Chuka Umunna MP

Last month, the Streatham Hub Redevelopment was given the go-ahead.

The project includes a brand new ice rink, swimming pool, leisure centre as well as affordable housing, and will bring up to 600 new jobs to our area.

Following pressure by the “Keep Streatham Skating!” campaign, Tesco have agreed to guarantee continuous ice rink provision and Lambeth Council has said the retailer will not be allowed to open it’s supermarket until the new rink and leisure centre are opened.  To read more about the history of the project and the campaign to maintain ice provision, follow this link.

Of course, we have been here before – agreements with Tesco to develop the project have been reached in the past. However, when I spoke with Tesco on behalf of local residents at the end of last month (and asked why we should believe the scheme will proceed this time round), I was told that on the last two occasions the scheme had gone to the Tesco Plc Board for approval and no approval had been forthcoming, whereas on this occasion the scheme was promoted by the Chief Executive himself and given Board approval.

Tesco has agreed to provide a temporary ice rink whilst the new rink is built.  Finding a site for this structure has been difficult, and I have concerns over placing a large structure on Streatham Common.  Doing so, in my view, should only be considered as a matter of last resort if no better alternative site can be found in Streatham.

If the Common is the only option, a full explanation should be given to the community with reasons and the structure should be there for as short a time and take up as little space as possible. The Common should also be restored to a better state once the temporary structure is gone. Consultation with interested parties, including skaters and users of Streatham Common, is currently underway.

So there are still issues which need to be ironed out but I believe that our area – including skaters, swimmers and users of the common – will benefit and Streatham High Road will be given a much needed boost from the Streatham Hub development.

10 SureStart Children’s Centres have been opened under the Labour government in the Streatham constituency since 1997.  Today, Prime Minister Gordon Brown MP, Children & Schools Secretary Ed Balls MP and the Health Secretary Andy Burnham MP opened Labour 3,500^th SureStart centre – Hitherfield Children’s Centre in Streatham.  By coincidence, Chuka attended Hitherfield nursery in his early years.  You can watch a video of Ed and Andy explaining what children’s centres do in Streatham and nationally below.

First Capital Connect and Aslef have reached agreement on a revised pay offer but serious questions still remain for FCC.

A dispute over pay last month led to First Capital Connect (FCC), operators of the Thameslink train line in and out of London, only being able to run a skeleton service from Streatham, Tulse Hill and other train stations to central London, with as few as one train an hour remaining in operation.

Drivers angry at a pay offer offering a 0% rise this year and at least 3% next year, refused to work overtime and on rest days which led to FCC running the much reduced service. On 11 November 2009, Aslef - the train drivers union - announced that it would be balloting its 550-plus members working for FCC to take strike action over the issue.

On 19 November 2009 Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, wrote to Sir Moir Lockhead, Chief Executive FirstGroup Plc, to protest at the disruption caused to local residents. Umunna has asked to know why the situation was allowed to develop and what steps FCC were taking to resolve the dispute and get train services back running to normal levels. FCC have promised to provide a response to Mr Umunna shortly.

On Friday FCC announced that Aslef has considered a revised pay offer, equating to 5% over two years, and has agreed to recommend its acceptance to its members. Aslef have confirmed this . They are now working jointly to encourage drivers to resume rest day and overtime working. Services are not expected to return to normal until the New Year.

Commenting on this latest development, Mr Umunna said:

“Thameslink users will be delighted that an agreement has been reached and will look forward to a normal service being resumed as soon as possible but serious questions still remain.”

“First Capital Connect need to explain why on earth they have been operating a service without enough drivers – they should not be reliant on drivers agreeing to work overtime to provide a normal service.”

“I understand from reports that there are vacancies at Thameslink depots amounting to almost 10% of the work force. Why have First Capital Connect not recruited sufficient numbers of drivers to man their trains?”

Mr Umunna has also been running a campaign against proposals by Network Rail to terminate all northbound trains from Streatham and Tulse Hill train stations at Blackfriars. The Department of Transport is currently considering Network Rail’s proposals for the future of the line and Mr Umunna recently met with Minister of Transport, Sadiq Khan MP, to relay local residents’ views on the long-term planned changes to Streatham’s Thameslink service.

