North London branch report that they had distributed by last Saturday all of the 3000 leaflets they needed to cover Junction ward in Islington. West London had also distributed 3000 by last Saturday, mostly in Barnes ward but all in the Barnes area of Richmond. South London distributed between 1000 and 2000 of the 2000 they ordered, all in Southwark but not all in Borough & Bankside ward which contains many council blocks which cannot be accessed easily. A couple of hundred were distributed yesterday at a May Day rally in Clerkenwell, which is actually in the borough of Islington though of course most of the marchers will have come from all parts of London, not that that really matters. A few replies to the leaflet (which contained a cut-off Freepost reply coupon) have already been received.
In Southwark one of the Tory candidates in London Bridge & West Bermondsey ward has died, meaning that the election there has had to be called off and will now take place on 14 June. As this is the ward next to the one we're contesting any leaflets left over could be distributed there.
Tomorrow two of our candidates, since they live in their ward, can "vote for themselves for a change"; which is what we advocate all voters to do.
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Showing posts with label Richmond. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richmond. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 02, 2018
Friday, April 27, 2018
The case not the face
Here is the article and photo from yesterday's Southwark News mentioned in the last blog:
https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/local-election-2018-socialist-party-of-great-britains-kevin-parkin-says-southwarks-problems-cant-be-solved-by-capitalism/
By contrast, today's local Richmond paper, The Richmond & Twickenham Times (which has become a real rag compared with what it used to be), has nothing whatsoever on the elections. When they mentioned them a couple of weeks ago they got their facts wrong and had to publish a correction last week (they said there were no Labour councillors in Richmond whereas there were two, defections from the LibDems to Corbyn, though it's true there won't be any after next week).
https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/local-election-2018-socialist-party-of-great-britains-kevin-parkin-says-southwarks-problems-cant-be-solved-by-capitalism/
By contrast, today's local Richmond paper, The Richmond & Twickenham Times (which has become a real rag compared with what it used to be), has nothing whatsoever on the elections. When they mentioned them a couple of weeks ago they got their facts wrong and had to publish a correction last week (they said there were no Labour councillors in Richmond whereas there were two, defections from the LibDems to Corbyn, though it's true there won't be any after next week).
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Activity yesterday
Five, including a comrade visiting from New Zealand, were out in King Street, Hammersmith (just over the bridge from Barnes ward of Richmond where we are standing) running a street stall for a couple of hours. Nearby was a rival stall from the European Movement handing out anti-Brexit leaflets calling for another referendum.
As our election leaflets won't be arriving until Monday we handed out the one "The problem is not the Tories ... it's capitalism" which also has a tear-off freepost reply coupon. Must have given out 200-300. Two responses that day to Head Office by phone and email (well above par for the course). Also sold a couple of Socialist Standards and a couple of pamphlets. We don't know how many of the passers-by were from Barnes (not that it really matters), but we met a Green Party candidate standing in Chelsea & Kensington.
Meanwhile in Peckham on the other side of London our candidate in Borough & Bankside ward of Southwark, Kevin Parkin, told a hustings on planning and regeneration there that the problem of houses left empty to speculate on rising prices existed in his area of the borough too and was a consequence of housing, like everything else under capitalism, being produced for profit not for use.
As our election leaflets won't be arriving until Monday we handed out the one "The problem is not the Tories ... it's capitalism" which also has a tear-off freepost reply coupon. Must have given out 200-300. Two responses that day to Head Office by phone and email (well above par for the course). Also sold a couple of Socialist Standards and a couple of pamphlets. We don't know how many of the passers-by were from Barnes (not that it really matters), but we met a Green Party candidate standing in Chelsea & Kensington.
Meanwhile in Peckham on the other side of London our candidate in Borough & Bankside ward of Southwark, Kevin Parkin, told a hustings on planning and regeneration there that the problem of houses left empty to speculate on rising prices existed in his area of the borough too and was a consequence of housing, like everything else under capitalism, being produced for profit not for use.
