When I was a bachelor, before I had children, I used to question why I was paying tax for people with children at school. Now I have children, I am more aware of the absolutely fundamental importance of education in our society. I will discuss this as a national issue later.
As far as Battersea is concerned, the mis-match of the number and quality of our primary schools and the shortage of secondary schools for these children to move on to is an absolute scandal.
It is also unfair. Just as some parents can afford to send their children to private schools (which is unfair too), so some parents in Battersea move to rented housing in Tooting on a temporary basis with the sole objective of getting their children into a good local secondary such as Graveney. Then, having achieved this, they move back ‘home’ to Battersea.
Clearly, this is not fair on parents who cannot afford to do this.
One of my campaign team is a widow who, in March 2010, has just suffered from this farcical and outrageous situation. Her son has been refused a place at any of her first choice schools and been offered a place at her fourth-choice school.
How can we overcome this scandalous situation?
I live near the old Bolingbroke Hospital. About a year ago, I realised this would be an ideal site for a new secondary school – especially as it is right beside Wandsworth Common. I passionately believe in extra-curricular activities such as sport, and am convinced that the old Bolingbroke Hospital would be an ideal site for a new, local secondary school.
When I started researching this issue, I discovered that there was already an active parent group with exactly the same objective. They are called the ‘Neighbourhood Schools Campaign’ (www.thensc.net). Whatever the outcome of the General Election, I have made the commitment that I will continue to help this fundamentally important Campaign.
In the meantime, this NSC campaign is the absolute focus of my ambition to stand for Battersea as your local MP. I am aware that, at the last General Election, 28,499 potential voters in Battersea did not vote at all. The winning Labour candidate achieved 16,569 votes and the losing Conservative candidate achieved 16,406 votes. So, between them, both Labour and Conservative combined achieved a total vote that only just overtook the number of people who did not vote at all. Only 24% of the people of Battersea voted for the winning Labour candidate and only 23% voted Conservative.
Since then, as I will show later in this manifesto, I believe that you, the electorate, have become even more disillusioned with politics and politicians – especially with ‘career politicians’ - and with good reason.
So, my objective is to provide an alternative for the local people in Battersea, to vote for the old Bolingbroke Hospital to become a an exciting new secondary school – without feeling they have to join the minority of our constituency who vote for either of the two major parties.
Between us, we, the people of Battersea can make this school happen!
There is no major hospital in Battersea. Those of us who live in the constituency are referred to hospitals elsewhere, such as St George’s and Chelsea & Westminster.
For most of us, this either involves depending on unreliable and random bus journeys, expensive car parking charges and/or the fear that one will fail to find a parking space at all.
I propose to meet with these hospitals and with Wandsworth Council to explore ways of overcoming these issues. Perhaps dedicated ‘shuttle buses’ would be the answer. I would be interested to hear your views.
What I do know, is that there is an inconsistency between the geographical definitions of Wandsworth Council, the NHS Trusts and the Parliamentary constituencies. We must find a way of overcoming these confusing overlaps.
I have had a lot of experience with the NHS and these are reflected in my views on Health at a national level below.
My team and I have an interest in the Paul d’Auria Cancer Centre (www.pauldauriacentre.org.uk). This relatively small local charity has been devastatingly affected by the withdrawal of funds from Wandsworth Council.
I am interested in bringing together all the charities in the constituency to explore where they can benefit from shared resources and experience.
For nearly ten years, I was a Trustee of a national charity called Regain (the UK’s only charity for tetraplegics injured in a sporting accident) and know only too well how difficult it can be to manage small charities. The more that government fails, the more important the work of these charities becomes. I believe it is part of the role of the Local MP to support local charities. And I will.
Since moving to Battersea in 1991, I have become aware that the gulf between the ‘haves and the have nots’ in Battersea has widened. I believe this may reflect a national trend.
But even though, arguably, I am one of the ‘haves’, largely because of the increased value of my house - see ‘Housing’ below – I would like to do everything I can to bring the people of Battersea closer together.
I do not judge people by how much money they have, or where they went to school, or their religion or by the colour of their skin. I judge people by how they behave. With a close friend, I have written a book about this called ‘Do As You Would Be Done By’. You can download the book for free on Lovereading.co.uk here.
I admit that the divisions in our society will not be solved easily. But, as your prospective local MP, I would like to do everything I can to bring the people of Battersea closer together.
As an Independent MP sitting, I hope, well above the petty squabbling of the established political parties (whose whole job can be to create divisions where they need not exist) I am standing for convergence rather than divergence.
As in my book, by encouraging people to behave to other people as they would like other people to them, I hope we can make a start.
As in the ‘About Hugh’ tab on this website, my professional career has been in advertising and marketing, during which time I have learnt that people behave ‘rationally’ and ‘emotionally’ when making decisions.
Bringing people together is a very difficult objective on an ‘emotional’ level. I believe it can be done, for example by producing media messages that encourage us to feel that we would like to be part of a less divided society. But the financial sums required to produce this material would only be affordable on a national, rather than local, level.
But there is one ‘rational’ thought I have that I would like to share….
Clapham Junction is not in Clapham. It is in Battersea. How many of us who live in the are have been asked by visitors: “Where is Clapham Old Town? or “Where is the cinema?
We have to tell them they are miles away from Clapham.
So, I would like to float the idea that, over a five year Parliamentary cycle we, the people of Battersea, campaign to change the name of Clapham Junction to ‘Battersea Junction’ or perhaps even to ‘Battersea Central’.
Of course, this would be a huge task – and I certainly would like to minimise the expense in doing this for the station itself and all the train timetables and so on.
I am also aware that there is a long history of ‘the Junction’ (not just in songs by Squeeze!). But it would send a signal (ok, a train signal) to the world that we, the people of Battersea, are coming together with the determination to make our ‘home town’ more united.
With the South Circular Road running right through Battersea, and with Wandsworth Road becoming increasingly congested (especially with the temporary closure of Albert Bridge), an enormous amount of traffic passes through our ‘home town’, I will lobby Wandsworth Council to produce a more imaginative approach to solving this problem.
We have to accept that we live in streets that, with parked cars on either side, simply do not leave room for traffic going in one direction can pass traffic passing the other way. This often leads to road rage, loud tooting of horns and more uncivilised behaviour. I have some ideas about how the sensible use of one-way systems can overcome this situation.
Personally, I am physically disabled from riding a bicycle, but it do think it would be beneficial for those who do ride bicycles to do so more safely and with more confidence. We need more bicycle lanes.
But, cyclists, in return we want you to obey the rules of the road!
Parking is a real problem in some parts of Battersea, especially around the Northcote Road at week-ends. I need to understand more about the issue of parking throughout the constituency, from Southside to Nine Elms, from Battersea Bridge to Balham High Road.
Clearly, there have to be controls, but parking control is most definitely a ‘Role of Government’, in this case local government.
It is a fundamental principle of our history and our legal system that you are ‘innocent until proven guilty’. As this principle has been conveniently discarded for parking fines (and speeding fines for that matter), where you are ‘guilty until proven innocent’, in return society deserves this issue to be treated with sensitivity and respect.
Parking regulations are often confusing and poorly communicated. We deserve better than this, especially as the level of punishment can be disproportionately high and, to many, almost completely unaffordable.
