LABOUR COUNCILLORS HAVE HAD A RETHINK! - Politics Forum and Political Blog discussing and debating political and social issues.

Jack Black · #1 (**permalink**) 17-05-2008, 12:43 PM

On 15 May 2008, the East London Advertiser reported thus:

Quote:

A housing strategy dumped for being ‘racist’ in the 1990s could be brought back to prevent the break up of A NEW GENERATION OF FAMILIES in London's East End. The Sons and Daughters scheme, which was scrapped almost 20 years ago after a ruling by the COMMISSION FOR RACIAL EQUALITY, could return to tackle the growing need for housing in Tower Hamlets.

Quote:

The controversial policy, originally overseen in Tower Hamlets by the Lib Dems in the late 1980s, gave priority on the housing list TO THE CHILDREN OF ESTABLISHED EAST END FAMILIES...

LABOUR POLITICIANS CLASSED IT AS RACIST, SAYING IT DISCRIMINATED AGAINST NEW ARRIVALS FROM THE BANGLADESHI COMMUNITY.

When it was axed, IT CONTRIBUTED TO THE 'WHITE FLIGHT' PHENOMENON OF TRADITIONAL FAMILIES MOVING AWAY FROM THE EAST END.

But now the influential Young Foundation think tank says SCRAPPING IT HAD DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES FOR THE ‘LONG ESTABLISHED WHITE WORKING CLASS COMMUNITY.’

But almost two decades on, WITH A DRAMATICALLY CHANGED POPULATION DEMOGRAPHIC, a 20,000-plus housing waiting list, and, according to the Town Hall, BANGLADESHI OFFSPRING PARTICULARLY UNABLE TO FIND HOMES NEAR THEIR PARENTS, LABOUR COUNCILLORS HAVE HAD A RETHINK!

A six-month inquiry by the authority's Overview and Scrutiny Committee found offspring in their 20s now had to move far away to find homes, causing problems for the close family network. A NEW SONS AND DAUGHTERS POLICY COULD HELP SOLVE THAT, the committee said.

But although former Lib Dem councillors have raised an eyebrow at the return of a policy that was once considered racist and illegal, LABOUR'S ALEX HESLOP, WHO LED THE REVIEW, DENIED BRINGING IT BACK WOULD BE HYPOCRITICAL.

The new policy would… help ‘COMMUNITY COHESION’, he insisted…

‘There is DEMAND FOR THE POLICY, (from the Bangladeshi Community) but we are asking for a non-discriminatory policy so there would be some sort of category for sons and daughters. It's a sensitive issue. But we think THERE IS THE SUPPORT FOR IT ACROSS THE COMMUNITY. (From across the Bangladeshi Community) We are saying to the council HAVE A LOOK AT IT… AND MAKE IT WORK’.

The composition of the "Overview and Scrutiny Committee" of Tower Hamlets Council is as follows:

Alex Heslop himself; Timothy Archer; Stephanie Eaton; Marc Francis; Bill Turner; Peter Golds; Shahed Ali; Lutfa Begum; Alibor Choudhury; Ahmed Hussain; Abjol Miah; Fozol Miah; Oliur Rahman; M. Mamun Rashid; Mohammed Abdus Salique; Abdul Aziz Sardar and Salim Ullah.

I wonder if the fact that they are now well in the majority (65%) influenced the Asians on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to conclude that the old "racist" rules need no longer apply?

What were the Tower Hamlets top folk doing whilst this Committee was acting with such self-interest? Surely the bigwigs of the New Labour Council should have spoken out against such partiality?

Well, you see, 77% of Tower Hamlets’ "Cabinet" is Asian now as well. And they were also entirely happy to see the policy revived. And as, (according to the 2001 census) 65,500 occupants of Tower Hamlets now describe themselves as Bangladeshi, (there will be many more now) I’m pretty sure they, too, would be extremely pleased that those they elected to put them first are, indeed, doing so!

None of the behaviours cited above can be described as racist, of course.

It’s only your white, indigenous type who deserves to be demonised thus!

