Ilford South Labour Party

Come and say No to the threatened Closure to A&E at King George Hospital

Speakers
Chris Carter, Ilford Recorder Editor
Mike Gapes MP
Lee Scott MP
Cllr Ralph John Scott

Saturday 27 October 1.30pm outside Ilford Town Hall

The above rally has been organised because of the real threat that A&E could be closed at King George Hospital. A study by Sheffield university published earlier this year found the further seriously ill patients had to travel to A&E the more likely they were to die. It is vital we have a good turn out on the day to a clear message to policymakers that we do not want to lose A&E at King George Hospital.

We will be canvassing door to door before the rally to encourage people to display window posters advertising the event. If you want to help, please phone Andy on 07956 263088. The link attached is a poster which can be printed off for display in your car or home window.

Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society attracted over 900 people to their open day, held at their Goodmayes Lane site. Visitors will have been struck by how well used these allotments are. Yet this is one of the sites under threat from Redbridge Tories’ desperate plans to raise money by selling off the borough’s assets.

Gardeners get the health benefits of exercise in the open air and a good diet from the fruits (and vegetables) of their own labour. For many, gardening also brings great satisfaction and mental relaxation. And think of the impact on your carbon footprint from growing some of your own food. Goodmayes Labour member and allotment holder, Mike Fitzmaurice said:

“There’s nothing better than putting something on the dinner table that you’ve picked from your own garden. I’ve only recently started working a plot, but some people here have put many, many years into producing immaculate gardens and would be devastated if they had to start all over again.”

Labour Councillors and members of the party have been supporting the campaign to save allotment sites in the borough, and our MP, Mike Gapes, has raised the issue in Parliament. It seems that only the Tory council thinks that selling busy allotment sites is the right thing to do.

Click on this link (Seven Kings & Goodmayes Allotment Society) to see what you can do to help save the allotments.

Mike Gapes, Labour MP for Ilford South, opened Redbridge Carnival, a celebration of cultural diversity and community solidarity in Redbridge. Music and dance from African, Asian, Irish & West Indian traditions were provided by an array of local talents.

Labour Councillor for Seven Kings, Balvinder Saund, was invited to speak at the event to give a Sikh perspective on community cohesion. Balvinder praised the carnival organisers for their hard work in creating an event which was building bridges and promoting harmony between faiths and cultures in Redbridge. She recalled that the ninth Guru, Teg Bahadur Ji, was martyred whilst protecting other faiths. “Sikhs say, if you do not see God in everyone’s eyes, then you do not see God at all”, Councillor Saund explained. She urged people to oppose those who try to divide our communities.

Mrs. Maleeha Lodhi, The High Commissioner for Pakistan in the UK was an honoured guest at the event and spoke on Integration and Social Cohesion. Other speakers included representatives of various faiths, cultures and other political parties.

On Saturday 1 September the Redbridge Carnival Event took place at Goodmayes Park Extension. Next day there was a festival and open day at the adjacent Goodmayes Lane Allotments. Both events were well attended and enjoyed by many local people. But if the Conservative Council has its way, this is the last time these events will take place in our community.

The Council has downgraded the protected status of Goodmayes Park Extension, and the Conservative Cabinet has voted to dispose of Goodmayes Lane and Vicarage Lane South Allotments. This is despite the fact that the land sales programme was referred back at the last full Council, when the divided Conservative Group could not even muster the support of all its own members for the proposals. If they have their way the sites can be developed. This against the background of decisions just across the boundary in Barking to develop the University site for flats.

These sales are part of a massive programme of land disposals originally agreed by Conservative Councillors in secret and without consultation……who knows what could go next?

• We say that open space is badly needed in the Ilford area with so many sites already being developed.

• We know money is needed to develop more facilities for all the residents of Ilford, but we say there must be a holistic approach to any disposals with full public consultation.

Your Labour Councillors have presented petitions signed by hundreds of local people against the sale of the allotments and the loss of protection of the park. Residents have made it clear to us that they oppose the sales and the loss of their open space. Now the matter will again be discussed at full Council on 20 September. We hope to manage to defeat the plans again. The Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Association are organising a demonstration outside the Town Hall, Oakfield Road entrance from 6.15 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.

Come along and show your support for our community

More information contact Cllr Satnam Singh (0208 911 9372), Cllr Vinaya Sharma (0208 708 0209), Cllr Dave Radford (0208 708 9600), Cllr Ayodhiya Parkash (0208 708 0211), or the Ilford South Labour Party Office on 020 8554 3070

Mike Gapes MP and a group of supporters today deliver his petition to Save King George Hospital to Ruth Carnall, Chief Executive of London Region NHS.

The petition, launched at Christmas has now got a magnificent 25202 signatures from local residents. Mike also provided Ms Carnall with a letter setting out the detailed case against the closure and argued strongly to keep both an Accident and Emergency Department and a wide range of facilities for planned elective operations at our local King George Hospital.
To read the full text of the letter, please visit Mike’s own website at http://www.mikegapes.org.uk/?p=91#more-91