Posts

Knife crime in Waltham Forest: a nasty little scandal (1)

May 5, 2017 Gang Prevention Programme, Policing/crime

The Waltham Forest Guardian’s Joe Roberts recently reported that between April 2016 and April 2017 there were 384 knife crimes in the borough, 34 per cent up on the previous year. These figures are shocking enough in themselves, but data released in response to a new Freedom of Information Act inquiry reveals that the surge in such violence has a further worrying dimension. Police performance in clearing up crime is measured by Sanction Detection Rates (SDRs). Briefly, a ‘sanction detection’ is recorded where a suspect has been identified as responsible for committing a particular offense, and then receives ‘an official sanction’, for example is charged, or receives a caution. So the SDR for... »

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John Cryer MP: a news roundup

April 28, 2017 John Cryer MP, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

When John Cryer moved his home to Lewisham in 2015, many Labour party members hereabouts were disappointed, as they believed he had pledged that, as long as he represented Leyton and Wanstead, he would live there too. But any outright criticism was muted, because Mr. Cryer seemed motivated by the most touching of human concerns. He had recently married Labour activist Ellie Reeves, and they now had a very young baby. The reason for the move, he explained, was all about his wife and child. As he told the Waltham Forest Guardian: ‘“After our baby was born in January we both found it very difficult without any family nearby. We did not want to move and wanted to stay in Leyton but decided to mo... »

The E11 BID Co. saga continues

April 17, 2017 E11 BID Co.

As this blog has extensively documented, Leytonstone’s Business Improvement District (BID) scheme, and more particularly the company that is supposed to run it,  the E11 BID Co., have rarely been free from controversy. Now fresh revelations suggest that the worrying pattern continues. On paper, the way that the BID works is fairly straightforward. Each business rate payer in Leytonstone is billed annually for one per cent of their property’s rateable value; the money is collected by LBWF and then passed on to the E11 BID Co.; and the latter then uses it to make the area commercially more attractive, thus benefiting not just the traders but also the local community as a whole. Separatel... »

Councillor Saima Mahmud’s surreptitious Town Hall award ceremonies: a further update

April 5, 2017 Cllr. Saima Mahmud, Uncategorized, Waltham Forest Labour Party

Regular readers of this blog will remember that last year’s Mayor, Cllr. Saima Mahmud, hosted surreptitious award ceremonies, organised by two private citizens, in the Mayor’s Parlour; and that the beneficiaries of these events included several controversial figures. The most unpleasant without doubt was the Pakistani Senator Sirajul Haq, a man known, amongst other things, for ranting about the Jews and opposing legislation on domestic violence – in other words espousing views which are not only abhorrent in themselves, but also (important in this context) diametrically opposed to LBWF community cohesion policies. Now the Guido Faulkes blog reveals that this is not the only link between Labo... »

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Save Our Buses and Mini-Holland

April 5, 2017 Mini Holland

As this blog has observed before, many of those who vociferously debate Mini-Holland in Waltham Forest remain unconvincing, largely because of their unfortunate habit of confusing anecdote and assertion with properly grounded research. However, there are exceptions, and one that stands out is the organisation Save Our Buses (SOB). SOB was formed in 1990, and has been campaigning pretty much ever since, along the way becoming an authoritative voice in the borough. What makes it stand out is the forensic nature of its approach, and the clarity of its briefings. Inevitably, over the past couple of years, SOB has turned its attention to the impact of Mini-Holland, and its conclusions are fairly ... »

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