Harrow Council elections are in May 2022!


(Chairman Stoke Poges and Wexham Conservatives, Treasurer Beaconsfield Constituency Conservative Association)
Harrow East MP has no respect or credibility because of his divisive politics. He relies on stirring up socio-religious emotions to secure votes from the Gujarati and Jewish background voters.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a right-wing party in India – why it has been established in the UK prompts that it is to exploit Indian background voters by opportunist politicians engaged with the right-wing politics!!

Conservatives: one hour free parking at the council car parks, extra street cleaning, more enforcement against illegal HMOs (house in multiple occupation), free bulky waste collection.
They say they have proposed a budget amendment which would have delivered on the priorities of local people. They say ‘Labour chose to stick with their short-term plan of gimmicks and wasteful spending’  – for example, £3.7m on failed IT projects, £44m on civic centre project and second-highest Council Tax in London.
Harrow Greens don’t have a manifesto for the local elections but publicise their various campaigns, interventions and petitions over the years to improve the quality of life in Harrow.
Labour: they are committed to safer communities, economic recovery & social justice (though apparently some dedicated Harrow socialists have been systematically ditched). They identify the following steps to achieve their set priorities:
To tackle anti-social behaviour and crime by increasing CCTV coverage, installing more LED lights and investing in dealing with domestic violence. Delivering 30 minutes free on-street parking. A new ‘fly-tip task force’ and doubling street cleaning in Harrow’s high streets and town centres.
They report some wonderful people are helping clean our streets (not ratepayers job to do this), and show support for LGBT community.
Liberal Democrats: they would go for greener housing without high-rise – use Council powers to make sure dwellings are not kept empty without good reason, a Harrow Card to deliver benefits to residents and businesses, make Harrow cleaner and greener, and fight fly-tipping. They pledge to keep the council tax as low as possible – will fight for a better share of Government funds.
They say they will use all the local authority powers to tackle knife crime; and will set yearly targets for a reduction in crime in Harrow, so the progress could be measured.
‘We will promote planting of trees, new or as replacement, in the parks and along streets’ they say.

David Ashton (Con):  Chairman of the Harrow East Conservative Association, and ex Belmont councillor who led the Conservative group on the council and the Harrow council very well. He did not stand for the council in 2010 (probably due to too much bickering from his deputy, Cllr Susan Hall, all the time). If elected for the Centenary ward, he would be an asset to the council’s financial decision-making team.
Peymana Assad (Lab): sitting Roxeth ward councillor with responsibility for community cohesion who plays hard on her Afghan ethnicity and claims victimhood (‘woman of colour and Muslim’) when her community cohesion inadequacies are challenged. Like, when  Cllr Marilyn Ashton pointed out at the cabinet meeting of 23 September 2021, that “a member of cabinet who’s in charge of community cohesion, who has tweeted that she will take up arms against the Afghan government and its allies (at the time in recent past), and labelled Israel is an apartheid state and spread doubts about the AstraZeneca as presented a vaccine”. Her many tweets also give sense of a needle for Pakistan.
Salim Chowdhury (Con): Hotelier and ex councillor for Pinner South who did not stand for re-election in 2010 because of his business commitments. He seems to be head-hunted, since Harrow conservatives have been criticised for having Islamophobic elements and no Muslim councillor. He, along with his Bangladeshi friends of the Conservative Party,  is loyal to the Harrow East MP Blackman, who has been in the news headlines for his Islamophobia related activities. He is now standing for the Centenary ward.
Thaya Idaikkadar (Con): Ex Roxeth ward Labour councillor and the leader of the Harrow council who left the Labour group on the council in 2013 amid racism claims . He formed and led the Independent Labour Group that ran the council with the support of the Tory group on the council, but then he was ousted by the same Tory group some months later in a power grabbing sharp move – the short-lived Tory administration lost the council in the 2014 elections. He is standing for the Rayners Lane ward.
Anjana Patel (Con): A West Harrow rejected and Harrow East adopted councillor is re-standing for the Belmont ward. Islamophobia: her tweet to Muslim activist and  Nobel Prize holder Malala Yousafzai, obtained by LBC radio station, was included in Islamophobia dossier. Many of her tweets (some now cleverly deleted) tag @PMOIndia @narendramodi (Indian PM Modi).

