It is several months now since the Green Party elected its first Green Leader, Caroline Lucas MEP. Caroline has spent much of this time explaining the importance of the Green New Deal a strategy for taking us out of recession, addressing long term structural problems with our banking system and ensuring the nation remains working. Along with other renowned Green thinkers and activists, "the Green New Deal Group", a set of policies have been put together and in my view are crucial to our recovery.
The Green New Deal takes us back to the Roosevelt years when the US struggled to get out of the recession which saw millions lose their jobs and people flee their homes often as a result of repossession by banks and head West looking for work. This time the "Green New Deal" seeks to address a set of problems: climate change, the credit crunch and impending recession.
Job creation would be promoted and climate change combatted through investment in the green energy sector: energy efficiency and renewables. By raising the standards of insulation in our homes not only will we have higher levels of comfort and lower fuel bills but we will also reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions. Combined with seeking to make every building a source of energy through solar panels, ground source heat pumps etc even more can be done to combat climate change.
The tools would be, not only awareness raising and a small fund for subsidies, but a large £50bn fund combined crucially with skills training. An Oil Legacy Fund is proposed, paid for by a windfall tax on energy companies, which would pay for this.
And for longer term structural security banking reform is proposed which will involve separating investment banks from retail banks and tightening regulation all round.
What does this mean to me as a councillor working at a local level? It means pushing for an integrated approach by Camden which involves investing in insulation and renewables levering in money from energy companies to pay for this but also investing in and ensuring we have appropriate skills training. We have a vast deficiency in people who are able to insulated your floors or put in good quality double-glazing. Camden could be and should be doing more to use what will be a fallow period to train people up to take on these jobs. Our Green MEP Jean Lambert has also been working to have the training agenda included Europe wide (see Jean's new report "Green Work: Employment and Skills - the Climate Change Challenge" http://www.jeanlambertmep.org.uk/reports_publication.php) . This is what the Greens are asking for within Camden. We have yet to see a commitment by the Lib-Dem/Conservative administration to adopt this forward-looking integrated approach.
Sunday 28 December 2008
Saturday 16 August 2008
The Standing Committee for the Muslim Community in Camden
I was invited to speak at the inaugural meeting of Camden's new Committe for Muslim Organisations which took place last Friday. I addressed the meeting along with our local MP, Frank Dobson. It was a good opportunity to make contact with a full range of organisations from different Bangladeshi community groups to Somali groups too, and useful to get a good understanding of the issues that are a concern to them.
I spoke about worklessness levels especially for women which is one of the major problems in the large Bangladeshi community. The audience recognised this as an issue as well as male unemployment. They were very responsive and clear about what they saw as solutions. They key solution for them was ensuring a skills match amongst the local BME community and the jobs that were available in the area - especially the construction sector. They did not know that a construction training centre had been set up in Kings X for just this purpose. Unbelievably this did not seem to have been communicated to these local organisations.
Other issues for the community included after school or supplementary education for their children to raise their educational levels, provision of halal meat in schools, a burial ground for muslims and a mosque and cultural centre. There has to date been cross-party support for the mosque but it looks as if the other parties are dragging their feet on finding some land. I offered to play a part in pushing the Council to find some land possibly through a s.106 planning agreement in relation to the new Euston development.
All in all it was a great evening for me - it was good to spend some time with fellow immigrants from the sub-continent and explore the issues that affect immigrants in London and try and work together to improve their situation.
I spoke about worklessness levels especially for women which is one of the major problems in the large Bangladeshi community. The audience recognised this as an issue as well as male unemployment. They were very responsive and clear about what they saw as solutions. They key solution for them was ensuring a skills match amongst the local BME community and the jobs that were available in the area - especially the construction sector. They did not know that a construction training centre had been set up in Kings X for just this purpose. Unbelievably this did not seem to have been communicated to these local organisations.
Other issues for the community included after school or supplementary education for their children to raise their educational levels, provision of halal meat in schools, a burial ground for muslims and a mosque and cultural centre. There has to date been cross-party support for the mosque but it looks as if the other parties are dragging their feet on finding some land. I offered to play a part in pushing the Council to find some land possibly through a s.106 planning agreement in relation to the new Euston development.
All in all it was a great evening for me - it was good to spend some time with fellow immigrants from the sub-continent and explore the issues that affect immigrants in London and try and work together to improve their situation.
Justice for Ethnic Minority Lawyers
A report, published by Lord Ouseley this week, showed that black and minority ethnic lawyers are disproportionately targeted by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority.
It highlights the continuing presence of discrimination in many areas of society,and that much work is still needed before organisations like the SRA can claim to be truly fair and even-handed.
