Forum Topic

The Brutal Truth About Tory Hammersmith and Fulham

http://tinyurl.com/33tk85c

Karen Cooper ● 5472d7 Comments

'I'd put a lot of the Ealing swing down to the anger over the Arcadia town centre redevelopment, supported by the council (and the Mayor, actually) but stopped by Labour's John Denham'I think this is wrong. The 24 seats that the Conservatives retained on the Council are in wards bordering on Ealing Broadway. Their support held up well in areas that might actually care about Arcadia but collapsed in areas that wouldn't care e.g. Acton, Perivale, Greenford.'Ealing's Tories got in on similar NIMBY sentiment about the tram.'Don't think it is justifiable to describe opposition to the tram as NIMBYism and in fact H&F Labour wisely opposed the project. It was an ill-conceived scheme that never would have got off the ground.

Andy Jones ● 5424d

"there is a tendency to believe that any change will be an improvement."Yes, in Ealing there's a tendency to believe that anything that happened since 1945 is the road to hell.I'd point out that Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea also have northern enclaves which they don't control, and it hasn't stopped them.  Mind you, they aren't quite as nasty as Greenhalgh's goon squad.

Tom Barry ● 5424d

There are some major developments planned for the centre of Hammersmith but there isn't a great deal of affection amongst local people for King Street and there is a tendency to believe that any change will be an improvement.The difference in my view between Wandsworth and H&F is that there is now a clear geographical split with the Tories failing to control a northern enclave in the last election which they are now targeting through their housing policy.

Karen Cooper ● 5424d

I'd put a lot of the Ealing swing down to the anger over the Arcadia town centre redevelopment, supported by the council (and the Mayor, actually) but stopped by Labour's John Denham, one suspects with more than one eye on the local election possibilities - remember Ealing's Tories got in on similar NIMBY sentiment about the tram.  Ealing's NIMBYs are pretty fearsome, going back some decades.There isn't really an equivalent in Hammersmith, nor is there an equivalent in Ealing to the demographic changes that mean much of LBHF is akin to ultra-Tory Wandsworth these days.  This is a bit of a shame since the council are by some distance the worst bunch of ideological libertarians in the city (I wouldn't feed Harry Phibbs to a dog, for instance), and short of actual totalitarians there is no worse ideology to run a municipal authority, which explains the obsession with propaganda.

Tom Barry ● 5436d

Whilst I don't agree that Johann Hari's article is a 'shrill polemic' you are probably right about its impact. The importance of H&F news in the campaign is difficult to work out but the poor performance of Labour at a local level against the surprise win in the general election suggests you may have a point. More and more people are becoming aware of the nature of H&F News so hopefully its influence is on the decline.

Karen Cooper ● 5436d

The article, like much of what Johann Hari writes, is a shrill polemic which attempts to make a great deal out of very little. The case of the pregnant woman forced to sleep rough had been covered elsewhere and is clearly a result of individual cock-up rather than Council policy. Don't get me wrong, from what I can see LBHF has cut taxes partly by reducing the effectiveness of services it provides to those most at need but it is hard to see how you would do otherwise if as much as possible of the Council budget is going to help the needy in the first place.The article in the Independent was deliberately timed to affect the outcome of the election in Hammersmith and Fulham. The twitterati distributed it widely and claimed it had a significant impact when Andy Slaughter defeated Shaun Bailey. The reality of its influence became apparent the following day when the Conservatives of 'Cameron Land' held onto the Council with ease.The interesting thing for me is why the Tories in Ealing were wiped out yet the Tories in LBHF were not. As both Councils seemed to have followed similar policies the main difference is that Ealing run a fairly benign Council magazine whereas HF have a full blown newspaper which trumpets the success of the Conservatives with many of its readers unaware they are paying for it.The Independent newspaper is a sad shadow of its former self and it readership has plummeted as a result so its influence is close to zero. The last thing Twitter will ever do is change anybody's opinion on anything because by definition it is not a place where you can construct a well thought out argument. H&F News on the other hand has proved itself to be incredibly effective in shaping public opinion - a lesson that will be picked up by Councils of whatever hue following this election.

Andy Jones ● 5464d

I read this article with increasing incredulity and absolute horror.  I assume that Johann Hari has checked this out and he is correct in what he is saying.  Words fail me and I feel unable to make further comment except it is a wonder that the Conservative councillors in LBE haven't followed suit, they aren't  bright enough to think up these cuts on their own but may just have the ability to copy? I can just see Jason Stacey on a Polo Pony!

Libby Kemp ● 5471d