Tory councillor Marilyn Ashton, deputy leader of the Harrow council opposition group, follows the point-scoring tactics at the meetings practised by her long term archrival Cllr Susan Hall, previous leader of the Tory group and her time-wasting deputy (he was defeated at the last council election).
Cllr Ashton grumbles that all sixteen questions by her group at the last cabinet meeting were not answered, despite the leader of the council chairing the meeting explained that it was not possible to answer all questions within the time allotted for councillors questions (normally 15 minute but extended to 38 minutes in this case).
Under the council practice, questions forwarded by the councillors at the cabinet meeting if not answered at the meeting, are replied in writing. But then this does not help point-scoring in public.
Perhaps the Tory group discipline under Cllr Paul Osborn leadership is not as bad as it was under Cllr Hall where council time was wasted through petty tactics.
The Harrow Times reported on 14 Oct 2016, “Cllr Hall continued to ask questions, despite being told her allocated time was up. She held up a megaphone created from a blue piece of paper, which she had made before the meeting”.
At the cabinet meeting on 27 April 2017, Cllr Hall asked, “Why have you failed to answer 88 of our questions from the Cabinet meeting on 16th February” and she along with a few  of her councillors asked further 72 questions at the meeting.
In another point-scoring statement, Cllr Ashton said that she left the meeting after councillor questions and everyone else came out about ten minutes afterwards. As a seasoned councillor, Marilyn Ashton should know that the question time is a key attraction for the public and opposition who usually leave the meeting when the question session is over.

Harrow council supported Harrow Police together with Brent and Barnet Police as part of a knife crime campaign, which aimed to reduce the number of people – especially young people, carrying knives.
Operation Sceptre took place locally on Saturday 29 September around Brent, Barnet and Harrow to increase awareness of the dangers of carrying illegal weapons such as knives and the consequences.
In the targeted hot-spots in each borough knife owners were encouraged to give up their weapons safely and without fear of being prosecuted. Police officers also dealt with anti-social behaviour and carried out stop and searches, where appropriate.
North West Borough Commander, Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Rose said:
“Our message to those who are carrying knives or thinking about doing so is clear – it does not protect you, in fact, it makes you more vulnerable. So, make the right choice – lose the knife, not a valuable life.”
On his part, councillor Krishna Suresh, lead member for crime and community safety at Harrow Council said “Harrow has recently seen a rise in violent crime – the same as the rest of London and of course, this is worrying for the community.  We want to reassure residents that we are working hard to keep on top of this issue. Operation Sceptre is a good way to get that message across.”
According to official statistics from the Met Police, in 2018 there have been 1,296 stabbings in London up to the end of April.
“Violent crime in Harrow has increased by 60%, and it is no surprise that this increase correlates to the reduction in police officers on our streets” Gareth Thomas MP for Harrow West previously said.
It can only be good that the authorities are proactive in dealing with the increased knife crimes in Harrow, but not sure about long term measures to address the crime because of the serious resource implication.

Tory appointed London assembly member Susan Hall, a Harrow councillor* with little participation in the work of the council now, uses her City Hall position to gain publicity, this time by asking London Mayor to divert part of the £500k prize money for the ‘Women We See’ competition into running an anti-fly tipping campaign on TfL networks.
Hurriedly put together report for her is not clear about the demand for such anti-fly tipping campaign, where the other funding for it could come from or whether the government should chip in but she insists “I think he (London mayor) just needs to get his priorities right. He could also use his considerable influence.”
Such a half-backed call for an anti-tipping campaign seems more like publicity seeking and point-scoring.
The competition, launched by the Transport for London (TfL) and City Hall, comes after research reveals Londoners don’t think the women they see in ads are representative of those in the capital, more so the BAME Londoners who say their ethnicity is not well-represented in London’s advertising.
“London is one of the most diverse cities in the world and our diversity is one of our greatest strengths, so it’s important we challenge the disparity between the women we see in our advertising and the women we see around us in our city,” says Heidi Alexander, deputy mayor for transport.
Fly-tipping, particularly random fly-tipping, is a national problem (local authorities in England dealt with around 1m fly-tipping incidents in 2016/17 – estimated  clearance cost £57.7m) but fly-tipping in London is higher than any other region in the UK.
Susan Hall’s poorly argued report fails to benefit from the authentic research like that by the London Borough Environment Directors Network (LEDNet) and Keep Britain Tidy which recommends many practical ways to address fly-tipping in the capital.
In Harrow, although the fly-tipping, mostly random,  is lower than Barnet, Brent and Hillingdon and much lower than some other London boroughs like Enfield, Newham or Haringey, it is a matter of concern and more so in the parts of the borough which have short-term private rented accommodation or unlicensed houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).
Harrow council investigates fly tips amongst other aspects of anti-social behaviour, using range of powers including cautions, prosecutions and fixed penalty notices.[*Cllr Hall stepped down as the leader of the opposition Tory group on the Harrow council last year amongst the calls for a healthy opposition, no punch & judy style leadership and an effective group (Tory group lost the councils in 2010 and 2014 as well as two by-elections in between, under Cllr Hall’s leadership].