As both a lawyer and a member of the government's 14-strong Black,Asian and Minority Ethnic Women Councillors' Taskforce, I felt it was important that I responded to this report.
I would like to see the Law Society, the SRA and organisations representing BME solicitors work together to tackle these problems and show other organisations what can be done.
Rather shockingly, the Ouseley Review found 'evidence of some stereotyping' within the SRA, which led to an assumption of guilt in respect of lawyers from some communities even before an investigation had begun. It also pointed to the focus of regulation on sole practitioners (a higher proportion of black and Asian lawyers are sole practitioners) as a reason for this discrimination.
It found evidence of a greater proportion of BME solicitors referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Board, a greater proportion of cases where a decision was made to intervene in the practice and a disproportionate number barred from student applications or admission to the roll.
While making clear its findings of institutional racism, the report also makes a broad range of recommendations to help eliminate this,from applying equality and diversity strategies to working with the Law Society to develop better systems of support and guidance.
The upside of this review is that it's clear that the public sector equality duties, which have led to impact assessments being carried out, are leading to proper investigation of practices that would previously remain hidden - something that members of the public suspect but cannot establish.
It also reveals how affected we all are by stereotypes of different communities and how this affects the ability of people to be scrupulously fair. Being fair and even-handed is something that we in the UK pride ourselves on and I hope that this report will lead to consideration as to how we can surmount this problem if we are to be a fair multi-cultural society.
For the legal profession it also raises other issues - why do more ethnic minorities become sole practitioners? What are the barriers to them achieving success in larger firms and how can this be tackled? Do sole practitioners require greater assistance and support?
This issue of support and guidance is of increasing importance as fees for legal aid practitioners are cut and lawyers in this sector, who are disproportionately BME, will have to operate on lower incomes.
There is a lot more work to be done to address these issues as well as the disproportionate representation in certain aspects of work of the SRA. I hope to see the Law Society, the SRA and organizations representing BME solicitors work together to tackle these problems and show other organisations what can be done.
It highlights the continuing presence of discrimination in many areas of society,and that much work is still needed before organisations like the SRA can claim to be truly fair and even-handed.
As both a lawyer and a member of the government's 14-strong Black,Asian and Minority Ethnic Women Councillors' Taskforce, I felt it was important that I responded to this report.
I would like to see the Law Society, the SRA and organisations representing BME solicitors work together to tackle these problems and show other organisations what can be done.
Rather shockingly, the Ouseley Review found 'evidence of some stereotyping' within the SRA, which led to an assumption of guilt in respect of lawyers from some communities even before an investigation had begun. It also pointed to the focus of regulation on sole practitioners (a higher proportion of black and Asian lawyers are sole practitioners) as a reason for this discrimination.
It found evidence of a greater proportion of BME solicitors referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Board, a greater proportion of cases where a decision was made to intervene in the practice and a disproportionate number barred from student applications or admission to the roll.
While making clear its findings of institutional racism, the report also makes a broad range of recommendations to help eliminate this,from applying equality and diversity strategies to working with the Law Society to develop better systems of support and guidance.
The upside of this review is that it's clear that the public sector equality duties, which have led to impact assessments being carried out, are leading to proper investigation of practices that would previously remain hidden - something that members of the public suspect but cannot establish.
It also reveals how affected we all are by stereotypes of different communities and how this affects the ability of people to be scrupulously fair. Being fair and even-handed is something that we in the UK pride ourselves on and I hope that this report will lead to consideration as to how we can surmount this problem if we are to be a fair multi-cultural society.
For the legal profession it also raises other issues - why do more ethnic minorities become sole practitioners? What are the barriers to them achieving success in larger firms and how can this be tackled? Do sole practitioners require greater assistance and support?
This issue of support and guidance is of increasing importance as fees for legal aid practitioners are cut and lawyers in this sector, who are disproportionately BME, will have to operate on lower incomes.
There is a lot more work to be done to address these issues as well as the disproportionate representation in certain aspects of work of the SRA. I hope to see the Law Society, the SRA and organizations representing BME solicitors work together to tackle these problems and show other organisations what can be done.
Saturday 2 August 2008
Statement for Equality and Diversity Co-ordinator
I am standing for the Executive, for the post of Equality and Diversity Co-ordinator. This is my official statement, that will go out with the ballot.
A committed Councillor & activist
As a committed Green Party Councillor and activist I am hugely excited by the creation of this new position on the Party’s Executive.
Working to increase women BME councillors
I have recently been appointed to a Government Equalities Office national taskforce. This seeks specifically to increase the number of women BME councillors in England and Wales, and the opportunity to dovetail this role with that of Green Party Equality & Diversity Coordinator would be exceptional.