Hundreds of passengers have signed Mr Umunna’s petition opposing the changes and have joined his “Save Our South West London Thameslink Services” Facebook group.

Commenting on the future of Thameslink, Umunna said:

“Thameslink is an essential service for Streatham residents, linking the area with central London and beyond. That is why I have campaigned for an end to this dispute and against proposals to cut direct services to the City, Kings Cross and Luton Airport.”

London Mayor Boris Johnson has announced a major consultation on the future of London transport, which includes the potential scheme to bring the London Underground to Streatham.

Following the publication of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, Londoners are being asked to register their views.

This is an important opportunity to let the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) know what a difference a tube extension to Streatham, currently under consideration, would make.

The Mayor’s Transport Strategy recognised the lack of transport connections in South London, describing the “paucity of the Underground network” in the area and the need for “better public transport connectivity between inner north and inner south London”.

It also confirms that TfL is looking into a number of options to extend the Bakerloo line southwards with the route currently being under development. The report pledges that the Bakerloo extension will serve “areas with poor transport accessibility”.

Despite these positive developments, we need to keep up pressure if we want a Streatham tube extension to become a reality.

The decision on where to build the tube extension will take into account the views of residents and you can take part in the consultation at http://www.london.gov.uk/shaping-london/ before it closes on January 12th 2010.

Registering views online only takes around 5 minutes and could help determine whether the Tube comes to Streatham or elsewhere.

If you haven’t yet signed the petition to bring the tube to Streatham, do so here.

Chuka’s letter on primary school places was published in the Streatham Guardian on 6 August 2009, in response to a previous article:

Parents understandably want their children to attend a good local school – I know because I am a governor of one. Increasing demand for school places is an issue across London, with population shifts, increases in the birth rate and pressure on sites for school buildings.

With reference to your article, “Lambeth school space crisis” (9 July 2009), the government is taking action to create more primary and secondary school places by expanding existing schools and building new ones. Nationally, Labour is investing £21.9 billion on school buildings between now and 2011. Locally we have already seen the fruits of this with the establishment of new secondary schools such as Lambeth Academy and new primaries such as the Jubilee School since 1997.

However, though all those who applied on time for a primary school place received an offer in a Lambeth school this year, it is true that the ability to meet parental preferences in each case is still a challenge and more places are needed in the future.

That is why Keith Hill MP and I are meeting with ministers and working hard to ensure central government provides further investment so we can provide more places for our children, for example by converting the Woodfield Centre in Streatham, an old Special School, to provide a new primary school in the area. We will keep residents posted on our progress.

Chuka Umunna
Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham

This week, Chuka launches a campaign to bring the tube to Streatham. He and local campaigners are calling on Mayor Boris Johnson to ensure that Streatham is considered in any future plans to extend the tube southwards, and an online petition has been set up for supporters of the campaign.

In February, Mayor Johnson stated that it is his ambition to extend the Bakerloo line southwards to Lewisham and beyond. Last week we obtained confirmation that TfL is working on these plans, looking into the feasibility of such a scheme.

Chuka is demanding to know why Streatham is not being considered for any possible southwards extension of the tube when Lewisham, for example, is already well-served by the Docklands Light Railway extension which opened in 1999.

The Bakerloo line could instead be extended southwards from Elephant & Castle via Camberwell and Brixton to Streatham. This would have the added benefit of relieving congestion on Streatham High Road.

However, The Bakerloo line is only one of the options available for bringing the tube to Streatham. The planned Crossrail 2 scheme, running from Chelsea to Hackney, would considerably relieve congestion on the Victoria line, creating the potential for an extension of the Victoria line to Streatham from Brixton.

Commenting on the launch of the campaign, Chuka said:

“I have lived here for most of my life and people have been talking about the desirability of having the tube in Streatham for as long as I can remember.

“This campaign is a long term project. Public finances are going to be tight for the next few years but we need to build up a head of steam behind this now so that when there is more money about, we are in a good position to demand it is used to finally bring the tube here.

