Regent's Park &
Kensington North
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Karen Buck MP Regent's Park & Kensington North |
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October 2006 To the Annual General Meeting of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, to mark another year in which a small and dedicated team of staff and volunteers stand between thousands of anxious and sometimes desperate people, and debt, repossession, arrears, eviction and more. What an impressive bunch they are. Like their counterparts in the local law centre and other key advice organisations, such as CHAS and the Central London Advice Service in Church Street, they offer services which range from simple signposting to high level support with appeals in what must be one of the most challenging environments in the whole country. Read on...
7 September 2006 Karen released a statement signed by over 60 MPs over the position of Tony Blair's premiership. This was later re-inforced when the Prime Minister visited local school Quintin Kynaston. Karen's statement in the Guardian newspaper: We welcome the clarification, given this morning by David Milliband, that there will be a stable and orderly transition leading to a new leader being in place by conference 2007. This gives the party the certainty it needs. We must now end damaging speculation about the leadership and turn our full attention to building a progressive future for our country.
Read the New Statesman article on the issue
September 2006 We stand poised on the edge of the most dramatic series of changes in education provision that has occurred in Central London for decades. Next week, two new academy schools open their doors as replacements for North Westminster Community School. Although not quite yet in their final homes, which are due for completion in the next few months, the Paddington and Westminster Academies will nonetheless start now in offering pupils a new approach to learning, under new leadership. Backed by the £25 million in investment in each new school, the Academies give us a fantastic opportunity to realise the potential of thousands of local children, many from extremely deprived backgrounds. Nor are these two schools the end of the story. New academies are also planned for Church Street, and to provide a fresh start for Burlington Danes, on Wormwood Scrubs, which a number of local children attend. Full story
August 2006 My postbag has, rightly and understandably, swelled in the wake of recent events in Lebanon and Gaza. Graphic footage from Beirut, Qana, Haifa and Gaza City has left people numbed by outrage and despair, and a sense of powerlessness which not infrequently leads to real anger. Worse still, of course, is the fear and grief expressed by members of London’s Lebanese communities- one of the many communities from the Middle East who are well represented in my constituency, who have family and friends in the war zone, some of whom are safe, some gone and some missing. Read full article 
LebanonJuly 2006 A great many constituents have contacted me about the continuing crisis in Lebanon. I share many of the concerns that have been raised with me. I have signed a Motion (below) in the House of Commons, have written to the Foreign Secretary and have signed a statement by UK Parliamentarians (links to both below). That this House expresses grave concern about the escalating crisis in the Middle East that has now spread to Lebanon; notes that Israel's disproportionate military actions in Gaza and Lebanon, including an air and sea blockade of Lebanon, attacks on the airport in Beirut on 13th July and the killing of at least 35 Lebanese civilians within the first 24 hours, risk provoking further regional conflict by seriously jeopardising the fragile political landscape in Lebanon; condemns Hizballah's rocket attacks on Israel and the abduction of Israeli soldiers; urges the British Government to call for an immediate cessation of violence from all parties and to condemn the killing of all civilians on all sides; and calls on all sides to respect the other's sovereignty and international law and to release all prisoners held illegally without trial as a means to end the current crisis. Read Karen's letter to Margaret Beckett Statement by Parliamentarians The current situation in Palestine 14 July 2006 I am as concerned as you must be about the escalating troubles in Palestine and the region and have signed an Early Day Motion in the House condemning the actions of the Israeli military in Gaza: “That this House is gravely concerned by the recent Israeli military attack in the Gaza Strip, disabling an essential power station that supplies 65 per cent. of the region's electricity including power for a water pumping station; and shares Christian Aid's concerns that this will only deepen the suffering of the civilian population as essential goods including food, water and fuel have been made scarce due to Israeli military actions.” Read on... 
