You can sign it here – and please pass it on to your contacts!

 If you cant make the surgery then feel free to email any of our Clapham Town councillors;

Councillor Nigel Haselden

Councillor Helen O’Malley

Councillor Christopher Wellbelove

After last week’s VAT rise, we now have the final masterstroke in Michael Gove’s plan to stop that horrific scheme to continue improving schools. You can just see it now, the last Labour government sitting in the death star, cackling away as it planned to give kids a school building with a functioning roof. Evil. That’s what it was. Pure, undiluted evil.

Seriously though, Gove’s latest mad cap lunge at policy making is one that could have an even bigger impact than Nick and Dave’s VAT rise. In one swoop the government has taken funding from an excellent and affordable schools programme that builds on past investment in a way that surely, even in these tough economic times, could have been protected. It was designed to renew or rebuild tired buildings that had not been covered by past projects, or needed a further uplift to keep them to a high standard. 

But now, that has all been binned, either placed under review or scrapped.  The “axe” list for Lambeth – revealed late last week after a few more tiresome Gove Gaffs – is a long one and tallies to a staggering £200 million. Thousands of children and their families will be affected. And the final cherry on the cake is that Lambeth has already spent more than £6 million on preparing planning permissions and producing designs for the eleven new schools which were to go ahead. That will now go down the drain. 

None of the schools are thankfully in Clapham Town, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t care. Besides the fact it is plain wrong, these cuts to schools, like those being announced elsewhere by Vince, Nick and Davie on a daily basis, will have a much wider impact than just the areas they are in.  

By cancelling these projects, money will also be sucked out of local businesses, particularly construction firms, who may have to cut the pay or even the jobs of their employees – hard working labourers, engineers and so on. These people will obviously face a tough time ahead and will cut back on their own spending, resulting on a further impact for the local economy. Whether you have kids or not, this is a move that could well have a knock on effect on you or your friends, even if you don’t directly realise it. 

To fight these cuts, Lambeth Labour are now leading a ‘Save Our Schools’ campaign, to shame the Tory/Lib Dem government into reversing this decision. They are urging local residents to write to Education secretary Michael Gove telling him how their decision will affect their education, and urging him to restore the funding Lambeth needs.

He can be contacted at the below addresses – get in touch and express your views!

The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP
Secretary of State for Education
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3BT

Or email: ministers@education.gsi.gov.uk

Norwood Expo	24 July	11am-4pm	Norwood Park
Open commission meeting	29 July	6pm-8.30pm	Lambeth Town Hall
Vauxhall Expo	11 September	11am-6pm	Spring Gardens
Stockwell Expo	25 September	11am-6.30pm	Larkhall Park
Herne Hill Expo	2/3 October	11am-6pm	Herne Hill station
Clapham Park Expo	16/23 October	11.00am – 2.00pm	Clapham Park (venues to be confirmed)

For more details of what happens at these meetings, have a look at Lambeth’s website.

“Of all the measures to restore the public finances it seems to me that a VAT rise has to be among the least welcome of all of the alternatives”

This went down like a lead balloon with his colleagues – dont expect an Xmas card from Nick Clegg this year Andrew. A further amendment from Labour that would have exempted groups such as charities, local authorities and other groups was also voted down by the Conservative government.

This isnt, as some Tories claimed yesterday, a courgeous move, its one that is going to hurt millions across the country, as well as those on low and middle incomes throughout Clapham Town. Every part of the government needs to save money to combat the aftermath of the global recession, but we need to protect those services and sections of society – charities and pensioners in this case – that can least afford more taxes and less support.

A key vote in the House of Commons will decide whether or not the Coalition Conservative government’s planned hike in VAT will come into force – and thereby hit millions of people who can least afford it. Vince Cable, who was clearly a bit confused over just about everything when he spoke to the Telegraph last month,  still believes it is a regressive tax measure that hurts the less well off. Nice of him to admit, but like the rest of the Liberal Democrats he appears willing to march into the lobby tomorrow night with his Tory chums.

There is only one way to stop this – let the Lib-Cons know that they shouldn’t renege on their key election pledge and let down thousands of people in Clapham. You can either do this by contacting their MPs on the TheyWorkForYou site, or alternatively signing Labour’s petition which we’ll present to the 57 liberal democrats in the Commons.

Its not too late to send a message to the Lib Dems – so take action before tomorrow night’s vote!

Also don’t forget the Lambeth NHS public meeting which will be taking place this coming Wednesday, as we flagged up earlier this week. Remember to send your view to your local councillors if you have any.

The meeting will kick off at 6pm on Wednesday, 14th July. If you have a view on anything to do with local healthcare services it might be worth popping along to get your opinions across. Alternatively let us know what you think by posting a comment on this blog so your councillors can take your views to the meeting. For more information see here.

It was horrific, a wave of caffeine hyped suits jumping up and down trying to win the “Ive shut down the most school projects/transport schemes” competition. The last time I saw something that bad was when I was at a relative’s wedding and had to watch a succession of boozed up middle age men trying to out do each other with ever more shocking interpretations of the funky chicken.

One of the most deplorable parts of the budget (and its up against some stiff competition for that title) was the decision to raise VAT to 20%. This is clearly a regressive tax, as Vince Cable once said in the time before he had to clear his media interviews with the Conservative press office. 

The rise will hit those who can least afford it, especially the elderly and those with families throughout Clapham Town, whether it’s on the estates of Heath Road or the leafy roads around the Old Town. Contrary to what the Tories and Liberals say, its not necessary and not fair.

Unfortunately only two Lib Dem MPs were able to locate their principles and vote against this increase.  However, you can still fight these moves, either by adding to the 25,000 who have joined Labour recently or by logging onto our website to see how you can campaign further. Whatever you decide to do, don’t take these measures lying down!

The surgery will instead be at Heathbrook Hall between 11am and noon. Its part of a new programme of roving surgeries that the councillors are organising that hopefully will see surgeries taking place in most parts of the ward in the next few years.

Feel free to come along with any issues, problems or feedback you have for Christopher Wellbelove, who’ll be running this one. Alternatively you can email him at CWellbelove@lambeth.gov.uk