Streatham residents’ hopes of getting a tube extension have a long history of false starts and disappointment. In the original plans for the Victoria line included in the 1946 London Plan, it was intended that the line would run to Streatham and on to Croydon. This scheme even received approval in Parliament, but was never built because of a lack of finance.

Chuka said,

“Streatham has been ignored for far too long while other areas have benefited from better transport provision. It is bad enough that our direct Thameslink connections are under threat, but the fact that TfL is looking at extending the Bakerloo line without even considering our area as a station destination, is not on. We deserve better.”

“This area would benefit hugely from a tube station. As well as obvious
benefits for local residents, it would give a massive boost to the regeneration of Streatham and the local economy.

“We are going to work together to put pressure on TfL to consider Streatham a top priority for tube improvements in South London.”

You can sign up to the petition to bring the tube to Streatham here: Bring the tube to Streatham petition

Many of my fellow PPCs have signed up to these ethics pledges that Progress, the independent organisation for Labour party members, has put together - I agree with them and pledge to observe them. However, I think we need to go further (which is not to say that others do not) if we are to restore trust between voters and political representatives. In the article below, which appears in today’s Guardian, I advance some suggestions on how to do so with my friend and colleague, Cllr Mark Bennett, who serves Streatham South.

The collective reputation of MPs has been burned to ash and the clean-up begins not a moment too soon. MPs of all parties have been shamed, but it has been most galling when associated with people on the left, who were first elected by telling voters they would change the rules – in politics and beyond – to make Britain better and fairer. Labour activists who go door to door for them have been on the receiving end of public anger and are themselves furious.

The mantra often repeated is “my claims were within the rules”, but this is a complete irrelevance when the claims do not stand up to moral scrutiny. How can they not see this?

It appears they have been deafened to political reality by the siren songs of vested interest, manifested in the deference of Commons police and staff, the patronage of the whips, the Speaker’s offices and the indulgence of the fees office. To the public, it seems they have been rewarded with TVs, kitchens, massage chairs and imaginary mortgages for doing so. If politics in Britain is to have a future, all this must change.

Another future is possible. We are two Labour politicians but there are many more of us – parliamentary candidates, councillors and activists – who still believe in what Harold Wilson called the “moral crusade” of our party. We are all putting our hearts and souls into it and a better future for our communities.

Most of our politicians are idealistic and well-intentioned. The corrupt are few, and now is the time for them to be driven from office by the many who want to rebuild trust in what should be an honest and open vocation.

As the Commons considers what to do, Labour’s next generation has a duty to make a contribution if it does not wish to inherit the public’s contempt.

We must start by recognising that if we want to dismantle the “gentlemen’s club”, we must tackle the machine ¬politics out of which it was born. Root and branch constitutional reform is a prerequisite. We must elect the Lords, make the voting system more ¬proportional and end the degraded adversarial culture of Westminster, as exemplified by the so-called theatre of prime minister’s questions.

The Labour party must change too. MPs who have acted within the rules but outside the bounds of public acceptability should be deselected. There is a moral and political imperative to do so – we will not retain seats where we are offering damaged goods. The higher education minister David Lammy has mooted introducing primaries as a way of making parliamentary selection more open, and to involve the public. The clamour for this is growing.

But first, changes to MPs’ expenses and the election of the Speaker are imminent. Gordon Brown’s proposal of an independent parliamentary standards regulator, responsible for pay and allowances, is welcome. Expenses should now be fully published online and investigated without further delay, with absolute application of the law towards MPs found to have broken it.

Whatever shape the new expenses system takes, one principle should win out: there must be an end to any privileges that set MPs apart from the people they represent – no first class travel, no London congestion charge reclaim, and no claims for anything that is not directly related to the work of being an MP.

In 1994, the then Labour leader, John Smith, said: “The opportunity to serve our country – that is all we ask.” Service. That is what our parliamentarians need to remember as they consider reform. The time has come to serve the people, not politicians.

