A note for readers…
This is a personal blog, which aims to scrutinise the powers that be in Waltham Forest, from the Council (hereafter London Borough of Waltham Forest or LBWF), both elected members and staff; to our MP... »
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The Whitefield Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (3): Leigh Day now pursuing civil claims including against the London Borough of Waltham Forest, and related press coverage
(1) Part of Leigh Day’s press release, posted on 30 July 2026: (2) Marco Marcelline in the Waltham Forest Echo, dated 30 July 2026: https://walthamforestecho.co.uk/2026/07/30/council-buried-whitefield... »
The Whitefield Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (2): more confusion and controversies
Further to an earlier post (see links) there are two additional points that are worth making about the contents of the Whitefield Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR). The first concerns w... »
Burnham-ism: a warning from (Waltham Forest) history
Yes, definitely, let’s devolve power and money to the localities, because ‘communities know better than anyone else what’s right for them’. Power to the people! What could possibly go wrong? Wel... »
The Whitefield Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (1): what it says, what it – very regrettably – overlooks, and why it fails
This post looks in some detail at the recently published Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) regarding the historic child abuse at Whitefield School (or, to give it its formal title ‘Lear... »
The Review into historic child abuse at Whitefield is due out next week, but questions persist about which organisations kept vital evidence, and which didn’t
It is said that the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) into child abuse at Whitefield School during 2014-17 finally will be released next week, having taken an astonishing 16 months long... »
Nine years after Grenfell, 64 of LBWF’s 65 low-rise and high-rise housing blocks are still not fire safe. How can this have been allowed to happen?
In 2020, after it was involved in several fire safety scandals, including litigation with a supplier, LBWF began a remediation programme (RP) to bring its housing stock ‘up to the most modern…safety s... »
Journalist Andrew Kersley’s investigation of Waltham Forest resident Tracey Turnell’s tragic death causes a stir, but after at first feigning interest, the Greens quickly chicken out
Journalist Andrew Kersley’s investigation of Waltham Forest resident Tracey Turnell’s tragic death, published on 30 May in The Londoner, has deservedly provoked much positive interest and comment (see... »
LBWF is quietly paying consultancy Newton c. £5m. to help it make savings in services for those local residents most in need
From the beginning of the year, LBWF has been working with a big consultancy, Newton Consulting Ltd., on a project to deliver ‘change across its organisation, with a focus on… Housing ... »
‘How others see us’, an occasional series, No.2: The Londoner’s Andrew Kersley revisits the tragic death of Waltham Forest resident Tracey Turnell and eviscerates LBWF
The Londoner has just published Andrew Kersley’s forensic investigation of the tragic death of Waltham Forest resident Tracey Turnell, the so called ‘body in the wheelchair’ case, here: https://w... »
In Waltham Forest, the Greens take the Town Hall, but will ‘a new kind of council’ follow?
Jubilant at gaining an overall majority in the Town Hall, the Greens are promising major changes, no less than ‘a new kind of council’. However, there are several flies in the ointment, as this post e... »