June 13, 2019  

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea June, 2019, Newsletter (# 120)

  1. Have we just experienced one of the most decisive political moments of our lives? Are we just about to see the end of Tory/Labour domination of British politics? Are we just about to see the end of the UK, as Scotland moves inexorably to independence? Will we see the re-unification of Ireland? Are we going to remain in the European Union? Are we going to become a bit player on the edge of Europe or are we going to continue to be a very significant player in the world’s largest market-place? Brexit might be boring to some but that doesn’t mean the decisions we make about it are not of great importance.
  2. So, by far the most important moment of the month was the Euro-Election and the results day, 26th And the results for the main parties in Wandsworth (note that we will not get accurate figures for Battersea on its own) were:-      Liberal Democrats    36,012; Labour Party 15,487; Green Party 13,696; Brexit 12,159; Conservative and Unionist Party 9,395; Change UK 7,281; UKIP 1,057
  3. On the basis of these figures, the Lib/Dems would win all three of the Wandsworth Parliamentary seats of Battersea, Putney and Tooting and probably all 60 councillors, though perhaps Labour and the Greens would sneak in with one or two councillors. But surely no one believes that the Tory Party, which has dominated Wandsworth Council politics for 40+ years would seriously be reduced to zero! In other words, don’t take any literal notice of any predictions that you might see – its all far too early to say. However, there has certainly been an earthquake! Our first chance to assess the impact on “ordinary” politics will be in Tooting, at the Furzedown Council by-election on 20th June.
  4. It will be no surprise that I believe that, if the Labour Party does not NOW take a very positive, “Remain” view over the Brexit crisis and does not prevent the UK from leaving the EU, then that will be calamitous for us as individuals, the Labour Party and the United Kingdom. And, if the only really democratic way of doing that is through a Second Referendum, then I think we should hold one as soon as possible – and hopefully abolish referendums from the British political tool-set immediately afterwards!
  5. I spent some of election day in Carey Gardens, off the Wandsworth Road, where I came across Brian Barnes’ colourful and dramatic mural. Brian, as ever, packs his work with historical Battersea references. This one includes the Yellow Brick Road from the Wizard of Oz film, the American Eagle marking the arrival of the US Embassy in Nine Elms, the four children killed by unrestrained traffic in Thessaly Road before it was closed in the 1970s, Stephen Hawking, the Power Station and Pink Floyd’s pigs. All of them have Battersea references. I know many of them but not all. Go to Carey Gardens and see how many you can resolve.
  6. We went to Cheltenham for the first week-end of May to be at the town’s annual Jazz Festival. It’s a fun experience, with jazz to be heard in this very pretty eighteenth-century town on street corners, the town square, the pubs and half a dozen dedicated venues. Jazz certainly comes in many shapes and sizes, many of which we really enjoyed but others we didn’t really care for. American piano soloist, Marc Copland, was one great act – just take a moment to listen to him on YouTube and you will hear what I mean. In a totally different way the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, pictured here, gave us the big band experience.
  7. On the 14th May, I went to the Education Standards Committee to observe and take part in a review of Chesterton School, Dagnall Street. I am very pleased to say that it passed the review with flying colours – the school is doing really well.
  8. The next day, I went first to Budapest and then on to Bratislava accompanying my partner, Penny, who was invited there to give two lectures. For those, who have never been, Budapest is a big, bustling city with boulevards and bars, very largely built in the late nineteenth century and consciously copying the style of Paris – I like it. This mildly quirky, temporary mural on a building near the Parliament building is perhaps typical of Budapest’s oddities. Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, is in contrast simply a large market town with a pretty, preserved centre, thrust into unexpected prominence by the peaceful break-up of Czechoslovakia on 1st January, 1993. A very pleasant town for a week-end, but one wouldn’t want to spend very long there.
  9. However, it was much enlivened when we were there as Slovakia was hosting the World Ice Hockey Cup and Bratislava was the main centre. The bars were full of Swedes, Latvians, Russians, Canadians, Swiss, Austrians, Finns all trying to out-drink and out-sing each other – very lively and very friendly. For those interested in the results then Finland very popularly beat Russia in the final and GB staged a remarkable recovery from 3-0 down to France to win 3-4 in “sudden-death” extra time, meaning that GB stayed up and France got relegated from the elite ice hockey nations!Here is the tourist centre of Bratislava.
  10. The Planning Applications Committee was held on 21st May, but as the Euro Elections were only two days later, the Council had ensured that there were no really important developments considered.
  11. The Annual Council Meeting took place on 22nd Popular Tory Councillor Jane Cooper was installed as Mayor. There were few other changes in the Council hierarchy, though some might be interested to hear that hard-right winger Guy Senior was demoted from the Cabinet after about 30 years!
  12. Then on 25th May, at Battersea Arts Centre, there was a celebration of the life of Samantha Heath, who died of cancer on 28th March this year. Some of you will remember Samantha, who was a fellow councillor of mine in Latchmere from 1994-2002, before going on to be a member of the Greater London Assembly (GLA). The celebration was very well attended and hugely appreciated.
  13. Samantha’s death was partly a consequence, it is believed, of London’s air pollution. Certainly, much of her life’s work since 2000 has been concerned with cleaning up London’s air. She was Chair of the GLA’s Environment Committee and much of our increased concern about air quality is down to the work she did in that role. London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, who implemented ULEZ, or the Ultra-Low Emission Zone, was at the celebration and gave due credit to Samantha for her role in its introduction.
  14. On 29th May, I was at the Alma pub for a meeting organised by Wandsworth Living Streets. It was opened by an interesting presentation on plans to improve the street environment in Tooting. Then we heard from Camilla Ween on her plans for, what she calls, the Battersea Link. Camilla’s idea is to upgrade Northcote Road: St. John’s Road: Falcon Road: Battersea High Street into a pedestrian-dominated link from the Thames and St. Mary’s Church through to south Battersea. This link more or less follows the line of the now culverted Falconbrook. For those, who are interested in these visionary plans, view the Putting the Heart into Battersea: a presentation by Camilla Ween report at https:wandsworthlivingstreets.org.uk
  15. On a completely different theme, have you heard of Louis de Bernières? De Bernières was a Wandsworth resident, when he wrote his novel Captain Corelli’s Mandolin in Earlsfield Library. It was an immediate best seller and has just been adapted for the stage. I went to see this war/love comedy/musical drama at the Rose Theatre in Kingston on 4th It was a very unusual theme for the British theatre, being about love between a musical Italian captain and a young Greek woman during the Italian occupation of Greece in World War 2, as the “relaxed” Italian occupiers were replaced first by the more menacing and disciplined force of the German army and then by the Allied victory.
  16. It was simply brilliant. The staging and direction of war scenes; the acting of a goat (yes, goat!); the singing; the family scenes; the portrayal of a Greek village: everything about it was perfect – so much better than Hollywood’s 2001 film starring Nicholas Cage. I am, therefore, not surprised to see that the play is being transferred to the West End at the Harold Pinter Theatre in July and August. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
  17. Every week, I walk around approximately one quarter of Latchmere ward delivering welcome letters from me and my colleagues Councillors Simon Hogg and Kate Stock to new entrants on the electoral register, who have either moved in or are coming up to 18 and hence becoming eligible to vote. It’s always interesting to take note of new developments, both good and bad, and to record and report them where necessary. One depressing constant is the amount of fly tipping and abandoned cars left on pavements and roads. Mobile phones certainly make it easier to report them to the Town Hall (and get them cleared?) than it used to be. Here is a brief selection of May’s “catch”!

