obviously, that's  because I'm not a blueberry fan... I wouldn't want to betray my partiality), so I went for one of those delicious looking chocolate ones.  Nom.  Nom.  Nom.  (Just noticed, but Lara was running a straw-poll on which sold first.)

The guy in the queue in front wanted of me wanted Green party cakes, which were not part of the spectrum, so perhaps in the lead-up to the General Election, we'll see an expanded range.  As Tri Porteur and companion lazed on the grass eating cake, we were surprised to be suddenly surrounded by Labour campaigning types (so, that's where they all are...) and we made our escape.

If you've not been to Oval Market, I do urge you to go.  The weather was fantastic, and there was a great range of stalls.

Also, I'm very pleased to see that the Council have got the fountains (I never realised that's what they were) working again on that piece of no-man's land in between Kennington Park Road and the junction to Brixton Rd/Camberwell New Road.  I do think though, that that whole patch could be grassed over and cleared up.  With very little investment, it wouldn't be a bad spot for a small cafe/ice-cream seller, but right now, it just looks rather cluttered with a kind of abandoned bandstand/circular bench thing and a lot of concrete bollards and pieces of hedge:

One reader tells me that the fountains represent the site of public hangings.  More on Wikipedia.  The 1984 Oval Fountains were apparently designed by architect Georgina Livingstone.

Kate Hoey's new HQ

This is Kate Hoey's campaign headquarters for Vauxhall constituency.  It's located on the site of the old Amici in Kennington, SE11 (which makes me wonder whether the old restaurant is no more).  It's a bit dark as the photo was shot at night.  I promised, "more later", so now I feel obliged to write something!

This shop is an astonishing declaration of intent, in the heart of Kennington.  I'm lead to wonder whether any of the other parties have the budgets to set up shop front offices in central locations, such as these.  Indeed, I feel the stirring of an impassioned rant about the weaknesses of first past the post voting systems emerging.  I've no objection, per se, to campaign headquarters, but I sometimes wish that the platform for political expression was more level because I hardly think the Lib Dems or Greens could afford to do the same.

On the other hand, prominent campaign headquarters are certainly preferable to all of those nasty estate-agent style Tory boards that have appeared on Kennington Road and some of the squares in the area (photo taken by Labour's Jack Hopkins):

2010 Election - Oval Ward Candidates

Oval Ward Candidates

Conservative - Oliver Campbell - SE11

(No photo. Can't find info. although he's mentioned on the Conservative Action Paper)

Conservative - Michelle Imperi - SW8

(No photo.  Can't find further info.)

Conservative - Nicholas Timothy - SW8

(No photo.  Can't find further info.)




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English Democrats - Issam Ebarek-Rmiki - SE11

(No photo.  No further info. anywhere at all)

English Democrats - Jose Navarro - SW8

(Photo from his website, pointed to me by English Democrats)

English Democrats - Michael Perry - SE11

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Green Party - Charles Boxer - SW8

(Photo supplied by candidate.  One reader notes that Charlie runs the delicatessen on Bonnington Square)

Green Party - Samuel Low - SW8

Green Party - James Staunton - SW8

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Labour - (Angela) Jane Edbrooke - SE24

(Photo taken from Labour East Hampshire PPC page)
(On Twitter as @JaneinLondon)

Labour - Jack Hopkins - SW8

(Photo taken from Twitter, where he's quite active)

(On Twitter as @JackHopkins_Lab)

Labour - Karim Palant - SW9

(No photo that I can see.  I can only find snippets of info.)

(Former National Chair of Labour Students)


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Liberal Democrats - Ishbel Brown - SW8

(Photo taken from Oval News blog)

Liberal Democrats - Claudette Hewitt - SW8

(Photo taken from Oval News blog)

Liberal Democrats - Andrew Sawdon - SE5

(Photo taken from Lambeth Council website)

(Current Oval Ward Councillor - in position since 1994)

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This is a rather sorry state of affairs.  You'd think that some of these candidates didn't want anybody to vote for them.  They're not even listed on their own party websites.  If I've missed anybody that does have a public profile, just leave a comment and I'll add the individual in question.

