Southwark Labour Cllr and Cabinet Member for Clean Air, Streets and Waste
Primary school teacher & Lambeth NEU. Personal capacity. Socialist. 🪿🟩
Jun 11, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
🚨URGENT - Immigration raid in Evan Cooks Close, Peckham, Se15. Near Queens Road station 🚨
Currently being blocked by a big crowd.
Get down ASAP. Please RT or pass on the message.
Let him go!
Sep 27, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I am a teacher and this is my publicly stated desire to overthrow capitalism.
Context: govt saying resources from organisations with 'extreme views' should not be used in classrooms.
They define extreme views as including "a publicly stated desire to abolish or overthrow democracy, capitalism, or to end free and fair elections" theguardian.com/education/2020…
Aug 6, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
The government wants to scrap section 106. What does this mean and why is it bad? A thread:
Everyone involved in housing or anti-gentrification campaigns will know that the planning system is rigged in favour of big business and against communities. 1/5
If a developer gets planning permission then the value of that land rockets - even before anything is built.
Since 1947, the planning system has tried to balance this. If developers will profit from planning permission they must give something back. 2/5
Jul 21, 2020 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
TEACHER #PAYRISE - a short thread 1) It is a good thing, overall.
Teachers desperately need a payrise, and in real terms we are still behind where we were a decade ago. It's a step in the right direction and we want more of it!
2) It's a response to strength...
It's no coincidence that our biggest payrise in 15 years comes just after we organised mass resistance to the government's plans for schools.
Jul 1, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Lots of Labour types now trying to make sense of STV. My best advice would be to look at the local elections of Scotland and the north of Ireland - both use STV. You'll get a feel for how parties operate, how many candidates they pick etc.
With strong discipline, each party/slate's seats is proportional to its share of votes. If your voters are less disciplined you get a bit less.
Sinn Fein has the most disciplined voters (for obvious historical reasons!) Have a look at Black Mountain ward in Belfast City Council.
Jun 24, 2020 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
As a councillor, it's easy to think you're special. The Labour Party likes to tell you that you are.
So does Momentum. Thanks to its 'Public Office Holder' section, my vote in the NCG election is worth 20x that of other members.
Seems like the wrong priorities to me.
We'd be better off trying to build Momentum into a force that can both support officeholders and hold them accountable. This means listening to their voice but not privileging it above others. Ultimately, left-wing officeholders are only as strong as the movement around them.
Jun 8, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Edward Coulston was a monster and should not be commemorated. Yes, we should remember the horrors of the slave trade but not with statues of its perpetrators.
Germany is covered with memorials to the Holocaust - none are statues of concentration camp guards.
In Germany, all children learn about the Holocaust and the rise of the Nazis. In Britain, we ignore the horrors and talk about abolition but not slavery itself.
Reading the history books you'd think the British only started the slave trade so that they could then abolish it.
May 31, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
The government wanted every primary school to have full cohorts of Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 children on Monday 1st June.
But how many will? I'm going to make a bold prediction: Zero.
My thinking is below👇
1) Headteachers.
On May 11th 70% of @NAHTnews members thought the plans were unfeasible. I can't see that number dropping much.
Of course, lots of Heads are not in NAHT so the total figure won't be 70% but it will still be quite high.
May 31, 2020 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Schools should be safe and stable for all children but especially the youngest.
But to make them safe against covid infection you need to put in place measures which put children at risk in other ways. A short thread: #FollowTheScience (1/5)
If a child develops covid symptoms at school govt guidance says they should be isolated until they can be picked up.
That means putting a 5-year-old child in a room on their own.
How will they understand that? What stress will that cause? #FollowTheScience. (2/5)
May 28, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
The government has forced TfL to cut its free fares for children.
Many kid rely on free buses to get to school. Now it’ll cost hundreds of pounds a year.
Lots won’t be able to afford it. What happens then?
I've had two common responses to this 1) No free transport for children elsewhere in the country
Yes - but we should look to level up, not level down. Besides, many of these places have free school buses - London doesn't because TfL policy means we don't need it.
May 18, 2020 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Danish schools have reopened, why not the UK?
Teachers want schools to go back but we want it to be safe. That's why the @NEUnion set 5 simple tests.
Let's look at the Danish experience: a thread. (1/8)
NEU Test 1: Much lower numbers of Covid-19 cases
Denmark: 69 new cases yesterday
UK: 3,534 new cases yesterday (2/8)
May 16, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
What's the World Health Organisation's view on schools re-opening? It doesn't support the govt position. A few examples in this thread. (1/5)
The WHO says:
✅"Maintain a distance of *at least* 1² between everyone present at school" (their emphasis)
Govt guidance:
❌"primary age children cannot be expected to remain 2 metres apart" (2/5)
Like this tweet and I’ll tell you what you’d do during the coronavirus crisis of 2020.
@AnaOpp - apart from essential trips, you'd stay at home.
Mar 23, 2020 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
The way I see it there are three phases to this crisis(politically, not medically)
Phase 1, now: chaos, uncertainty, new announcements every day, no one knows what's happening. Looks like this will last maybe the next few weeks or month
Phase 2: health crisis still ongoing (and initially increasing!) but measures are in place and some stability. Lasting how long? Maybe few months, maybe a year, maybe longer.
Phase 3: crisis dies down, some degree of normality returns society is fundamentally changed. But how?
Feb 13, 2020 • 7 tweets • 6 min read
Almost all CLPs have nominated in the #LabourLeadership contest.
Some striking patterns have emerged.
I explore them on @LabourList 👇 labourlist.org/2020/02/what-t…
Starmer and Rayner are very clearly in the lead. In fact, more CLPs have nominated both than nominated any other candidate in either race.
The preferential voting system for #LabourLeadership throws up interesting results. I want to crowd-source some information about how votes are transferring in CLP meetings.
Please fill in your answers, then RT the thread!
If Emily Thornberry is eliminated early in the contest, who do you think most of her votes will transfer to?
Feb 12, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Big mistake of the Labour left was to treat 'Remainers' as separate or in conflict with the Left. In reality, it's mostly the same people.
If RLB loses the leadership I think this will be a key reason.
Some on the Left support Lexit, and others voted remain but wanted to "accept the referendum". Legitimate positions but they represent a minority of the membership. It's totally counter-productive to pretend otherwise. But people did!
Jan 30, 2020 • 12 tweets • 7 min read
CLP nominations give you an interesting insight into the #LabourLeadership: where different candidates are getting their support. I've spent a bit of time looking at them, here are some of the patterns I've spotted, thanks to @CLPNominations' reporting.
@CLPNominations Comparing to 2015 nominations is interesting. For instance, Long-Bailey is sometimes described as the 'continuity' candidate but her support comes as much from CLPs which nominated Burnham in 2015 as those which nominated Corbyn.
Jan 26, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Sadiq Khan is running a policy consultation open to Labour members, CLPs and affiliates.
And then submit your responses to londonpolicy@labour.org.uk
Closes on Friday - so be quick!
I've just come from a great policy discussion with @DaWNLabour. Fantastic ideas, and I learned a lot too 🤓
It's probably too late for CLPs to organise one if they haven't already but individuals can still respond 🙋🏾♀️🙋🏽♂️
Dec 15, 2019 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Neither “we were too left wing” or “we were too Remain” alone can explain our defeat - as comforting as these may be. Me for @LabourList: labourlist.org/2019/12/the-mo…
The worrying thing about these explanations is not just that they’re wrong. It’s that they offer easy routes to success, paved with false hope.
