Campaigners gear up to fight strip club application
Labour Councillors in Finsbury Park Ward have reacted with fury to an application to turn the former Red Rose Comedy Club in Seven Sisters Road into a strip club. The Club is now called “Club Imperial” and the new owners have submitted an application to Islington Council to have the Club licensed for “striptease and fully nude tableside dancing”. People can support our campaign to stop the strip club here: http://www.islington-labour.org.uk/no-strip-club Councillor Phil Kelly said: “We have to stop these sleaze merchants preying on our community. Finsbury Park seems to have been singled out as a soft target by operators...

Emily Thornberry MP's Copenhagen Blog
Read Emily Thornberry MP's blog from the Copenhagen summit....

Save the Whittington
Islington Labour voted last night to commit the Council to opposing the closure of the Whittington Hospital. The Council motion follows a campaign in which hundreds of people have signed the petition to oppose the closure in a matter of days. On Wednesday parliamentary debate secured by Jeremy Corbyn MP heavily criticised NHS London and the North Central London sub-region, which are considering the closure of the Whittington A&E department - against Government policy. Speaking in the debate, Jeremy Corbyn MP said: "We have good services, good treatment and a good hospital, and we want it to carry...

Lib Dems blow £50,000 on glossy PR splurge-out
Islington’s Liberal Democrats have blown £50,000 of council tax payers’ money on a huge glossy PR splurge that promotes party boss Terry Stacy. The sum was spent on a Time Out guide featuring the Lib Dem Council Leader. The PR extravaganza comes as the Council faces a round of belt-tightening and is expected to make millions of pounds worth of cuts to the council budget. At the last council budget meeting in February, Lib Dem Councillors voted for larger councillor salaries and more glossy PR. They voted against giving free school meals to all primary school children in Islington. Councillor...

Jennette Arnold condemns Tories for vote against rape crisis centres
Tories from across London recently voted against a motion calling on Mayor Boris Johnson to deliver on his promise to fund four rape crisis centres. Following the meeting Islington Labour's London Assembly Member Jennette Arnold said: "This is a further betrayal of rape victims in London. The Mayor made a clear promise to provide immediate funding but has spent the last year back tracking and coming up with excuses. This is an issue that should transcend party politics and I'm appalled that the Tories can't see that." Background In his 2008 election manifesto Boris Johnson promised £744,000 a year (£2.23m...

Labour takes action on gambling in Islington
Islington Labour’s Councillors have demanded new regulations to the borough’s policy for licensing of gambling after the Lib Dem Council published disappointingly weak proposals. The Labour Councillors today published alternative proposals to regulate gambling based on neighbouring borough’s policies that are already in action. The proposals include giving: Greater weight to the effect gambling has in economically deprived communities More protection from under-aged gambling to children and young people Greater protection against problem gambling More powers for local representatives and local residents to object to applications Better monitoring to route out poor practice by gambling establishments The set of...

Islington Labour says price fixing investigation must be held in public
Islington Labour Councillors have welcomed an investigation into price fixing in Islington and insisted that it must take place publically at the Council’s Overview Committee. The Overview Committee recently agreed to investigate whether the practice of ‘coverpricing’ had occurred in Islington. Coverpricing is the practice of collusion between contractors to inflate bids for tenders. The investigation follows the issuing of fines of £129.5m by Office of Fair Trading against 103 companies – including companies that also contract in Islington. However, amid Council suggestions that the investigation be shifted to the lower public profile Audit Committee, Labour Councillors called for the...