On 15 May 2008, the East London Advertiser reported thus:

Quote:

A housing strategy dumped for being ‘racist’ in the 1990s could be brought back to prevent the break up of A NEW GENERATION OF FAMILIES in London's East End. The Sons and Daughters scheme, which was scrapped almost 20 years ago after a ruling by the
COMMISSION FOR RACIAL EQUALITY, could return to tackle the growing need for housing in Tower Hamlets.

The controversial policy, originally overseen in Tower Hamlets by the Lib Dems in the late 1980s, gave priority on the housing list TO THE CHILDREN OF ESTABLISHED EAST END FAMILIES...

LABOUR POLITICIANS CLASSED IT AS RACIST, SAYING IT DISCRIMINATED AGAINST NEW ARRIVALS FROM THE BANGLADESHI COMMUNITY.

When it was axed, IT CONTRIBUTED TO THE 'WHITE FLIGHT' PHENOMENON OF TRADITIONAL FAMILIES MOVING AWAY FROM THE EAST END.

But now the influential Young Foundation think tank says SCRAPPING IT HAD DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES FOR THE ‘LONG ESTABLISHED WHITE WORKING CLASS COMMUNITY.’

But almost two decades on, WITH A DRAMATICALLY CHANGED POPULATION DEMOGRAPHIC, a 20,000-plus housing waiting list, and, according to the Town Hall, BANGLADESHI OFFSPRING PARTICULARLY UNABLE TO FIND HOMES NEAR THEIR PARENTS, LABOUR COUNCILLORS HAVE HAD A RETHINK!

A six-month inquiry by the authority's Overview and Scrutiny Committee found offspring in their 20s now had to move far away to find homes, causing problems for the close family network. A NEW SONS AND DAUGHTERS POLICY COULD HELP SOLVE THAT, the committee said.

But although former Lib Dem councillors have raised an eyebrow at the return of a policy that was once considered racist and illegal, LABOUR'S ALEX HESLOP, WHO LED THE REVIEW, DENIED BRINGING IT BACK WOULD BE HYPOCRITICAL.

The new policy would… help ‘COMMUNITY COHESION’, he insisted…

‘There is DEMAND FOR THE POLICY, (from the Bangladeshi Community) but we are asking for a non-discriminatory policy so there would be some sort of category for sons and daughters. It's a sensitive issue. But we think THERE IS THE SUPPORT FOR IT ACROSS THE COMMUNITY. (From across the Bangladeshi Community) We are saying to the council HAVE A LOOK AT IT… AND MAKE IT WORK’.

The composition of the "Overview and Scrutiny Committee" of Tower Hamlets Council is as follows:

Alex Heslop himself; Timothy Archer; Stephanie Eaton; Marc Francis; Bill Turner; Peter Golds; Shahed Ali; Lutfa Begum; Alibor Choudhury; Ahmed Hussain; Abjol Miah; Fozol Miah; Oliur Rahman; M. Mamun Rashid; Mohammed Abdus Salique; Abdul Aziz Sardar and Salim Ullah.

I wonder if the fact that they are now well in the majority influenced the Asians on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to conclude that the old “racist” rules need no longer apply?

What were the Tower Hamlets top folk doing whilst this Committee was acting with such self-interest? Surely the bigwigs of the New Labour Council should have spoken out against such partiality?

Well, you see, 77% of Tower Hamlets’ "Cabinet" is Asian now as well. And they were also entirely happy to see the policy revived. And as, (according to the 2001 census) 65,500 occupants of Tower Hamlets now describe themselves as Bangladeshi, (there will be many more now) I’m pretty sure they, too, would be extremely pleased that those they elected to put them first are, indeed, doing so!

None of the behaviours cited above can be described as racist, of course.

It’s only your white, indigenous type who deserves to be demonised thus!

Former Lib Dem council leader Eric Flounders, was quoted thus in The East London Advertiser:

Quote:

They got rid of a perfectly good policy at the time because it was politically convenient to shout 'racism'.

And then he posed this question:

Quote:

If it was a bad policy then, why is it good now?

It’s good now, Eric, because it’s good for the Bangladeshis.

It was bad then because it was good for the native Brits.

At least that’s the way the self-serving immigrant thinks.

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