The proposal for the tower block in Queen’s Park is a lead topic for each of the parties contesting the electoral ward of Queen’s Park. For Labour it is getting like the Monty Python topic not to be mentioned in front of our hosts for the World Cup. The Lib Dems have made great gains from this thread - well, a sitting (yet not restanding) Councillor defected to Team Yellow with the tower plan as a key issue. The defection as on the front page of this weeks Willesden and Brent Times and the ‘bun fight’ at the Queen’s Park Corral was analysed over a double page spread.

The Green’s in Queen’s Park have made opposing the development symbolic of their opposition to decision making without consultation - a characteristic of Brent Council in their view.

While I have not seen any campaign literature from the Conservatives in Queen’s Park (please forward some if you have it!) the Party is opposing developments in the Dudden Hill area - maybe they have the same tac in QP?

More to come:

• Lib Dem scans….
• Labour negative campaigning against the Lib Dems in Mapesbury
• Scans from the press
• Links to other places….

Thank you for reading.

After announcing his intention not to stand in the coming local election in a letter to residents of Queen’s Park on the 6th, Cllr Jonathan Davies had now joined the Liberal Demcrats.

Brent Labour Councillor Jonathan Davies has joined the Liberal Democrats reports the BELD website.

“I have realised that the beliefs I stand for such as the safeguarding of our civil liberties, international justice and a free and fair society are best represented within the Liberal Democrats.”

Also connected to Jonathan’s feelings over the proposed development of a tower block in Queen’s Park ? : “The issue of Queen’s Park Tower is a classic example of Brent Labour in action. Consultation with local communities is kept to a bare minimum with decisions being made by a small cabal of Labour politicians and unelected Brent Council officers.”

This local red top was delivered in late February. It leads with the news of the Liberal Democrats delivering a “hammer blow” to Labour” in Dunfermline by-election.

The national political story was the continued opposition to the ID card legislation by Sarah Teather and the Liberal Democrats. The newsletter also covered the story of the comments made by Labour Cllr Jonathan Davies on the ‘consultation’ over the Queen’s Park Tower plans.

The two other key stories are the rehousing of Willesden Market following a successful campaign by the W&BT that Sarah Teather has supported and another highlughting Sarah’s long standing commitment to local healthcare provission with a story about her support for the  closure threatened Wembley Minor Accident Treatment Service.

“the lib dems stand up for us” ? well it is a Brent Lib Dem flyer… this flyer arrived in either late Feb or early March - the trail started early for the BELD team.

The update lacks focus - there are a lot of different things crammed ontoa doublesided sheet of A4. Quality of life/local environment make the agenda again - also mentioned is that the lib dems want to focus council tax receipts on public services, sports facilities and public toliets - with disabled access? a wooful lack of disabled access public toilets in Brent and London as a whole! - rather than the wasting of money on “glossy publications” such as the Brent Magazine and the Ward Working leaflets. I’ve got a Ward Working for Mapesbury to post as well… as waste of money? well, it gives Onyx the recycling contractor something to collect. i wonder what percentage of Brents waste - as a whole - the council is responsible for the creation of? anyway……