Monday, April 09, 2018
Who are opponents are
The list of candidates has now been publshed.
In Islington Junction ward there are 13 condidates for the 3 seats: 3 each from Labour, the Tories, the LibDems and the Greens, and us.
In Richmond Barnes ward there are 10: 3 each from the Tories and Labour, 2 from the LibDems, 1 Green, and us.
In Southwark Borough & Bankside ward there are 14: 3 each from Labour, the Tories, the LibDems and the Greens, and 1 each from us and the Women's Equality Party (their headquarters are in the ward).
In Islington Junction ward there are 13 condidates for the 3 seats: 3 each from Labour, the Tories, the LibDems and the Greens, and us.
In Richmond Barnes ward there are 10: 3 each from the Tories and Labour, 2 from the LibDems, 1 Green, and us.
In Southwark Borough & Bankside ward there are 14: 3 each from Labour, the Tories, the LibDems and the Greens, and 1 each from us and the Women's Equality Party (their headquarters are in the ward).
Friday, March 30, 2018
Where we are standing
The three wards we are contesting are Junction ward in Islington, Barnes ward in Richmond, and Borough & Bankside ward in Southwark. The candidates are, respectively, Bill Martin, Adam Buick and Kevin Parkin.
Nominations have to be in by noon next Friday, 6 April, and members of the branches running the campaigns (North, West and South London) are in the process of gathering the 10 signatures of those on the electoral register required to stand.
Nominations have to be in by noon next Friday, 6 April, and members of the branches running the campaigns (North, West and South London) are in the process of gathering the 10 signatures of those on the electoral register required to stand.
Monday, May 16, 2016
More psephology
The London Elects site has now published the results by borough (and ward). Here are our results by borough:
Lambeth 729 (0.74%)
Southwark 604 (0.69)
Hounslow 504 (0.65)
Waltham Forest 496 (0.64)
Hackney 464 (0.60)
Kingston 293 (0.50)
Islington 333 (0.45)
Richmond 268 (0.35)
This confirms past experience that we do better in Labour areas than elsewhere, though the rather surprising result in Islington (where we have contested many elections over the years) would seem go against this.
Lambeth 729 (0.74%)
Southwark 604 (0.69)
Hounslow 504 (0.65)
Waltham Forest 496 (0.64)
Hackney 464 (0.60)
Kingston 293 (0.50)
Islington 333 (0.45)
Richmond 268 (0.35)
This confirms past experience that we do better in Labour areas than elsewhere, though the rather surprising result in Islington (where we have contested many elections over the years) would seem go against this.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
South West street stalls
West London branch's experiment with doing two street stalls in different parts of the constituency with two members each rather than one with four members worked. Successful stalls were held in Hounslow and Chiswick. As it happened, with the same result: leaflets handed out, a few pamphlets sold, a contact made and our presence noticed.
It also gave us a chance to get the feel of the areas which are in fact different. Richmond and Kingston are leafy suburbs with only a couple of Labour councillors between them (the one in Richmond a defector from the LibDems rather than directly elected). Hounslow is Labour-dominated with only a handful of Tories (from wards in Chiswick as it happens), with a large population of people from a South Asian background and migrants from Poland and Rumania.
In Hounslow there were three rival stalls, all religious, two christian and one muslim (who gave us a free copy of the koran), fulfilling the role of being the heart of a heartless world as Marx once put it.In fact we had to discuss religion as much as politics, with a sikh and a christain who were both highly critical of islam and, as they saw it, the preference given to its followers by the government and the likes of the SWP. We said that we were not afraid to criticise islam as a religion, but we were opposed to all religion and all religions. We would have sold another copy of our pamphlet How the Gods Were Made if we'd another one with us.
