LibDem Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable, visited Highbury yesterday evening to support the Liberal Democrat campaign to win back control of Islington Council with a workable majority in the local elections on 6 May and to elect Bridget Fox as MP for Islington South and Finsbury in the General Election.  Just as the council sits on a knife-edge between LibDems and Labour, so Islington South is one of the closest LibDem/Labour marginal parliamentary constituencies in the country with only 484 votes between Bridget and the Labour incumbent.

At a dinner at Highbury Roundhouse yesterday, Vince spoke about how all three political parties had gone through difficult times over the last few years.  While the LibDems had now overcome their leadership crisis in 2006-7, Labour, has abandonned its former principles and lost its way with the contempt for the electorate shown by Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell, the war in Iraq and Gordon Brown’s indecision and lack of political vision beyond his personal ambition to become and remain prime minister.  The Tories meanwhile have failed to grab the opportunity of Labour’s decline with their abandonment of concern for the environment and the recent public disagreements about economic policy between George Osborne and David Cameron.

On the economy, Vince, who is the only national politician to have foreseen the credit crunch and the current recession, reiterated the Liberal Democrats’ three-point plan to nurse the British economy back to health after the “heart-attack” it has suffered.  He outlined how to do this through reforming the banking system which caused the crisis in the first place, through reducing the government deficit in a controlled and sustainable manner (in contrast with the panic cuts to services planned by other parties) and through a fairer tax system.

Commenting, Islington Council’s finance chief and Highbury councillor, John Gilbert, said:  ”LibDems on Islington council have been implementing the kind of policies Vince advocates nationally, which has allowed us to freeze Islington council tax again this year after bringing it down from the highest in London when Labour used to run the council to one of the ten lowest out of the 33 London boroughs now.  We are determined to keep Islington’s finances on a stable footing through the tough times which undoubtedly lie ahead, while preserving front line services on which local people rely.  As Vince has done nationally, we have shown that locally the Liberal Democrats are the only party with the vision and competence to do this”  

Islington Lib Dems have launched a survey to get residents’ views about what the priorities for Islington should be.

With local elections this May it is time for residents to decide who they want to run the council - the Lib Dems who have a record of success in making Islington better or Labour, whose shameful record includes:

• plans to cut the Whittington Hospital
• voting against Lib Dem plans to put more police on our streets
• and the Iraq war

The Lib Dem have launched 4 pledges. We want you to tell us which of our pledges are most important to you or add your own. You can do this on-line here.
1. We will cut crime

Everyone has the right to live in a safe, clean environment. That’s why local Lib Dems are pledging to cut crime. We will provide more late-night policing on top of regular police patrols provided by the Mayor of London. We will crack down on late licences for bars and clubs. Tougher action will be taken against those who do not clear up after their dogs. Vote now.

2. A better start for our young people
Local Lib Dems on the Council have worked hard to help deliver the best ever school exam results in Islington.
We pledge to build on this success and get better exam results this year too. We also pledge to give local young people more housing points. We will deliver more apprenticeships for our young people to ensure they get the best start in life. Vote now.

3. A greener Islington
Combating climate change and global warming is the single biggest challenge we face. Local Lib Dems are pledging to make Islington greener. One of the ways we will do this is through more local energy generation. This will lower people’s energy bills and create new green, local jobs. Vote now.

4. We will lower taxes
Gordon Brown’s recession means that everyone’s had to tighten their belts. Local Lib Dems believe that money is better off in your pocket rather than in council coffers. Labour councillors voted to raise council tax this year. We’re pledging to keep your council tax among the lowest 10 councils in all of London. Vote now.

5. Or add your own - we want your views too. You can do that by clicking here.

Click here to tell us your priorities for Islington

Highbury LibDem councillor and Leader of Islington Council, Terry Stacy, was at the forefront of the Save the Whittington march today, with colleagues Julie Horten and John Gilbert together with local parliamentary candidate Rhodri Jamieson-Ball and LibDem councillors, candidates and activists from across the borough marching close behind.  There was a phenomenal turn out with several thousand people joining the march as it made its way along Holloway Road from Highbury Corner, past the hospital to Whittington Park.  The protest against the Government’s plans to close the Whittington’s casualty department also hit the national headlines - click here.

All shades of political opinion were united on the march from Communists, Socialist Workers, the Labour Party (who seem not to see their hypocrisy, as it is Gordon Brown’s Labour Government that is behind the plans to close the Whittington casualty department) and even some Tories -  we counted 3 walking behind the Conservative banner!  The Tories have shown a shocking lack of interest in what is undoubtedly the burning issue in local politics: Google “Whittington” with “Liberal Democrat” or “Labour” and you will find plenty of comment on the web, but google “Whittington” and “Conservative” and you’ll find quite a different story.