Representing all groups facing discrimination
I am ambitious for the role and would want diversity to mean all diversities. I would work to develop for the Party both internal and external facing strategies, helping it to reflect better all sectors of society as well as widening its local and national policy engagements with them.
Working for rights, Trades Unions & against discrimination
Currently I work as an advisory lawyer for Defra, on policy secondment to their soil protection program. I established a diversity group in Defra Legal and am currently a member of the Natural Environment Group's Diversity Group.
My other relevant experience includes:
I am 39 and of East African Asian background. After graduating from Oxford University with a 2.1 in Philosophy, Politics and Economics I went on to gain a Masters in Law at University College London (SOAS), where my submission papers included comparative human rights and ethnic minorities and the law.
A committed Councillor & activist
As a committed Green Party Councillor and activist I am hugely excited by the creation of this new position on the Party’s Executive.
Working to increase women BME councillors
I have recently been appointed to a Government Equalities Office national taskforce. This seeks specifically to increase the number of women BME councillors in England and Wales, and the opportunity to dovetail this role with that of Green Party Equality & Diversity Coordinator would be exceptional.
Representing all groups facing discrimination
I am ambitious for the role and would want diversity to mean all diversities. I would work to develop for the Party both internal and external facing strategies, helping it to reflect better all sectors of society as well as widening its local and national policy engagements with them.
Working for rights, Trades Unions & against discrimination
Currently I work as an advisory lawyer for Defra, on policy secondment to their soil protection program. I established a diversity group in Defra Legal and am currently a member of the Natural Environment Group's Diversity Group.
My other relevant experience includes:
- Working for a Southall Monitoring Group speaking for minorities, especially Asian and Somali, in seeking to address problems of racial violence, domestic violence and employment discrimination.
- Working in a legal aid firm in Southall, helping to bring one of the first services claims under the Disability Discrimination Act 1996.
- Working for Trade Union law firm Rowley Ashworth, where my casework included race, gender and disability discrimination cases.
- Seeking to address high levels of worklessness in certain sectors of the population including BME, disabled and lone parents as one of three councilors on a Camden Worklessness Taskforce.
I am 39 and of East African Asian background. After graduating from Oxford University with a 2.1 in Philosophy, Politics and Economics I went on to gain a Masters in Law at University College London (SOAS), where my submission papers included comparative human rights and ethnic minorities and the law.
I would be honoured to serve as the Equality and Diversity Coordinator on the Green Party Executive and delighted therefore if you would consider voting for me.
Friday 20 June 2008
A new job on a national taskforce
I am honoured to be appointed to the Black, Asian And Minority Ethnic Women Councillors Taskforce and I believe as a Green Party member with its strong history of gender equality I have a lot to contribute.
This is a cross-party taskforce comprised of key local councillors to seek to empower other women to get involved in local politics as well as to take this message of positive action and empowerment out to Councils and political parties
Women in the UK are under-represented in Councils and at Westminster. Women councillors currently only make up 29.3% of councillors. Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Women are particularly under-presented.
They make up 5.4% of the population but their share of local councillors is only 0.9% only around one sixth of that figure, a mere 168 out of 20,000 councillors. A significant increase is needed across the UK if women and especially ethnic minority women are to be properly represented in our local democracies.
Local councils make many decisions that have a huge impact on all of us – from housing policy, the environment and education and also nurseries, after-school clubs and youth services.
Women can’t afford to leave all these decisions to men – it is vital if all interests are to be properly taken into account and good decisions made that women play a full part in local politics. Councils of course are also a stepping stone towards entry into parliament where women remain woefully under-represented. We are yet to have an Asian woman MP in the UK and have just to ethnic minority women MPs!
I’m intending to work with my fellow councillors, whatever their background, to seek to empower women, ethnic minorities in particular, and bring this wealth of talent and experience into the formal structure of the Council as well as the informal structures such as the network of liaison groups and our area forums.
Key to this will be seeking to ensure greater involvement of all parts of our community – across class, gender and ethnic groups - in these structures and for good role models and mentors to step forward. I’d also like to take some of the successes of Camden where since early 2008 we have had 3 ethnic minority women councillors to other parts of the UK.
I hope to work on this project in particular with my colleagues Geethika Jayatilaka and Nancy Jirira who are both effective and well-respected councillors and I am glad to have received a strong message of support from the Leader of the Council Keith Moffitt.”
This is a cross-party taskforce comprised of key local councillors to seek to empower other women to get involved in local politics as well as to take this message of positive action and empowerment out to Councils and political parties
Women in the UK are under-represented in Councils and at Westminster. Women councillors currently only make up 29.3% of councillors. Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Women are particularly under-presented.