On the political side, a man from Poland shouted at us that he had come from a "post-communist country". We shouted back that he'd come from a post-state-capitalist one. At least two people defended extending Heathrow airport as this would provide more local jobs, one saying that Boris was mad because he wanted to close down Heathrow. A bit of an exaggeration of his position, though in line with its logic because this would be the only way of stopping the inhabitants of the leafy suburbs being disturbed in their back yards by aircraft noise.
Next Saturday we'll have two stalls again, one in Kingston and the other in Brentford.
It also gave us a chance to get the feel of the areas which are in fact different. Richmond and Kingston are leafy suburbs with only a couple of Labour councillors between them (the one in Richmond a defector from the LibDems rather than directly elected). Hounslow is Labour-dominated with only a handful of Tories (from wards in Chiswick as it happens), with a large population of people from a South Asian background and migrants from Poland and Rumania.
In Hounslow there were three rival stalls, all religious, two christian and one muslim (who gave us a free copy of the koran), fulfilling the role of being the heart of a heartless world as Marx once put it.In fact we had to discuss religion as much as politics, with a sikh and a christain who were both highly critical of islam and, as they saw it, the preference given to its followers by the government and the likes of the SWP. We said that we were not afraid to criticise islam as a religion, but we were opposed to all religion and all religions. We would have sold another copy of our pamphlet How the Gods Were Made if we'd another one with us.
On the political side, a man from Poland shouted at us that he had come from a "post-communist country". We shouted back that he'd come from a post-state-capitalist one. At least two people defended extending Heathrow airport as this would provide more local jobs, one saying that Boris was mad because he wanted to close down Heathrow. A bit of an exaggeration of his position, though in line with its logic because this would be the only way of stopping the inhabitants of the leafy suburbs being disturbed in their back yards by aircraft noise.
Next Saturday we'll have two stalls again, one in Kingston and the other in Brentford.
Monday, March 14, 2016
No, we won't be
We have now recent an email letter from the local NUT organiser officially inviting us to their Education Question Time in Richmond on Thursday. We have thanked her and accepted, so we'll be there on the platform with the other declared candidates (except the outgoing Tory member for the constituency, Tony Arbour)
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Will they no-platform us?
According to a quarter page advert in Friday's Richmond & Twickenham Times there's a question time meeting on education in Richmond on Thursday 17 March to be addressed by the candidates standing in the GLA South West constituency which we are contesting. Full details here.
Even though the Greater London Talking Shop has no responsibility for education, "poverty and inequality", "affordable housing" and "exam factory conditions" need to be discussed. In fact, during this election, we'll be bringing up much broader issues: capitalism as the cause of these and many other problems and that there is no soluttion to them within one country. Capitalism is a world system whose economic laws limit what any government can do. Only worldwide socialism can provide the only framework in which they can be constructively and lastingly solved.
We were not invited, no doubt in the first instance because the organisers (the local NUT branch) would not have been aware that we are standing. The local press were informed a couple of weeks ago but have not yet informed their readers. We have now let the organisers know and we'll see what happens. In any event, West London branch members will be at the meeting to leaflet it and make sure that everyone attending knows we will be standing.
There may well be others standing too as nominations don't close till 31 March.
Even though the Greater London Talking Shop has no responsibility for education, "poverty and inequality", "affordable housing" and "exam factory conditions" need to be discussed. In fact, during this election, we'll be bringing up much broader issues: capitalism as the cause of these and many other problems and that there is no soluttion to them within one country. Capitalism is a world system whose economic laws limit what any government can do. Only worldwide socialism can provide the only framework in which they can be constructively and lastingly solved.
We were not invited, no doubt in the first instance because the organisers (the local NUT branch) would not have been aware that we are standing. The local press were informed a couple of weeks ago but have not yet informed their readers. We have now let the organisers know and we'll see what happens. In any event, West London branch members will be at the meeting to leaflet it and make sure that everyone attending knows we will be standing.
There may well be others standing too as nominations don't close till 31 March.
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