If you haven’t signed our petition yet, you can do so here

More pictures of the march can be found by clicking on this link: Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

Local LibDem councillors, Terry Stacy, John Gilbert and Laura Willoughby have written to Transport for London, controlled by the Tory mayor, to ask them to reconsider the planned closure of the night service on route 236 from Finsbury Park to Hackney.  Boris Johnson’s planned cut to the 236 follows a 20% rise in bus fares last month.

John, Terry and Laura have pointed out to TfL that around 1,000 people travel on the 236 at night each week and that it provides a vital link between Highbury and the Homerton Hospital as well as other parts of Hackney and Newington Green.  Islington has one of the lowest levels of car ownership in the country and local night workers rely on bus services.  As usual it is the least well-off who will be hardest hit by Boris’ cuts.

If you would like to join our campaign, please sign our petition here.

Network Rail have distributed letters to houses near Highbury & Islington and Canonbury stations about the next stage of work on the London Overground line from Stratford to Gospel Oak.  The line will now be completely closed from 20 February until 31 May to allow work to take place 7 days a week between 8am and 10pm while they renew the track, install overhead power lines and upgrade the signalling system. They will also be lengthening platforms and installing lifts at some stations including Canonbury and Highbury & Islington.  Corsica Street will continue to be one of the access points they use to get to the tracks.

 All this will cause disruption for residents.  The council has imposed conditions on the work to keep noise to a minimum and Terry, John, Julie and Laura will be monitoring the situation carefully - if you are having problems because of the works, you should let Network Rail know direct on 08457 11 41 41, but please let us know too by emailing us at councillors@highburyeast.org.uk and we will take it up with the council and with Network Rail management.

You can find further details of the works on the Network Rail website.  Details of replacement buses and other alternative transport are in a TfL leaflet which can be viewed online by clicking here.

Network Rail are also organising a drop-in session at which residents can have their questions about the works answered.  This will take place next Wednesday, 10th February between 4.30 and 7.30pm at the Laycock Professional Development Centre on Laycock Street (also accessible from Highbury Station Road)

Demolition of the derilict old works depot in the north west corner of Highbury Fields near Framfield Road is now scheduled for the spring, which will add 300 square metres of park space for residents to enjoy.  After consultation with local residents about how they would like the new area to look, the council has produced an artist’s impression of the corner, which is reproduced above.  There will be landscaped areas with new planting and shrubs, a path to join onto the existing footways, new lighting (in the same style as the existing Victorian-style lamps on Highbury Terrace) and a secure fence to protect the back gardens of houses on the north side of Framfield Road.

Local Highbury East councillors Terry Stacy, John Gilbert and Laura Willoughby are proud that the LibDem-run council has brought about this extension to the useable area of the Fields, a significant step towards implementing the community backed “Vision for Highbury Fields” and towards investing the £1million programme of improvements for the area.

The campaign is gaining pace to save the Accident and Emergency Department from the Government’s proposals to axe it.  Locally Julie, John and Terry have been calling on residents asking them to sign our petition to stop the A&E department being moved to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead. 

Meanwhile, the wider the campaign organised by the Defend the Whittington Hospital Coalition is also gathering steam.  A demonstration to show people’s anger at the closure plans is being organised on Saturday 27 February starting at noon on Highbury Fields and marching up the Holloway Road past the hospital and on to  a rally in Whittington Park.  Julie, Terry and John will be supporting the demonstration: further details and a flyer can be found here and more information on the Coalition and the events it is organising can be accessed from their homepage here.

If you would like to sign our petition and haven’t already done so, you can sign online by clicking here

The Metropolitan Police have released crime figures for 2009 which show a significant reduction in the levels of burglary, criminal damage, drugs offences and robbery. There has been a growth in fraud and forgery and small increases in theft and violence against the person. The figures also show that Highbury is one of the safer parts of Islington with our crime rates below the borough average for all categories of offence except fraud and forgery. With that same exception, we are also below the average for the whole Metropolitan Police area in all categories of crime.  You can read the detailed findings on the Metropolitan Police website by clicking here.  The detailed figures for the whole borough are here.

Much of this improvement is down to the continued hard work of our local Safer Neighbourhoods Team whose latest newsletter can be accessed from the Council’s website by clicking here.  The Safer Neighbourhood Panel, which brings together the Safer Neighbourhood Team, residents and councillors, has set burglary,  drugs, bike theft and car crime as the priority areas for the Team to crack down on.  We will be reviewing these priorities with the police in the light of the latest statistics.  If you have views on whether the priorities should stay the same or be changed, please let us know by posting a comment on this page or by emailing us at councillors@highburyeast.org.uk.

Islington’s Liberal Democrat councillors called an emergency debate on the threat the the future of Accident and Emergency Services at the Whittington Hospital.

If you haven’t already, please sign our petition at:
www.savethewhittington.com

The Guardian newspaper’s website now features a short film which was extratcted from ‘Views from a Pear Tree’, the DVD made by residents of Highbury Quadrant estate to tell the stories of the estate of and some of the people who live there.  Follow this link to view the film: Guardian website, but remember you read it here first!