| . |
p19
Continued from previous page
GENERAL WOODWORK
SUPPLIES LTD
Soft Woods
Hardwoods
Sheet materials cut to size
Veneers and veneered boards
Mouldings - Doors - Tools
Builders and Architectural Ironmongery
Established 1945
56 years of service
|
76-80 Stoke
Newington High Street, N16
Phone 020 7254 6052 for Delivery or Collection |
|
Sun. There were six years on Private Eye, 1967-72, during
which time one of his victims was Reginald Maudling, Conservative Home Secretary, who was
forced to resign after a corruption scandal was exposed by Foot. Socialist Worker carried
his articles from 1972-78. Then he was doorstepped, literally, by Mike Molloy, editor of
the Daily Mirror, who insisted that he join the paper. From 1979-93 his column 'Paul Foot
Reporting' was one of the most widely-read pieces of journalism in the country. Robert
Maxwell took over the Mirror in 1984. Foot says Maxwell 'hated the column and said so'. He
tried to interfere at every opportunity and Paul recalls the 'huge cheer' that went up on
the news desk in 1991 when the news of Cap'n Bob's watery demise was announced. He walked
out in 1993 when he says the new management started to hound union activists on the paper.
Since then, he's been with Private Eye and the Guardian.
So, why Hackney Mayor? Well, he's been a resident of N16, in Stamford Hill, with his
partner Clare Fermont, a journalist, and their eight year-old daughter Kate for the past
fifteen years. He's highly critical of Hackney councils past and present. Apart from
their general lack of competence, he believes that they've been too easily led into
disastrous privatisation ventures, such as ITNet with its non-payment of benefits and the
ServiceTeam waste management. Both have had to be reclaimed by the public sector. The
profit motive, he says, does not sit easily with the provision of public services. He
deeply regrets the end of the Stoke Newington Festival and is critical of the council for
withdrawing funding. Again, he says private companies are unwilling to provide sponsorship
for public events unless they can see a financial advantage for themselves.
Education is his number one priority and he states that two new secular schools are
urgently needed in Hackney. He quotes the example of his own child. Both he and Clare
would like their daughter to have a comprehensive, secular education at a mixed secondary
school. However, there's only one in the whole borough and it's a long way from where they
live. Councils and government should not be pushing so-called 'faith' schools and creating
social segregation. If elected, he will open talks with the police on why so many black
people seem to be stopped and questioned. In keeping with his stated support for the
workers, he opposes council redundancies. Library closures 'are a disgrace' as is any
proposal to shut the deer enclosures in Clissold Park. He widens his view from Hackney to
oppose any attack on Iraq. Apart from the destruction that would be caused, he believes
that Hackney's many Muslims would feel offended and threatened by any attempt by Tony
Blair to back George Bush.
In 1999, he had a close brush with death when an artery started leaking, then burst.
Thanks, he says, to the NHS staff at the Homerton and London Chest Hospitals, he has
partly recovered, although he finds difficulty in walking far or standing for long
periods. I was about ask him whether he would be up to the stress of a high-pressure job
when he started to explain strongly that his partial disability has given him a new
insight into the problems faced by disabled people. Not only could he do the job, backed
by the right staff, but he would also ensure better facilities in Hackney for people with
disabilities.
The new Mayor will form a powerful cabinet, so did he imagine that Labour,
with its huge council majority, would co-operate with him if he was elected? He says that
he would talk to councillors and point out that he was elected by the people of Hackney on
a specific platform. If they accepted his democratic mandate, he would consider them for
cabinet membership. The same principle would apply to Max Caller, the borough's Managing
Director.
As we talked, I wondered if I could detect traces of wishful thinking and perhaps not a
THE MAYORAL RACE
Editor's note: N16 expresses no preference in the election for the Mayor of Hackney. It is
extremely important and we hope that the people of the borough will exercise their right
to vote. We have featured one candidate for no other reason than that he is a nationally
-known personality who happens to live in Stoke Newington. The full list of candidates is:
Andrew Boff - Conservative
Errol Carr - Independent
Terry Edwards - Independent
Paul Foot - Socialist Alliance
Jules Pipe - Labour
Ian Sharer - Liberal Democrat
Bruce Spenser - Hackney First
CrispinTruman - Green
|
full appreciation of the depth of the financial mire that
has bogged Hackney down and led to the tight grip by the government on the council. Also,
his idea that better-off Stoke Newington residents readily identify with the people in the
high-rise blocks at the other end of Hackney might be something of an illusion. However,
if it is an illusion, at least it's not a dangerous one.
Paul Foot is standing as the candidate for the Socialist Alliance, a coalition of
left-wing groups. Their record in attracting votes is not good but mayoral elections in
other parts of the country have shown that people tend to judge the candidates as
individuals rather than as representatives of a party machine. H'Angus the monkey in
Hartlepool and 'Robocop' Ray Mallon in Middlesborough were elected against the local
electoral trend. Could it happen here? Voters will make their minds up whether Paul Foot
is an idealistic dreamer or a radical candidate with practical plans to turn Hackney
around. One thing is certain: if he does become Mayor, life will certainly not be dull.
|
. |
