saveladywellpool.com

Dear Elected Representatives of Lewisham,

I write as a former member of the labour party, having recently resigned my longstanding membership.  I hope this email provides some explaination.  I joined labour during the dark days of the long conservative government but have now lost all regard for the way in which local affairs are run under it’s banner.  I believed that labour would provide a voice for those who felt disadvantaged and vulnerable.  I believed that Labour would act to secure a good start for all and not just those with privilege.  Health and education were, to me, the vehicles that would start the work in reducing inequality.  With some of the most disadvantaged communities in England living in Lewisham, were better to witness a fresh start.  However, it seems that in Lewisham at least, my beliefs were unfounded and my enthusiasm waned.

 I note the continued refusal of the current council to think again about its absurd plans to demolish Ladywell Leisure Centre and use the land to squeeze in a secondary school.  This would deprive local people of a much needed health resource.  With higher rates of morbidity and mortality in Lewisham than the UK average, we can’t afford this calamity. 

The growth of population is in the north of the borough – the most disadvantaged areas.  It is a shock to me that a labour council should preside over a situation where the most vulnerable are to be bussed to school; a school where space constrains severely limit the learning opportunities.  This week we learn of a national increase in truancy and we know that truancy rates are higher in Lewisham than in other parts of the country.  We also know that truancy increases when pupils have to travel long distances.  We also know that there is available land for a school within the community were need is greatest and that a single company whose aim is to sell owns the majority of this land.  There is a distinct whiff of council wishing to make money from this site and to heck with the local community – the people who may have been used to being ignored by previous administrations are now being overlooked by a labour council.

   How can this be fair and equitable?  How does this fit in with Labour principles?  The answer, simply, is that it is not fair and it is not equitable.  I’m sad that it seems to fit in with the principles of the current Lewisham labour council. This is why I cannot continue to belong to a party with principles so different from my own.

Greg Rooney