Responding to the Statutory and Non-Statutory Consultation regarding a residential development in Harrow, Clinical Commissioning Group would like to seek a capital contribution of £62,650.
The application, reported to Planning Committee for granting the planning permission, relates to the development at the Citizen’s Advice Bureau (9 Station Road) and Harrow council Civic Car Park A, which extends along Milton Road.
The application site is within the Opportunity Area and forms part of an allocated site for the wider redevelopment of the Harrow Civic Centre.
This development is the apartment building with height ranging from 4 to 7 storeys, comprising 29 residential units and ten 3 storey townhouses.
The intention is to  offer these units to Harrow residents at Harrow income levels.
In responding to the CCG demand, the planning officer said, “Whilst the NHS seeks a capital contribution, no justification has been provided as to why a development of this scale and nature would be required to make a capital contribution towards the NHS. It is therefore considered to be unreasonable and disproportionate. Furthermore, Harrow Council is committed to using CIL* revenues and other funding sources to help deliver social, economic and environmental infrastructure to support and meet the demands arising from development.”
[*CIL is a levy that local authorities can choose to charge on new developments in their area. The money should be used to support development by funding infrastructure that the council, local community and neighbourhoods want]

Very interesting that a trial scheme at the Northwick Park Hospital to redirect some people attending accident and emergency to elsewhere outside the hospital, has been hailed a success.
Wonder if this screening for patient care has been blessed by the Healthwatch Harrow and the West London Clinical Commissioning Groups, and who is defining the ‘success’ taking account of the distress caused by redirecting patients like elderly, vulnerable and children to elsewhere?
Such a screening at the hospital A&E entrance to find who needs emergency treatment might ease pressure on the hospital, save NHS some money and help to counter public outcry about long delays in getting emergency treatment at the hospital, but is not a healthy alternative to fully funded efficient emergency treatment at the hospital.
Add to all this the fact that the *face to face consultation with Harrow GPs is rare should give a good idea about the quality of patient care in Harrow!
Fresh in the Harrow memory is the closure of the much-loved Walk-in Centres and Urgent Care Centres (UCCs), which were proudly introduced as alternatives to accident and emergency departments and which provided treatment for minor illnesses and injuries, without an appointment. Bring these back to help out the A&E.
Considering experiences of sending patients back to community, let us have assurance that the patients with life-threatening conditions like subarachnoid haemorrhage, heart attack, compromised air ways etc will have emergency treatment at the hospital and not shunted around in the community.
[*We posed a question:  how exactly the pandemic has added more pressure on GPs to the fact that face to face consultations are rare in Harrow, given that it is the 111/119 and not GPs who deal with patients with Covid symptoms, and where needed hospitals provide the treatment?
Following is a typical GP response:  “Face to face consultation is the norm and much easier and quicker for all GPS, some people with higher authority do not want this to happen and don’t want primary care to get back to the same work pattern. We are not even allowed to keep surgery doors open for easy access and our receptionist are now working as a gate-keepers and don’t have time to answer the phone or do other admin work”.

An investigation report (today) by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) uncovers bullying and discrimination within the Metropolitan Police Service ranks, including incidents of racism, misogyny and harassment.
The IOPC is led by director general Michael Lockwood who was chief executive of London borough of Harrow. His deputy Tom Whiting is from Harrow and was interim chief executive at the Harrow council. Both officers exercised fairness in focusing on the socio-cultural/religious life of the most diverse Harrow borough and served it effectively.
At the IOPC, both are committed to ensure that the police disciplinary and complaints system is as effective and as clear as possible, which is needed to build public confidence in the accountability process.
The IOPC report recommendations include addressing underlying cultural issues by preventing environments that could lead to unprofessional and inappropriate behaviour and go unchallenged. It further includes recommendations for the Met to publicly commit to being an anti-racist organisation with a zero-tolerance policy towards sexism, misogyny, bullying and harassment.
During its investigations, the IOPC reviewed thousands of messages exchanged by officers, including many that were highly sexualised, discriminatory or referred to violence. These were generally described as banter by officers in their defence.