Of the current Lib Dems councillors, Cllr Faye Gray is moving from Oval and standing in Vassall ward, just next door.  I'm not sure whether Cllr Robert Banks is taking a break as he has nominated candidates, but isn't standing himself.  Edit: It appears Cllr Andrew Sawdon has been an Oval Councillor on and off since 1978, but not all for Oval Ward.  Even still.  Seriously impressive.

2010 Election - Bishops Ward candidates

Bishop's Ward Candidates

Conservative - Edward Blain - SE11
(No photo - possible record on Linked In, but no firm evidence linking to Bishops Ward)



Conservative - Edward Jones - SE11
(No photo - can't find any info)



Conservative - Rickard Jonsson - SE11
(No photo - have found info. but cannot be sure whether it's for the correct Rickard Jonsson)


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Green Party - Colin Kavanagh - SE1
(No photo - can't find any info)



Green Party - Jonathan Stone-Fewings - SE24
(Photo taken from Wikipedia and cropped)
(A celebrity!  I think this is the actor, with wikipedia page here.  I was wondering why he was standing in  Bishops Ward, whilst living in SE24, but he appears to spend a fair amount of time at the Old Vic!)


Green Party - James Wallace - SE1
(Also stood as Green candidate for Bishops Ward in 2006 - no further info)




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Labour Party - Kevin Craig - SW4
(Photo taken from Political Lobbying & Media Relations)
On Twitter as @kevindcraig
Secretary for Vauxhall Labour Party

Labour Party - Jennifer Mosley - SE1
(No photo or info - not sure whether surname spelling is correct on candidate paper)


Labour Party - Jack Sutcliffe - SW8
(Photo taken from Twitter)
On Twitter as @JackSutcliffe

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Liberal Democrats - Diana Braithwaite - SE11
(Photo taken from Lambeth Council website)
(Current Bishops Ward Councillor - in position since 2006)
(Deputy Leader of Lib Dems)


Liberal Democrats - Gavin Dodsworth - SE11
(Photo taken from Lambeth Council website)
(Current Bishops Ward Councillor - in position since 2006)




Liberal Democrats - Peter Truesdale - SE11
(Photo taken from Lambeth Council website)
(Current Bishops Ward Councillor - in position since 1994(!))

Two timing politicans

Is there some kind of new expectation amongst London politicans that an unyet invented teleportation device will soon be available?  Why are so many of our local candidates standing in two wards/constituencies at the same time?  Why are they all being unfaithful, and two-timing London?  Don't we deserve more than that?  Is there so little casework involved in being a good local councillor that they feel they could sit in parliament as well as on Lambeth Council?

Jason Cobb already helpfully pointed out that the Labour Oval ward candidate, Jane Edbrooke, is standing as a candidate for Oval ward, and as a parlimentary candidate for East Hampshire!  (Hopefully, both sets of constituents will be unimpressed).

One of Twitter's Labour supporters, @Kieran Casey helpfully pointed out, as was already noted, that Joseph Healy is standing as a Green candidate for Princes Ward, and as a parlimentary candidate for Vauxhall!  (At least there's some geographical similarity there, but sadly the Vauxhall greens don't yet seem to have local policies in place for Princes/Oval, so chances of success are slim...)

But I wonder whether Kieran should have checked with his own party before pointing out the folly of others because, to top it off, Cllr Steven Morgan (current Labour incumbant in Princes ward) is now re-standing for Princes ward as well as standing as a parlimentary candidate for Orpington.  Of course, if you have the misfortune to dwell near Orpington, you'll know that you could pin a blue rosette on a monkey in that area, and everybody would still vote Conservative. However, if you've a long memory, you might remember that one of the blog's esteemed readers, Sid Boggle, raised this issue in the by-election here, when he said:

"I suppose the local party apparatchiks will be grooming their next 'second coming' to replace Steve Morgan, who I assume will stand down next year so he can fight Orpington."

