21 April 2005
The E plan
Definitely it feels like we're making big advances here in West Ham. The momentum of Monday night's meeting has given us a boost, with volunteers dropping into the office all day who were inspired by it to come and help.
We send out people to leaflet the tubes, parts of Plaistow that we haven't yet done, canvass in East Ham and go out leafletting in Beckton. We are so keen that we send two people to leaflet some of the same streets. Luckily the second leafletter spots our broadsheet sticking out of letterboxes before long and stops.
Our meetings in the past two days consist of: hustings at the 6th form college with around 80 students and some staff with me, the Tory and Lyn Brown, the Labour candidate; a Defend Council Housing hustings in Stratford; a meeting of Bangladeshi women in a community centre; plus every day we go to a different school to meet the parents and explain about Respect. Abdul Khaliq, the East Ham Respect candidate, does the same in his area.
Even the least favourable schools provide a good experience: most parents are very friendly, a few are too dispirited to even want to discuss politics but even those are rarely hostile. What they feel is that no one cares about them and that all politicians are the same and will do nothing for them. What an indictment of this Labour government which was elected on such high hopes but is now regarded as the equal of the Tories in cynicism and spin. You can see the hurt in the eyes of people like the young man who told me that he was 23 and that the government had never done anything for him.
You can see the hurt too in the eyes of the Bangladeshi women when you talk about the attacks on the civil liberties of young Muslims. These are their children, and they had hoped they would not suffer the same racism that earlier generations had experienced when they came here. Some hope, with Labour ministers sounding off about Muslims speaking English at home or saying that they should expect to be stopped and searched more than any other section of the community.
At this meeting there was a quiet determination to vote Respect _ at the student meeting the determination was more strongly put. I reckon we could count on 80 -90 % of the room _ some not old enough to vote (although they should be because they can get married and join the army) but all with friends and family who are. Lyn Brown could not defend the government on these racist remarks but she and the Tory closed ranks in saying that their parties were a broad church.
Well Respect is a coalition of people with different views _ that doesn't mean we are unprincipled. No one in Respect is a racist, or supported the war, or wants privatisation.
At the DCH hustings Labour and Tories didn't even send a representative _that says it all. After that I went down to Tower Hamlets to see George Galloway after his meeting was attacked by a Muslim group which is against voting at all _ a wonderful recipe for not registering your opinions and being counted as apathetic.
These groups see Respect as a threat because we are bringing everyone together and they want to maintain the divisions. They have little support and after this attack, plus the one on the Muslim Council of Britain, will be even more marginalised.
The attack sounded really bad, and George's daughter Lucy plus her two little children were there. These things shake people up.
Got home about midnight having got a black cab from Whitechapel to Hackney (no more than 2 miles) which cost £13.
On the subject of transport, Ken Livingstone promised much in his election last year and I was happy to transfer to him but has let people down on this question. Bus fares in outer London zones have leapt from 70p to £1.20, tube fares are up, taxi fares are up, and he is raising the congestion charge. That's really fighting the power isn't it?
Livingstone is pictured today on the front of the Guardian with Oona King in Brick Lane. He should be ashamed to promote a warmonger against George. It's okay for him to stand against Labour but not anyone else, it seems. Livingstone will, I predict, lose friends over this and I don't see it doing King any good with the anti war voters.
On a lighter note, my campaign manager Ghada and I are planning a post election enterprise _ the e plan diet. There's nothing like an election for losing the pounds and we are both losing weight through endless walking, carrying, climbing stairs and few opportunities to eat (see earlier blogs). And thanks to Judith for the Carluccio's bag.
So if you want to lose weight, just come to Newham.
We send out people to leaflet the tubes, parts of Plaistow that we haven't yet done, canvass in East Ham and go out leafletting in Beckton. We are so keen that we send two people to leaflet some of the same streets. Luckily the second leafletter spots our broadsheet sticking out of letterboxes before long and stops.
Our meetings in the past two days consist of: hustings at the 6th form college with around 80 students and some staff with me, the Tory and Lyn Brown, the Labour candidate; a Defend Council Housing hustings in Stratford; a meeting of Bangladeshi women in a community centre; plus every day we go to a different school to meet the parents and explain about Respect. Abdul Khaliq, the East Ham Respect candidate, does the same in his area.
Even the least favourable schools provide a good experience: most parents are very friendly, a few are too dispirited to even want to discuss politics but even those are rarely hostile. What they feel is that no one cares about them and that all politicians are the same and will do nothing for them. What an indictment of this Labour government which was elected on such high hopes but is now regarded as the equal of the Tories in cynicism and spin. You can see the hurt in the eyes of people like the young man who told me that he was 23 and that the government had never done anything for him.
You can see the hurt too in the eyes of the Bangladeshi women when you talk about the attacks on the civil liberties of young Muslims. These are their children, and they had hoped they would not suffer the same racism that earlier generations had experienced when they came here. Some hope, with Labour ministers sounding off about Muslims speaking English at home or saying that they should expect to be stopped and searched more than any other section of the community.
At this meeting there was a quiet determination to vote Respect _ at the student meeting the determination was more strongly put. I reckon we could count on 80 -90 % of the room _ some not old enough to vote (although they should be because they can get married and join the army) but all with friends and family who are. Lyn Brown could not defend the government on these racist remarks but she and the Tory closed ranks in saying that their parties were a broad church.
Well Respect is a coalition of people with different views _ that doesn't mean we are unprincipled. No one in Respect is a racist, or supported the war, or wants privatisation.
At the DCH hustings Labour and Tories didn't even send a representative _that says it all. After that I went down to Tower Hamlets to see George Galloway after his meeting was attacked by a Muslim group which is against voting at all _ a wonderful recipe for not registering your opinions and being counted as apathetic.
These groups see Respect as a threat because we are bringing everyone together and they want to maintain the divisions. They have little support and after this attack, plus the one on the Muslim Council of Britain, will be even more marginalised.
The attack sounded really bad, and George's daughter Lucy plus her two little children were there. These things shake people up.
Got home about midnight having got a black cab from Whitechapel to Hackney (no more than 2 miles) which cost £13.
On the subject of transport, Ken Livingstone promised much in his election last year and I was happy to transfer to him but has let people down on this question. Bus fares in outer London zones have leapt from 70p to £1.20, tube fares are up, taxi fares are up, and he is raising the congestion charge. That's really fighting the power isn't it?
Livingstone is pictured today on the front of the Guardian with Oona King in Brick Lane. He should be ashamed to promote a warmonger against George. It's okay for him to stand against Labour but not anyone else, it seems. Livingstone will, I predict, lose friends over this and I don't see it doing King any good with the anti war voters.
On a lighter note, my campaign manager Ghada and I are planning a post election enterprise _ the e plan diet. There's nothing like an election for losing the pounds and we are both losing weight through endless walking, carrying, climbing stairs and few opportunities to eat (see earlier blogs). And thanks to Judith for the Carluccio's bag.
So if you want to lose weight, just come to Newham.