A teenager was rushed to hospital after being stabbed in High Street, Wealdstone on January 29, it has been reported. Enquiries continue.
“Labour are obsessed with moving the Civic Centre to Wealdstone where there have been 930 violent crimes since May 2018” Harrow Council Conservatives had alerted about the crime rate in the area previously.
In October 2021 alone, there have been 161 crimes in Wealdstone, including 43 violence and sexual offences. In November last year a man with a knife assaulted a person at Harrow & Wealdstone station, and in December two boys and young man were stabbed in Wealdstone.
Wealdstone ward, 75% BAME population, is one of the most deprived wards in Harrow – with overcrowding, unemployment, crime and the fear of crime being major concerns – many say it is now a ‘no-go area’ in the evenings.
But the council’s portfolio holder for tackling crimes and community cohesion, quick to play victimhood when questioned, has been dismissive about the concerning crime rate in Wealdstone, claiming that Harrow is a low crime-rate borough (December cabinet meeting).
If the violent crime in Wealdstone is taken seriously, the Harrow council should declare zero tolerance to the crime irrespective of who are involved and without a second thought about losing some votes.

As the Covid-19 cases in Harrow are the fourth-highest rate in London,  London North West University Healthcare explain their January Covid-19 care situations, including an effective front door model that alleviates urgent care and A&E pressures at Northwick Park Hospital:
Around 22% of the Trust’s general beds are occupied with patients receiving care related to COVID-19 (around 200 patients). 80% of genotyped COVID patients are Omicron patients.
Critical Care has expanded to 36 beds across two sites. Around 35% of these beds are occupied by patients receiving care related to COVID-19.
The majority of patients in hospital with COVID-19 are unvaccinated.
Absence rates in their workforce have increased to 7%, they would usually be 4%. Safety huddles help move staff between wards and service areas to maintain safety and support the staff.
In addition to parts of their Critical Care and other higher dependency areas, they have now converted 8 ward areas to ‘Red’ areas, meaning they specifically cater for cases of COVID-19 in their hospitals. This also reduces the risk of hospital acquired infections.
A review of NPH (normal pressure hydrocephalus) incidental findings of COVID-19 showed that around 45% of COVID patients attended hospital for other care needs – they attended hospital with COVID rather than for COVID care specifically. This is reflective of high community infection rates.
Support for their staff is paramount at this time. They have good supplies of PPE, Lateral Flow Tests, Booster and flu jabs.
Whilst Nursing Home outbreaks remain a concern, they are well-supported by partners in their Integrated Care System, to facilitate discharge and ongoing care.

Covid positives in Harrow have substantially increased with vaccination take up lower than nationally (source), despite Harrow council’s repeated reminders.
As of 29 December 2021, 649 people are tested positive daily for the Coronavirus in Harrow, and 4,127 in the last 7 days (up by 31.9%).
To that date, total 47,493 people are tested positive, with 773 deaths with COVID-19 on the death certificate.
While the Harrow council claims success in vaccination, 71.5%  had the first dose (89.9% national), 65.1% had the second dose (82.3% N) and 45%  had the booster (57% N).
Where can one get vaccinated in Harrow brings rather limited information compared with the neighbouring boroughs like Brent, an ongoing Harrow council weakness in general communication and community cohesion/interaction – many residents now feel that the council is hiding behind Covid and don’t respond to the public concerns, emails/telephones etc.
With such low level of confidence in the work of the council, no surprise that the council messages for the Covid preventive measures, including vaccination, are not getting through or not taken seriously, resulting in unrestricted socio-cultural mixing and gatherings, including at the confined indoors spaces, happily supported by the politicians in the council election year,