Liberal Democrat Councillor calls on Council to bring empty homes into use
Councillor Andrew Cregan called on the Council this week to use existing power to bring empty homes into use, after a Liberal Democrat Freedom of Information Request discovered that 500 homes across Tower Hamlets have sat empty for more than 6 months, and 117 have sat empty for two years or more.
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"No excuse" for ambulance waiting times
1667 patients in Tower Hamlets have faced waits of half an hour or more in ambulances outside A&E this winter. Of these 286 faced a wait over an hour.
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Missed collections over Christmas and New Year
A number of people have reported that their rubbish and/or recycling wasn’t collected on the promised day over the Christmas and New Year period. This left waste and recycling in the street, with some bags ripped open by foxes.
We think it’s time the contractor - Veolia - was held accountable for delivering poor service on the Island.
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Votes tonight show Gov won't get an easy ride on the EU Withdrawal Bill
A Lib Dem amendment that would have forced the Government to publish impact assessments of either an agreement or no deal before a meaningful vote on the deal in Parliament has received cross party support in a vote today.
The Government narrowly avoided defeat, with 320 votes to 301.
Update from Limehouse Community Safety meeting
350 + turnout to last night’s community safety meeting, organised by the Limehouse Community Forum (LCF).
Mayor Biggs, Commander Williams, DS Mike Stubbins, Inspector Fran Reynolds, Cllr Begam and Anne Corbet from Tower Hamlets were on the panel, chaired by Conor McDonnell, Limehouse’s Ward Panel Chair.
To give some early context to the purpose of the meeting and why it was called so promptly into the New Year is down the recent spike in violent crime and anti-social behaviour. This new crime wave led to the creation of Operation Naga and DS Stubbins informed the community that 35 crimes had been linked in recent weeks. Victims range from as young as 12, up to 60. However, only 5 arrests have been made since the launch of Operation Naga.
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Caroline Pidgeon Weighs In on Tower Hamlets Corruption
Liberal Democrat Member of the London Assembly, Caroline Pidgeon, writes to the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Force following allegations of corruption in Tower Hamlets
In December Tower Hamlets was in the news for all the wrong reasons again. On 10 December The Times reported on "secret recordings apparently connecting a Labour council to an alleged £2m corruption scandal" (BBC, 10 Dec 2017).
A police investigation was launched, but following the failings of the investigation into the 2014 elections in Tower Hamlets, fears were raised that the bribery case may not be properly investigated. In light of this Caroline Pidgeon has written to the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police seeking clarity.
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19% rise in EU academics resigning from UK universities since Brexit
Almost 2,350 academics from the EU have resigned from UK universities in the past year, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed. That’s up 19% from 1,975 two years ago (i.e. before the Brexit vote), and up 10% from 1,938 last year.
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Police in London facing £26m real-terms cut despite government smoke and mirrors
Police in the Greater London Authority are facing a real-terms cut of £23M in 2018, the Liberal Democrats have revealed.
Before Christmas the government announced that core funding for police budgets will remain exactly the same this year as in 2017.
Taking into account inflation, that means police in London will face a real-terms cut of £23.33m.
1667 ambulance delays in Tower Hamlets so far this winter
1667 patients in area have faced waits of half-an-hour of more in ambulances outside A&E so far this winter, Liberal Democrat analysis has revealed. Of these, 286 faced waits of over an hour.
In the week to 31st December, 1381 patients faced waits of over half an hour and 286 spent at least an hour waiting in ambulances outside A&E.
559 homes across Tower Hamlets left empty for years
Over 100 homes in Tower Hamlets have been sitting empty for two years or more, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.
The figures, uncovered through Freedom of Information requests, show that there are over 210,000 homes across the country that have been empty for six months or more. Of these, 61,251 had been empty for two years or more, 23,596 for five years or more, and over 10,900 have stood empty for at least ten years.