My Programme for June

  1. On June 1st Spurs take on Liverpool in the European Cup Final – that has to rate a mention! And just possibly I will know the result before this Newsletter gets published but that must wait until next month!
  2. I have the Passenger Transport Liaison Group on Thursday, 6th
  3. The North East Surrey Crematorium Board meets on 11th
  4. I am going on a charity walk on 17th June in support of the Howard League’s work to support children and young people in custody (I am a member of the Howard League and have been ever since I became a Justice of the Peace, JP, about twenty years ago).
  5. On 23rd June I am walking the Seven Sisters cliff-top walk from the Birling Gap to Beachy Head, in memory of my brother-in-law. His last job and his home were in nearby Eastbourne and the family do this walk on an annual basis.
  6. On 24th June I am off to Cardiff to see Afghanistan play in the cricket World Cup.
  7. The Planning Applications Committee is on 26th

Do you know?

Last month I asked just how many trains go through the Clapham Junction complex every day? Quite a few people replied, including Martin, who told me that there “was an advert on TV for Arding & Hobbs which included the words “2,000 trains a day go through Clapham Junction”.  He guessed that with some new routes added that there were perhaps 2,450 trains a day.

When I went to the major signalling centre at Wimbledon last month, I was surprised that they did not know the answer but they put their heads together and did some quick analysis. Their conclusion was that the new figure including all the increased services should be 2,950.

Arding & Hobbs, by the way, was the old department store that stood where Debenham’s now is from 1885-2004.

And for this month’s question: in paragraph 6 above I mentioned an American jazz pianist: Well, who was the Battersea born and bred jazz pianist, who has a community centre named after him? And where is the second commemorative plaque to him in Battersea located.

About Tony Belton

Labour Councillor for Latchmere Ward 1972-2022, now Battersea Park Ward, London Borough of Wandsworth Ever hopeful Spurs supporter; Lane visit to the Lane, 1948 Olympics. Why don't they simply call the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, The Lane? Once understood IT but no longer

Leave a comment