In money saving exercise, many parts of the UK are now moving towards three-weekly bin collections in a bid to cut down on residual waste and increase recycling, reports BBC.
Not only this, but at least one council (Conwy) has gone to four-weekly bin collections after long trial which brought more rats, seagulls and flies.
Harrow Council is responsible for collecting the waste that its residents produce and with increasing landfill charges and restrictions on waste disposal it is constantly looking to the future, which could include cost cutting in collecting/disposing off the waste.
The responsibility for waste treatment and disposal is held by the West London Waste Authority, of which Harrow is a member, along with Brent, Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames.
The six west London boroughs have prepared a Joint Waste Local Plan for their combined area. The plan sets out a strategy and policies for the sustainable management of all waste produced by the boroughs for the period up to 2026.
At present, the bins collections in Harrow is: a fortnightly collection of residual waste – green/ grey and blue wheeled bin on alternative weeks;  a weekly collection of food waste – a small 23 litre black bin and a fortnightly garden waste collection – the brown bin on a chargeable basis.
Would the Harrow council be able to retain its present bin collection arrangements or would it scrap the scheme  in favour of three/four-weekly collections or could it exercise its powers to “recover a reasonable charge” for collection of household waste under Section 45 paragraph 3 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990?

In expressing concern about the lack of government’s plan for policing, National Audit Office says that Home Office has ‘no overarching strategy’ for police.
”The Home Office must urgently address a lack of a plan for policing and “significant gaps” in its understanding of demand for police services” NAO demands.
In a separate move, Kevin Moore, a senior retired police officer in a petition to the home secretary says “I care deeply about protecting our communities and the state of policing and it’s heartbreaking to see the cuts being made. In this country we’ve lost 25,000 police officers since 2010. And the effects are clear to see – with over 91% of crimes taking place without anyone getting charged”.
In talking about how he is addressing crimes and inadequacy of police resources in Harrow, Harrow West MP Gareth Thomas (photo) explained:
“Due to the notable crime incidents in Harrow, residents are anxious about this and as a resident of Harrow, I share these fears” he said.
“I have continuously raised the issue of underfunding of our Police and the threat this causes to our community. Violent crime in Harrow has increased by 60%, and it is no surprise that this increase correlates to the reduction in police officers on our streets” he said.
“The Metropolitan Police has lost £600 million from its annual budget since the Conservative Government took power. If proposed plans are followed through, the Met will need to find another £400 million in savings. We in Harrow have seen these cuts in action, losing 173 police uniformed police officers from our streets since 2010. As well as a reduction in services at South Harrow Police Station” points out Mr Thomas.
He informed that he is in regular contact with senior members of the Metropolitan Police to discuss resource allocation, policy and operations, making the case for greater resources for Harrow, to keep our streets safe.
“During the summer, I went on a ride along with the Police, so I can see first-hand the Police face on a daily basis. It is clear that the Police are doing a fantastic job at keeping our community safe, but they’re struggling by a lack of resources” added Mr Thomas.

