A lot of local people have been talking to me about the uncertain economic climate and the troubles in the banking sector which have seen the nationalisations of Northern Rock and the Bradford & Bingley. 

The Labour government is taking decisive action to protect the deposits of ordinary account-holders.  The decision to raise the guarantee for bank savings from £35,000 to £50,000 will hopefully reassure depositors in Streatham, Balham, Brixton, Clapham and Tulse Hill, that the government will not allow the recent problems in the banking sector to jeopardise your savings.  Prime Minister Gordon Brown promised to do “whatever is necessary” to stabilise banking and protect ordinary account-holders in these difficult times.

This weekend, the Prime Minister is meeting with other European leaders at a summit in Paris to address the current economic problems, hoping to agree new banking rules which will tackle the underlying causes of the current problems in the financial sector.  I will keep local people up to date with further measures the government announces which will help them (I am pictured talking to a local resident outside the Lambeth Savings & Credit Union on Brixton Hill).

A noticeable rise in the number of prostitutes working in the Tulse Hill and Brixton Hill areas has followed the disbandment of Brixton Police’s dedicated Vice-Squad.  I am very concerned about this and residents are questioning what the Police and the Council are doing about it.

Myself and local Labour Cllrs Toren Smith, Ade Aminu and Marcia Cameron have worked with local residents to come up with some suggestions.  We are proposing the following:

• More Police resources devoted to assist the local Safer Neighbourhood Police team with an early review of the impact of the loss of the vice-squad;
• The Council should put pressure on London Mayor Boris Johnson to speed up the delivery of the new gate at the Brixton Hill end of Josephine Avenue;
• The Council should begin working up an area wide traffic management plan to stop kerb crawling, so that any displacement from the closure of Josephine Avenue can be dealt with swiftly;
• The Council should limit the 3am opening hours of the off-licences on Brixton Hill to discourage pimps and prostitutes from the area; and,
• The Council needs to address the derelict site at 85 Brixton Hill.

I have met with both Council my colleagues and the Police to let them know of residents concerns.  If you have any further comments to make, please let us know your suggestions using the Contact page here.

Last week the fantastic “Urban Art” fair on Josephine Avenue took place and had its most successful year ever despite the credit crunch, Brixton tube station being closed all weekend and Herne Hill being closed on Sunday. Selected pictures of the event are below.

Locally based artist, Paul Anthony Smith, exhibits his paintings.  More information on his work can be found at www.pasartwork.com.

Enjoying the sun with one of the organisers.  We are standing near Priscilla Watkins work (not pictured), which particularly caught my eye - you can see her work at www.priscillawatkinsart.co.uk.  

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Former South African President and freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela, is 90 years old today. The man needs no introduction whatsoever. In my view he is one of the greatest living men alive today. He provides an example to anyone wanting to get involved in politics, who is keen to make positive change and improve the lives of those in their community.

I remember, as a teenager, going down and standing along Brixton Station Road outside the Recreation Centre to greet Mandela on his historic visit to Brixton on 12 July 1996. The excitement and energy that swirled around his visit was incredible – I have not seen anything like it on the streets of Brixton since! You can watch ITN’s coverage of that 1996 visit here; there is also a New York Times article here.  (For those who don’t know, “Madiba” is Mandela’s clan name by which he is affectionately known by his tribe in South Africa.)

I was delighted to address (below) Ruach Ministries church on Brixton Hill on Sunday with Harriet Harman MP (pictured centre), Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Secretary of State for Equalities.  I was also very pleased to joined by “London’s Chair”, the wonderful Jennette Arnold AM, Chair of the London Assembly (pictured second, left).

I am so very proud that Ruach is situated in our community. It is the second largest Black majority church in the UK led by Bishop John Francis (pictured third, left), attracting more than 5000 people through its doors every Sunday.  It does fantastic social work in and around the community helping to improve people’s lives, be it through Ruach’s street pastors or its outreach work with troubled people in the area.

Bishop Francis, who co-founded the London Community Gospel Choir in 1982, is considered to be one of Britain’s most influential Black church leaders and founded the church. He is an in-demand preacher, with an extensive international ministry, and in recent years has become one of the most well known Britain-based church leaders in the US.  Bishop Francis is celebrating 25 years of ministry – 10 as a Bishop – this month. Congratulations Bishop Francis!

I am a huge fan of the arts in general and made no secret of that fact during my campaign to become Labour’s parliamentary candidate in Streatham. Not only do I enjoy the arts myself but I also think they provide a fantastic outlet for the boundless energy of our young people in need of things to do outside of school time.

There are so many unsung heroes in the arts who have lived or still live in this parliamentary constituency. Our MP for Streatham, Keith Hill, even shared a flat here with the well known comedian and actor, Eddie Izzard a while back!  Another collection of unsung heroes in the arts are the organisers of Urban Art, led by Tim Sutton, which will be held on 19 and 20 July 2008 on Josephine Avenue, just off Brixton Hill, between 10am and 6pm.

As the residents of Josephine Avenue put it:
“For the seventh year running our sleepy, tree-lined, South London avenue will be transformed into a bustling art fair showcasing new and exciting work from over ninety UK artists. Exhibited pieces will include paintings, mixed-media, photographs and print-making with costs ranging from under £10 to over £1,000. It’s an art buyer’s dream.”
…and, unbelievably, the event is free!  It has my full support and I would highy recommend visiting it in just over a month’s time.

What are they? Credit Unions are financial co-operatives owned and controlled by their members. They offer savings and loans at affordable rates. They are local, ethical and, because they are owed by their members, know what their members want.

Above all, Credit Unions are run for the benefit of the community and not the loan sharks who prey on deprived communities offering unsecured loans at outrageous rates of interest, or for the shareholders of big commercial banks. That is why I am such a fan of them and visited Lambeth Savings and Credit Union on Brixton Hill (situated in the Streatham parliamentary constituency) to sign up myself to become a credit union member last weekend (I am pictured signing up at the LSCU).  I fully support what they do.

Lambeth Savings and Credit Union been serving Lambeth’s people since February 2006 and is supported by a broad alliance of voluntary organisations, community and faith groups and local government.

How do they work? Members of a credit unions pool their savings together. These savings then provide a pool of funds from which loans can be made at affordable rates. It is run by a volunteer Board of Directors, all of whom are members of the credit union, elected by the membership at an Annual General Meeting. All members of the credit union have one vote; regardless of the size of their savings. To find out more about Lambeth Savings and Credit Union, log on to their website - www.lscu.org.uk.