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N16 was witness to a rare visit by George Galloway MP in late April at William Patten School.

The event was quite small by his standards, and he thanked us for attending during a very important Arsenal match. The Bethnal Green MP book-ended the event, speaking first and last, and was flanked at the table by other prospective Respect councillors, including Stokie's own Dean Ryan, who was Respect's candidate for mayor. The candidates talked about a wide range of issues, including the war in Iraq, backdoor privatisation of NHS, and the selling-off of Hackney housing stock. The candidates were all good speakers, with a big laugh coming when one read out the local Labour election broadsheet, which talked of an end to sleaze, cuts and privatisation.

The disillusionment with traditional Labour was well evident, and Respect are certainly well placed to take up the reins. There was a lot of talk about accountability of politicians, the logic being that, if they keep getting away with it, why should they stop? People are certainly fed up with Labour in Hackney: the sell-offs, the swimming pool fiasco and my own personal favourite, the £70 million refurb of Hackney town hall. The big point was vote Labour, vote war. They certainly weren’t getting any arguments from the long-suffering Hackney residents, there. The problem is, I feel, that people are so sick of politicians they don't trust any of them. Respect seem to be very vague about policy, and if not for Galloway, would be a pretty disparate bunch. George, however, is the star turn. A fantastically eloquent orator, he had the audience in stitches when he likened Blair and Brown to two cheeks of the same arse. He was very honest with us, telling us he was waiting for a special guest to arrive whom he wanted to impress. This turned out to be none other than the Prime Minister's sister-in-law, Lauren Booth. A bit of a coup for George? Well, she was sitting next to me taking notes, and I believe she signed up to join Respect. You read it here first folks...

Last word to George, of course. ‘I'm not here to entertain you, but to enlist you.…’. Well, George, you certainly entertained me. After the meeting, a group of us went to the Rochester Castle for drinks. Whilst waiting for my pint, I struck up conversation with the barmaid, telling her I'd just been to see George Galloway round the corner. She gave me a funny look and then said, ‘Ugh! That's the guy in the leotard off Big Brother!’ That's politics for you.

Stokey, the new Hampstead?

By Trevor Jones

The good news is that if you own a house in Stokey, you are sitting on a property that is rocketing in value. The bad news is that if you want to buy a property in Stokey, you’d better starting thinking about the Lea Bridge road or Clapton unless you got dosh to burn.

It’s official: the Stokey property market is buoyant. N16 interviewed three of the best-known estate agents on Church Street, and they are all singing from the same hymn sheet.

Michael Naik, one of the first estate agents to set up on Church Street, is having one of the busiest times in recent years. As far as he is concerned, the property market is buoyant after being in the doldrums. ‘Demand cannot meet supply and first-time buyers can’t find properties’, says Michael People are now looking towards the Lea Bridge road, Clapton and the E5 borders. The commercial property market is booming. ‘There is a queue for commercial properties. When a shop comes up, we get 20 to 30 calls in an hour.’ Needless to say, commercial property rents are going up. But, the old problem of parking remains: ‘you have to buy a house to park your car. You can’t do your business without being clamped’.

So how will the Olympic games affect Stokey? ‘E5 and E9 will improve commercially, as well as the Hackney Marshes. In Stratford, you are talking about a 25% mark up in five months’. Apparently, there will be a ripple effect right to the heart of Stoke Newington. Michael has put his money where is and is currently developing Chiltern Place, in Clapton, which will be ready by the end of August. On the letting front, there is a good turnaround in one or two bedroom flats and people now require ‘high standard properties’. Needless to say, rents are also going up.

Bairstow Eves are also gung-ho about the state of the Stokey property market. ‘At the moment we are selling properties in 24 hours. Demand is high, but supply is low. We are selling flats in a couple of days, and houses in a week. 2005 was really quiet, but people who were taking 12-month rental contracts are now sussing out the buying market. Some buyers now have to look at the Stokey borders – Clapton and Stamford Hill’. So, why is Stokey so attractive? ‘There are lots of young families and it shows that Stokey is starting to flesh out … we are moving towards being the new Hampstead’. There are good buses and the schools are good. Bairstow Eves are expanding and have just joined the Ombudsman Scheme which ‘protects both the agent and the customer’.

Next Move confirmed that the property market is ‘very buoyant and very much a sellers’ market’. They also confirmed that there is a ripple effect – Stamford Hill and Clapton – and ‘school catchment areas very much rule. There are diverse buyers out there.’ The rental market is also extremely good. There is a ‘lack of property and what comes on the market is quickly snapped up. Things will pick up in the summer.’ Next Move confirmed that the schools are a major factor in enticing people into the area. They are currently expanding out of Stokey and are opening an office on 111 Upper Street in Islington in June. Next Move also has a new, generic website – www.nextmove.com - which reflects their expansion outside Stokey.

Whether this is a good thing depends on where you are – if at all – on the property ladder. But the fact of the matter is that, in property terms, N16 is ‘most desirable’, which would have astonished us all fifteen or so years ago. But, please, not Hampstead.