Having calculated his votes, Harrow East MP Bob Blackman asks again what progress has been made in developing the legislation required to remove caste as a protected characteristic from the Equality Act 2010.
Replying to his Commons question on 13/09/2018, Victoria Atkins the parliamentary under-secretary of state for the home department, minister for women, did not inform what progress has been made but made interesting comment “I always look forward to the six-weekly question from my honorary friend on this matter”.
Under the Equality Act 2010 the government has a duty to include caste as an ‘aspect of race’ but Mr Blackman wants this to be repealed.
General perception is that the caste discrimination in the UK is mostly by Indian background Asians – upper caste and Tories.
Chair of CasteWatch UK, Satpal Muman said “ Hindutva (the central idea advocating Hindu nationalism) supporters in the UK who are close to Indian prime minters Modi have been instrumental in the government decision to not legislate against caste discrimination (in the UK)”.
Mr Blackman is well known for his attraction to far right, in and outside Britain, as well as his divisive approach for votes from the Indian background voters (he is in a very marginal seat).
BBC recently  reported an alarming case of caste discrimination in the UK: a woman recruited from India to be a domestic servant for an Indian background family in the UK was paid 11p an hour has been awarded almost £18,4000 in unpaid wages in a ground breaking case – an employment tribunal found the thirty nine year old woman was chosen and discriminated against because of her low cost.
Few months back, Britain based South Asia Solidarity Group’s Campaigner Keval Bharadia urged UN to investigate the human rights violations against Dalits* and other minorities “occurring on a vast and horrific scale in India”.
[*the term dalits was in use as a translation for the British Raj census classification of Depressed Classes (castes) prior to 193].
“There is a horrifying rise in the rapes, mutilation, acid attacks and other forms of violence, often followed by murder, of women and girls of all communities, but Dalit women and girls and those from religious minorities are being specifically targeted” says the petition to UN.
Dawn Butler MP, the Labour party spokesperson on equality issues said “caste-based prejudice and discrimination is a gross violation of human rights and must not be tolerated”.
Harrow East Conservative Association nurtures Bob Blackman MP despite serious concerns about his reported involvement with far right.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is investing in frontline policing, but like police and crime commissioners across the country, he is swimming against the tide of deep government cuts, which is why violent crime in the last three years has alarmingly increased in many areas.
Harrow West MP Gareth Thomas informs that since Theresa May took over as home secretary in 2010, Harrow has lost over 173 police officers. It comes as no surprise then, that in Harrow, we are seeing a substantial increase in crimes, for example, the Knife crime with injury was up by almost 60% in 2017, he said.
According to the UK Crime Stats, total recorded violent crimes in Harrow in July 2017 to July 2018 were 1646.
The total volume of violent crime in Harrow has increased by 4.6% when compared year-over-year in the period of July 2017 – June 2018, according to the Plumpot data base.
Robbery crime is the highest ranking crime category when category crime rate is compared to the national average crime rate.
Robbery crime rate has increased by 19.1% when compared year-over-year in the period of July 2017 – June 2018 (Plumpot data base).
Possession of weapons crime has also increased in the sample period, representing 29.8% annual change (source as above).
Labour parliamentary candidate for Harrow East Cllr Pamela Fitzpatrick said, “Tory cuts to policing are putting the safety of Harrow residents at risk – I have been alarmed by reports of increasing crime”.
In another money saving exercise, Harrow has closed a number of traditional police stations for public, and Harrow borough commander Simon Ovens stepped down before Harrow, Barnet and Brent consolidated under one basic command unit (BCU).

A variety of Labour supporters attended the event, held on 8 September 2018.
Speaking at the event Harrow councillor Pamela Fitzpatrick, Labour parliamentary candidate for Harrow East, said she is a socialist who supports the Labour leader and would do her best to unseat Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East.
Cllr Pamela Fitzpatrick is concerned about the cuts to school budgets in Harrow:“The Tories are failing to invest in our children’s future. They have slashed school budgets, overseen a crisis in teacher numbers and not delivered enough school places” says Cllr Fitzpatrick.
“Our local MP (Bob Blackman) has consistently voted for budget cuts meaning a huge reduction in funding to our schools” she reminds.
The author and Guardian columnist Owen Jones came to the event to support Cllr Fitzpatrick and said she would be an excellent MP (the video below contains his talk with the Harrow Monitoring Group).

As Harrow Labour are holding Unseat Bob Blackman event this Saturday, Cllr Ashton, deputy chairman Harrow East Conservative Association, joins the mischievous attempts to oust the democratically elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, though somewhat late as people have moved on from the foreign assisted divisive politics of antisemitism.
Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) has agreed the anti-Semitism definition which has been politically shunted around for weeks  but Cllr Ashton, who holds property in Israel and spends considerable time there while enjoying  the councillor’s allowance,  has criticised the Labour goodwill, “I don’t think anyone will be reassured by what the NEC have done”.
The NEC action would not prevent Labour activists from criticising the actions of the “apartheid” Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu or sympathising with  the plight of Palestinian people.
(would be interesting to read some of the Harrow people comments discrediting the Cllr Ashton’s statements)
There have been many assessments of why the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been witch-hunted, including the following:
“Israel is claiming that Corbyn and the Labour party are putting British Jews at risk. But the bottom line is that the Netanyahu government itself is actually enlarging the risk for the Jewish people around the world, because they are not dealing with the real problem, just the artificial problem. They are not concerned with real anti-Semitism, they only want to fulfil their political agenda of taking the issue of the Palestinian people off the world stage” says prominent Israeli advocate Eitay Mack.
Convenor of the Stop the War Coalition Lindsey German adds to what has been done to Jeremy Corbyn:
“there is now an alliance of right wing Labour MPs, the print and broadcast media, the Tories and indeed Benjamin Netanyahu – all united on finding ways in which every day they can spread lies, innuendo, misunderstandings and misquotes which paint Corbyn as the devil incarnate”.

Within three days of our reporting water leak outside a Wealdstone high street shop, Affinity Water responded positively and repaired the leak as indicated below (well done Affinity Water).
Somewhat surprised, the Delight shopkeeper Virgina said, “Thank you very much for getting a job done so quickly”.