No such luck... It seems it's acceptable these days to presume that voters will seriously consider candidates standing in two geographically distinct locations.  It's fine.  After all, Cllr Morgan's mum lives in Orpington, so she can probably tell him about important local issues.

Cllr Morgan responded to Sid Boggle, "Thanks for your view of my political future. I really am delighted that you think I am such a great campaigner that I will go to Orpington and take the Labour Party from 4,914 votes to over 26,718 votes to become the next MP."

Look out Orpington!

2010 Election - Princes Ward Candidates

I'll soon be publishing Oval and Bishops wards as soon as I've had a chance to find all of the photos.  (I'm afraid I've had a nightmare with the formatting - it's a Blogger issue, sorry.)

Princes Ward Candidates

Conservative - James Bellis - SW9
(Photo taken from Conservative Kennington Action Team newsletter)

Conservative - Michael Poole-Wilson - SE11

(Photo taken from Conservative Kennington Action Team newsletter)

(He was a candidate in the 2009 Princes Ward by-election)

Conservative - Richard Rajgopaul-Hicklin - SE11

(Photo was sent to be direct from candidate who states that he has been involved with Vauxhall Conservatives for 5 years)

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English Democrats - Alfredo Cordal - SW9
(Photo taken from Exiled Writers)

English Democrats - John Dodds - SE1
(No photo available - the one I posted is apparently a different English Democrat John Dodds)






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Green - Emily Butterworth - SE11
(Photo taken from King's College website.  Emailed candidate to confirm identity.)

(Resident in Kennington for 4 years)

Green - Joseph Healy - SE5
(Photo taken from Green MP for Vauxhall)
(He was a candidate in the Princes Ward 2009 by-election)




Green - Marcus Letts - SE11
(No info, no labelled photo and no mention of him anywhere on Green Party literature)



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Labour - Lorna Campbell - SE1
(Photo taken from Lambeth Council website)
(Current Princes Ward Councillor - in position  since 2006) 




Labour - Mark Harrison - SE11
(Photo taken from Lambeth Council website)
(Current Princes Ward Councillor - in position since 2009) 



Labour - Stephen Morgan - SE11
(Photo taken from Lambeth Council website)
(Current Princes Ward Councillor - in position since 2006) 


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Liberal Democrats -  Gloria Gomez Canal - SW12
(Photo taken from Aculco Radio)




Liberal Democrats - Sandra Lawman - SW2
(Photo taken from Linked In, which also has more info. about the candidate's history)
(She was a Lambeth Councillor for 11 years, between 1990 and 2002, Edit: representing Princes Ward)



Liberal Democrats - John Munro - SW9
(No info, and no mention of him  anywhere on Liberal Democrat literature.  Photo provided by Lib Dems)




As already noted by @SE11 (Cllr Mark Harrison), none of the Liberal Democrats are local.  One of them lives in Streatham.  I'm not impressed by that at all.  How is a Streatham resident meant to be fully engaged with the issues that affect residents in Princes Ward?  Perhaps there aren't any Lib Dems left in Princes ward...  Are they admitting defeat already?

On a related note, why is Lorna Campbell standing in Princes Ward and not Bishop's Ward (where she lives)?  Is there some historical reason for it?

I am quite impressed that the Green party managed to field two local candidates.  I think many people would be more prepared to consider voting for a local candidate than a paper candidate, but it is tricky to know how to vote when there is so little information available about some of the candidates.  Whilst everybody has a right to privacy, it's hard to know why to vote for somebody when they've not made public any information  about their role locally.

Oooh, I forgot to add that Jason Cobb has done a great post on the candidates in the wider area.