Ilford South Labour Party

Oona King has been out canvassing in Chadwell Heath in support of Wes Streeting, the Labour candidate for the forthcoming by-election.  Onna was the Labour MP for Bethnal Green & Bow between 1997 & 2005 and continues to maintain a high profile in the Labour Party & the media.  She joined local MP Mike Gapes, Councillors and Wes as they met local residents.

Wes Streeting, seen here with Mike Gapes M.P., has been selected by Labour to be its candidate in the Chadwell by election on July 8th.

Wes has just come to the end of his term as the full time elected president of the National Union of Students, representing more than 7 million students in colleges and universities across the U.K.

He has also been a governor of the University of Cambridge and a board member of a number of national higher education sector agencies. Most recently he has been campaigning in marginal seats across the country in the general election.

Chadwell Resident Wes said:-

‘It is sad that Mark Gittens had to stand down as a councillor due to a technicality after topping the poll in Chadwell in the recent elections.

My term of office as NUS president comes to an end this week, and I am pleased to have been selected to give something back to the community in which I have lived for 9 years. I have the national experience to be a local champion for Chadwell’s residents.

The current Council is run by the Conservatives in coalition with the LibDems and has neglected Chadwell for many years. Now your new Labour Team is up and running with advice surgeries dealing with your problems. I want to be part of that Team and make a real difference.’

Mark Gittens, who was elected to represent Chadwell ward has been forced to resign as a Councillor because he is a teacher in a Redbridge school.

Local teachers are ineligible to stand for election to the local authority for which they work.

Bob Littlewood, newly elected Leader of the Labour Group of Councillors on Redbridge Council, commented:

“I am sure that I speak for the Labour Group and the Party in Redbridge in expressing great sympathy with Mark. We thought we had Redbridge’s first black Councillor and someone with ongoing experience of work in the community.

A number of people failed to realise that Mark was not eligible to stand before the election. We made an innocent mistake.”

The date of the by-election is to be announced.

With a commitment to getting action to improve Chadwell Heath Train Station, Cllr Balvinder Saund and local activists organised for the Manager of ‘One’ Railway to inspect the station. Following on from this meeting, ‘One’ have promised the following action points:

• The ticket office will be closed from 19:40 - 06:10; with the only access to the station being the side alleyway between these hours. This will ensure the ticket hall is kept safe and secure.
• Station soft refurbishment will be implemented asap and will last two weeks (this will include brick work / paint / wood varnishing etc)
• Ash trays for the front of ‘One’ rail stations will be rolled out over the next two weeks
• Security agents for the stations requested - this requirement will be assessed against data around incidents (if residents have any information on incidents they are requested to let us know).
• Wire mesh under the stairs to prevent access.
• Covered heated seating area to be looked at by ‘One’.

The Local Labour Party will continue to monitor the station and ensure that the hard working community of Chadwell and station users get a decent train station for their money.