How do we overcome the brutality of knives?June 2006 How many panic buttons can be pressed by one series of news stories? Parent? Check. Parent of a boy on the edge of teenage-hood? Check. Parent of a child at a local, inner-city comprehensive? Check. Politician, only too aware of public concern at anti-social behaviour, violence and crime? Check again. Tragic recent deaths by stabbing include those of 15-year old schoolboy Kiyan Prince and concerned bystander, 19-year old student Tom Grant. These deaths have struck home in many more ways than one. Yet panic, or even fear, provides no solution to, or even understanding of, the problems we face, and we need understanding before we can reach the solutions. Read full article The Truth about Community Spirit May 2006 We are bombarded with stories in the media telling us how selfish society has become, and how our neighbourhoods are withering in the face of indifference, fear and downright hostility, but I retain optimistic in the face of this bleakness. For whilst it is undoubtedly true that we are more materialistic than we were, more jealous of our individual identities (though there are upsides to that, too, as anyone who never quite fitted in to the repressive norms of society as it was will tell you), and whilst it is true, also, that mobility and diversity make the city a tougher place to be than it was a few decades ago, bleakness is by no means the whole story. Read full article 
For the Nation's HealthFebruary 2006 My own experience of smoking began and ended at age 18, when I went through a phase of hoping that a cigarette would act as a sort of fast track to sophistication. It went together with drinking Compare (goodbye, halves of cider) and the novels of Francoise Sagan I quickly decided that a) the sophistication strategy was doomed before it began and b) cigarettes were relatively expensive and therefore crowded out the Compare, budget wise. The relief at not having an addiction to break remains with me to this day. I have been around too many people addicted to various substances to feel anything other than a sympathetic awareness of just how hard it can be to shake free, and how devastating the consequences can be of not doing so. Full article
January 2006 Karen wrote to thank a number of residents who had wonderful light displays brightening up Christmas across Regent's Park & Kensington North for their wonderful Christmas spirit. A panel of youngster chose six winners (shown above) from across the constituency who have all been written to with details of their winner's prize. Winning displays came from Queen's Park, Westbourne and Harrow Road areas of the constituency. More photos
December 2005 How easy it is to let the extraordinary become commonplace. Going into school last week to award prizes for the design of my Christmas card, I was struck anew by the extraordinary diversity of young London. This makes me very hopeful for the future. Schools within which pupils speak 40 or more different languages at home, are achieving and improving with frequently excellent results. Moreover, they do so with an ethos of tolerance and respect which is powerfully moving to see. This is not to underplay the challenges we face, locally and more widely. There is still a very long way to go in the battle to end poverty, for example, despite measures that have lifted around one million children above the poverty line. There is a desperate shortage of affordable housing in inner London. Schools and health services have improved dramatically thanks to investment in staff, buildings and equipment- but not all have improved equally. Diversity and high population turnover require everyone involved in public policy to work extra hard to strengthen our communities. And, of course, the genuine terror threat posed by a tiny minority, such as that which wreaked such carnage in July, places an undeniable pressure on community relations. Read full article Queen's Park Action Report December 2005 News on street lighting, improvements to the Harrow Road, the proposed tower block in the Brent side of Queen's Park, the Jubilee Centre and much more are detailed in the latest Queen's Park "Action" - a newsletter from local Councillors in Queen's Park ward To view or download it online click below: QUEEN'S PARK ACTION 
Keeping people warm this ChristmasDecember 2005 The first snow of winter- amid warnings from the Met Office of what could be the coldest winter for a decade- is a reminder of the vulnerability of some categories of people to severe weather. Most at risk are those living in poor quality or badly insulated housing, and, amongst them, pensioners and families with very young children on low incomes. The idea that, in the heart of a prosperous country such as ours, some pensioners and families could not afford to protect themselves against the cold, understandably provoked severe criticism. In recent years, therefore, the government has given a very high priority to responding to the problem. Central to the strategy has been the introduction of the Winter Heating Allowance for pensioners, which this year means that all pensioner households receive a lump sum of £200- £300 for the over 90s (and, of course, £200 for pensioner households where Council Tax is paid. Conservatives argued for its abolition as a special payment, but in my experience, a lump sum is a welcome security, particularly for those on the very lowest incomes, who are most worried about their ability to pay an unexpectedly large bill. FULL ARTICLE & DETAILS OF HELP KEEPING YOUR PLACE WARM 
