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Letters to the Papers: Now more than ever, we must show solidarity with all Londoners

Last week, I and my wife, both in our eighties and both white skinned, joined thousands upon thousands of others to walk, in the drizzle, through central London in support of peace in the Middle East. What we encountered was, yes, some very angry people. But also acts of such kindness, love and concern from […]

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Letters to the Papers: Celebrating our right to boycott

From the eighteenth-century campaigns against slavery, when the sugar boycott against buying goods produced by enslaved peoples attracted 300,000 supporters, to their role in bringing to an end apartheid and segregation, boycotts have been shown to work. They are a vital democratic tool to address global injustices, which take power back to the people from […]

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Letters to the Papers: We must hold our politicians accountable for the sake of the future

As my seventieth birthday approaches, it occurs to me I’ll never know, personally, if humanity manages to overcome the Climate Emergency challenge. With the best will in the world, it will still take years to slow and turn the ship of our carbon economy, then decades more to be sure we’ve avoided the catastrophes it […]

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Letters to the Papers: Greens are long-time supporters of Clean Air standards in London

John Wilson asks if the Green Party has said nothing about ULEZ or has taken a stand which just hasn’t been widely reported (‘Will the Greens come to Khan’s rescue on ULEZ?’). I can confirm that we have been pushing Mayors for London-wide clean air zones for more than a decade now and have backed ULEZ on the Assembly […]

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Letters to the Papers: Road safety progress shows power of community campaigns

Transport for London has announced that its roadworks along Holloway Road will shortly move into Phase 2, around the Drayton Park and Liverpool Road junctions. Local residents have been campaigning for safer crossings at Drayton Park and Palmer Place for literally decades, so were delighted in 2019 when TfL announced it would be putting improvements […]

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Letters to the Papers: TV companies are not rising to the demands of our climate emergency

Every time I turn the TV on I seem to find either worldwide floods, wildfires and other extreme weather events or programmes enjoying the globe-trotting lifestyle of millionaires in Dubai and luxury hotels in the Maldives. Published research shows that from 1990 to 2015 the world’s wealthiest 1% were responsible for more than twice as […]

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Letters to the Papers: New Highbury Fields café progressing with input from the community

As councillors for Highbury ward, we’re delighted that the new design we’ve been pushing for, for the new café and facilities on the Fields, has been broadly well received by your readers (‘Look again at the new café design detail’ and others). We truly believe it will be a gamechanger for the Fields and will […]

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Letters to the Papers: On-street bike hangars rolling out too slowly, and inequitably

Congratulations to Cllr Champion on reaching the milestone of Islington’s 500th on-street bike hanger (‘Five hundred hangars…’), but the Council’s promise to install a hundred more a year is too slow. There are still 2,500 people on the bike hangar waiting list, apparently, here in Islington, and this demand for secure on-street cycle parking will surely […]

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Letters to the Papers: Caroline Lucas will be a hard act to follow, but expect more Green MPs soon

While her constituency may be down in Brighton, many Islingtonians are sorry to hear that Caroline Lucas has announced her intention to step down as an MP at the next General Election. Since 2010 she has punched far above her weight as the Green Party’s only elected representative at Westminster, securing significant policy changes, shaping […]

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Letters to the Papers: Islington’s Hardship Fund still lying unclaimed

Following my letter, last month, Islington Council still hasn’t managed to distribute all of its Hardship Fund, so has extended the application deadline again, till the end of June this time. This entirely worthwhile initiative, to help low-income households who need support with paying their rent, still has grants available, but, so far, only 50% […]

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