Dear Resident

Like the public in general I have been horrified at the evidence of abuse of the parliamentary allowances system. As an MP representing an inner London seat, with my home in Streatham, I knew nothing of the scope for manipulation of the second home arrangement and was amazed to learn of the £400 monthly food allowance. I eat all my meals in the week at the House of Commons and it had never occurred to me that an MP would not pay out of his or her own pocket for them.

I wanted to be an MP because I believed it to be a noble and decent activity and I have always tried to do the right thing. Now, alas, we are all contaminated and I shall retire next year from a tainted institution.

However, because the elected House of Commons is the lynch pin of our democracy we must act firmly to establish its integrity in relation to expenses and salaries. The Committee on Standards in Public Life, under the chairmanship of Sir Christopher Kelly, is due to report on expenses in the autumn. It seems likely that it will recommend an independent body to determine the nature and size of expenses and their independent audit – I shall support such proposals.

It seems to me blindingly obvious that MPs should not be voting either on their allowances or on their salaries. Indeed, in the mid 1990s I was one of the MPs who voted for their pay to be decided by the independent Senior Salaries Review Board and this was also the recommendation in Sir John Baker’s report on MPs’ salaries last summer. I hope we can stick with the independent determination of MPs’ pay instead of governments repeatedly meddling.

I have written at greater length about this issue on my website and would invite you to visit it at www.keithhill.org.uk for further details. However, I write now simply to reassure you that there has been no abuse of parliamentary expenses here in Streatham. Our local Labour Party is not of great means. Chuka Umunna, a local boy and our new parliamentary candidate, has spent just under £15K on his campaign to date, less than one fifth of that spent by other political parties in this area. His campaign is mainly funded from small donations from local people, with additional funding from local trade union members. That is the way it should be.

As ever, I am at your service. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need assistance.

Best wishes,

Keith

Rt. Hon. Keith Hill MP
Member of Parliament for Streatham

The parliamentary constituency of Streatham covers Streatham and parts of Clapham, Balham, Tulse Hill and Brixton.

This weekend sees the launch of the first ever Streatham Food Festival, an event celebrating our community’s rich culinary diversity. Chuka will be attending the launch event at Gracefield Gardens Community Centre on Saturday afternoon, where there will be tasting sessions and food stalls including Oxfam Fair Trade and Food Up Front, an urban food-growing network which operates across south London. Many restaurants on Streatham High Road will be offering discount meals, allowing visitors to sample dishes from a wide range of cuisines, while a farmers’ market selling fresh produce will be running outside the Streatham Odeon. 

For more information, check out the Food Festival’s website here: Streatham Food Festival.

Last week’s Budget prioritised supporting employment, families and the housing market and the government’s commitment to tackle climate change. Its emphasis was on helping people through these difficult times and taking steps to build for our future, growing our way out of recession rather than cutting our way out.

One of the most important elements of the Chancellor’s speech was the promise that our young people will not be disregarded given the risks of long-term unemployment. While in the Thatcherite 1980s a generation became trapped out of work, this week’s Budget guaranteed that everyone under the age of 25 who has been out of work for 12 months will be offered a job or a place in training. Families will also be given extra help, with a significant increase in tax credits per child. Across Streatham, this will benefit 13,740 families and 23,900 under-16s. Opportunities for tax-free savings through ISAs will be extended as the annual investment limit rises to £10,200 next year.

Budget 2009 will also reassure homeowners and buyers. To meet demand for housing and make affordable homes available for those taking their first step up on the housing ladder, the chancellor pledged a £600m funding package for the building of new homes. Additionally, this will help create jobs and boost the construction industry. The Stamp Duty holiday for homes worth under £175,000 has been extended until the end of the year to help new buyers.

This was the world’s first Carbon Budget, as required by the Climate Change Act. Accordingly, we saw large invesment in renewable energy, with a programme of £5bn funding for wind and solar energy. Low-carbon industries will benefit from £1.4bn of support, while £375m was allocated to increase energy and resource efficiency in businesses, public buildings and households over the next two years. These measures will lay the foundations of Britain’s low-carbon economy, enabling us to meet our ambitious carbon emissions targets.

The focus of the Budget reflects the need to help people and build for the future right now, rather than cutting back when people need support most.