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In this issue

Armani and Trotsky
Torture in the Town Hall
Martin Rowson
Pa' Flanagan
Diane Abbott
News in Brief
A Very Personal Message
Festival News
The Cannabis Debate
Stokey's Baroness
Risk and Restaurants
Matthew's Gospel
Music Listings
Gifts for Green Fingers
Things For Kids to Do
Hackney Crisis
Speak Out!
Here Comes The Sun
Angry Brigade
Listing to Port
Our Man in the North Bank
X-word

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Diane Abbott writes...

I was standing at the 73 bus stop on Stoke Newington Church Street the other day on my way into Westminster. A well known Church Street restaurateur spotted me and crossed over the road. We talked about Hackney’s current financial collapse. Then he asked me, ‘is the Government going to step in?’ I said no. He said, ‘I think they should’.

I am beginning to come round to the view that the Government should send in commissioners to run Hackney. Most Labour councillors think this would be a fate worse than death. But I do not see how Hackney could be worse off.

There is a democratic argument about keeping local control of services in Hackney. And normally this would weigh very heavily with me. But Labour is currently in an informal coalition with the Tories on Hackney Council. So Labour voters are disenfranchised in any case. And I do get the impression that Labour councillors are willing to impose any cuts the Government, the Audit Commission etc. want to demand.

In fact, councillors believe they have no choice in the matter. At least if the Government was running Hackney, ministers could not just stay at arms length and demand cuts. They would have to take responsibility for maintaining minimum service levels. And they might also have to look at the underlying reasons for Hackney’s current bankruptcy.

Whilst it is certainly true that Hackney has been badly served by some councillors and officers in recent years, it is also true that the education service in Hackney was particularly badly hit by the break-up of ILEA. The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was a means of redistributing spending on education from the richer boroughs to the poorer boroughs. And giving them vital support in terms of teacher recruitment, special needs etc.

Furthermore, I believe that in the long run Hackney must have more funds from the centre to meet its level of need. For instance, Hackney has more deprived estates than any other area in the country. And if the Government ran Hackney, it might see these things for itself. In the meantime, the most pressing problem facing Hackney residents is the fact that we seem to be disappearing under a sea of garbage.

Living as I do off Stoke Newington High Street I thought I had got used to the refuse and lifter. But it has got even worse in recent weeks. However, a new private company is taking over street cleaning and refuse collection on the 1st of December. And officers assure me we will see a magical transformation. Let us wait and see.

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