By Trevor Jones
This May, Jules Pipe, the first directly elected Mayor
of Hackney, is up for re-election. Jules (forgive
me for the familiarity) has, on the face of it, been a qualified
success. He has been instrumental in rescuing the Borough from bankruptcy,
given some direction to a Council that seemed like a rudderless
Titanic and, hey, for the first time in memory we don’t pay
more Council Tax next year. So what is my wish-list from Jules for
Stokey? This is a subjective, 10-point Stokey action plan (in no
particular order).
Power to the people. Listen to David Miliband, the
local government minister. This means decentralising decision-making
from an ossified, top-heavy Council bureaucracy to local communities.
The Council exists to serve local people, not vice-a-versa. Linked
to this…
Greater autonomy for the regions. It would be nice for Hackney Council
to recognise that Stokey is not some fat-cat, yuppie island, but
is a socially, ethnically and culturally diverse and vibrant part
of the Borough. By the way, Mr Mayor, have you checked voting turnout
figures? People in Stokey vote.
Revive the Stokey Street Festival. Let’s face it: by withdrawing
its financial support Hackney Council buried the festival. What’s
so wrong about an annual event celebrated and loved by all? People
came here from outside the Borough, spent money, and it put Hackney,
in a positive way, on the map.
Build a car park to help local businesses. They are not the enemy.
They make an important contribution to the local economy and they
employ lots of local people. Put a leash on over-jealous, self-important,
minor Council officials who seem oblivious to local people and determined
to spoil their lives e.g. officious traffic wardens, market inspectors
(see Broadway Market article, page 18-19).
Take a close look at the activities of the aforementioned (and other)
minor officials and analyse their raison d’etre. Please don’t
talk about health and safety or related issues: N16’s readers
are grown-ups and know the score.
Instruct your senior officers to reach puberty and take a hard line
with the utility companies who have turned Stokey into a building
site for most of the last ten years.
Do something about the cheap, ineffective street lighting that has
low definition and makes Stokey and all of Hackney more threatening
and unsafe late at night. While you’re at it, ask the bureaucracy
why they opted for this kind of lighting and the nature of the contract
they signed with the street lighting company.
Get rid of at least 25% of your senior management. Let’s face
it, Jules, that’s what your New Labour colleagues are doing
in the Department of Health. Redefine what senior management actually
should be doing. Please no more of ‘let’s set up a committee
to (er) prevaricate and (er) set up another working body to…’
with the help of some consultants the senior management just happen
to know.
Introduce a ‘failure’ regime. If something goes wrong,
then the buck must stop somewhere. Ok, senior management expect
six-figure salaries (paid for out of Council Tax), but if they don’t
deliver – fire them! By the way, have a close look at what
kind of contracts they are on.
That’ll
do, for a start.
The election is on Thursday, 4 May. The Mayor
and all 57 Hackney Councillors are up for election. |
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