They make up 5.4% of the population but their share of local councillors is only 0.9% only around one sixth of that figure, a mere 168 out of 20,000 councillors. A significant increase is needed across the UK if women and especially ethnic minority women are to be properly represented in our local democracies.
Local councils make many decisions that have a huge impact on all of us – from housing policy, the environment and education and also nurseries, after-school clubs and youth services.
Women can’t afford to leave all these decisions to men – it is vital if all interests are to be properly taken into account and good decisions made that women play a full part in local politics. Councils of course are also a stepping stone towards entry into parliament where women remain woefully under-represented. We are yet to have an Asian woman MP in the UK and have just to ethnic minority women MPs!
I’m intending to work with my fellow councillors, whatever their background, to seek to empower women, ethnic minorities in particular, and bring this wealth of talent and experience into the formal structure of the Council as well as the informal structures such as the network of liaison groups and our area forums.
Key to this will be seeking to ensure greater involvement of all parts of our community – across class, gender and ethnic groups - in these structures and for good role models and mentors to step forward. I’d also like to take some of the successes of Camden where since early 2008 we have had 3 ethnic minority women councillors to other parts of the UK.
I hope to work on this project in particular with my colleagues Geethika Jayatilaka and Nancy Jirira who are both effective and well-respected councillors and I am glad to have received a strong message of support from the Leader of the Council Keith Moffitt.”
Thursday 15 May 2008
Leader of Camden Council Green Group
In the Green Party, we do things differently. We share and rotate leadership positions. The philosophy of the party is about group leadership and team work and we seek to avoid unnecessary hierarchies.
So it was natural for Adrian to step down, and for me to take this position on, as leader of Green Party group on the Council.
Also, unlike the other parties we take gender balance very seriously and to date the Green Party nationally has always had a male and female principal speaker. In keeping with this, we have sought to ensure that we have this gender balance in our Council roles.
I am pleased to be taking over at this time when the Green Party is moving from strength to strength. Alex Goodman’s recent by-election victory in Highgate was an excellent result and we were pleased to win such a large Green majority.
But the amount of support and confidence we have all around the Borough is encouraging and inspiring. stands for.
Residents have a strong concern for the things we stand for including the environment, protecting our local heritage, parks, gardens and trees to our global environment and protecting the future of our children and grand children, to good public services for all and strong healthy communities with high levels of safety, quality youth services, affordable housing and vibrant high streets.
Cllrs Oliver, Goodman and I, will work in the next couple of years on what are the three major fronts for the Green Party: the environment, good public services and strong healthy communities. We will seek to show what can be done with real determination to make a change.
It won’t be an easy task but we are determined to show to residents that the faith they have placed in us is deserved. And we know we can do so if we tap into that rich vein of knowledge, experience and public commitment that we see in residents across the Borough. That is what makes us so proud to be Cllrs in this Borough.
So it was natural for Adrian to step down, and for me to take this position on, as leader of Green Party group on the Council.
Also, unlike the other parties we take gender balance very seriously and to date the Green Party nationally has always had a male and female principal speaker. In keeping with this, we have sought to ensure that we have this gender balance in our Council roles.
I am pleased to be taking over at this time when the Green Party is moving from strength to strength. Alex Goodman’s recent by-election victory in Highgate was an excellent result and we were pleased to win such a large Green majority.
But the amount of support and confidence we have all around the Borough is encouraging and inspiring. stands for.
Residents have a strong concern for the things we stand for including the environment, protecting our local heritage, parks, gardens and trees to our global environment and protecting the future of our children and grand children, to good public services for all and strong healthy communities with high levels of safety, quality youth services, affordable housing and vibrant high streets.
Cllrs Oliver, Goodman and I, will work in the next couple of years on what are the three major fronts for the Green Party: the environment, good public services and strong healthy communities. We will seek to show what can be done with real determination to make a change.
It won’t be an easy task but we are determined to show to residents that the faith they have placed in us is deserved. And we know we can do so if we tap into that rich vein of knowledge, experience and public commitment that we see in residents across the Borough. That is what makes us so proud to be Cllrs in this Borough.
Friday 2 May 2008
New Green Councillor: Alex Goodman
We have a new Councillor: Alex Goodman.
This is the first time we have won a by-election in London!
Alex has lived in the Highgate area for most of his life. Alex works in Camden, as a planning and human rights barrister based at Gray’s Inn. He specialises in environmental and local government law, working on cases that support his beliefs.
Find out more on Camden Green Party’s website.
This is the first time we have won a by-election in London!
Alex has lived in the Highgate area for most of his life. Alex works in Camden, as a planning and human rights barrister based at Gray’s Inn. He specialises in environmental and local government law, working on cases that support his beliefs.
Find out more on Camden Green Party’s website.
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