New Start for Sure StartOctober 2005 The Sure Start programme, which targets resources towards, and co-ordinates services for, children in our most deprived communities, came under the microscope last month when a major research study was inconclusive in its findings about the programme’s value. It is, of course, early days for definitive conclusions to be reached about a scheme which expressly designed to produce benefits in the long term, by trying to break the cycle of disadvantage within which poor parents tend to get the worst services, leading to poorer life chances for their own children. Looking at our own local experience, however, I can only express the deepest admiration for what has been achieved. Indeed, the five Sure Start programmes in Westminster and Kensington are doing remarkable things with communities which not only are, by definition, amongst the most disadvantaged in the country, but also have exceptional levels of diversity and population turnover. Neither of these are, of course, necessarily problematic in their own right, but they can easily leave parents and children, especially those in ‘hard to reach’ groups, highly isolated. Full Article Housing Commission for Westminster September 2005 Westminster Council has assembled an impressive panel for their new Housing Commission, which is being set up to make recommendations on how to move forward in tackling the borough’s severe housing problems. With the borough’s housing policy having been tainted for so long by the legacy of Shirley Porter and ‘Homes for Votes’, independent expertise and advice should make an important contribution to restoring trust, although the absence of any tenant/resident representation causes me concern (why not include the chair of the Housing Panel, or someone from City West Homes?). FULL STORY
July 2005 It seems far longer than a fortnight ago that London won the Olympics, seemingly against the odds, and because not only was an excellent bid put together but we successfully promoted London’s image as a successful, global city. The trauma of the events which have followed, which may indeed have unfolded further between the time of my writing and your reading, do not change this essential truth. London is home to such a diversity of communities that we are almost certainly unique in history, and this diversity is a key driver of our economic and cultural success. Our generally excellent community relations are a living testament to what has been achieved against a background of rapid change, and they are a prize we must continue to cherish. Certainly here, in North Westminster and North Kensington, though we have felt the impact of the bombings- which reached our doorstep in the Edgware Road- and the subsequent investigations, it has been heartening to hear the messages of unity from right across the spectrum of faith and other communities and political parties. Messages of condemnation of the attacks have poured in to my office, together with praise for the responses of local police, and of course, admiration for the courage and professionalism of emergency and transport workers as they have faced up to the challenges of these terrible events. FULL STORY Britain leads the way in the G8 in drive to tackle global poverty July 2005 Britain has made poverty- with a particular focus on Africa- and climate change, the top priorities for the G8 summit of the world’s major developed countries. At the G8 finance ministers meeting in early June: · It was agreed that multilateral debt of the poorest countries would be completely cancelled. 18 countries will benefit almost immediately, with $40 billion of debt written off. Another 9 countries should benefit within 12-18 months, and another 11 will have the opportunity to benefit when they reach completion point for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries. FULL STORY MP Accuses Council's Benefit Service of Leaving Applicants Facing Evicition or Bailiffs June 2005 Westminster Council is taking twice as long to complete Housing Benefit claims as neighbours, such as Kensington and Chelsea. The poor performance of the Council’s privatised service, administered by Capita, means that claimants face uncertainty because of long delays, and frequent mistakes which can lead to threats of bailiffs seizing their possessions, or notices seeking eviction. Karen Buck said: “I have had to deal with over 1000 complaints since Capita took over Westminster’s Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit administration. These complaints have included dozens of people who have received eviction notices from their landlords because of lengthy delays, and cases where local people have brought me threatening letters from the Council’s bailiffs, warning that their possessions are to be taken and sold to settle debts that they do not actually owe. The system’s failures cause huge anxiety and misery to people, many of whom are already vulnerable. Westminster Council likes to lay claim to excellence in service delivery but there are several areas where it falls seriously short, and this is one of them” |
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