A by-election will be held in Gospel Oak ward following the decision of Cllr Sean Birch to stand down from Camden council for personal reasons.

Local campaigners are fighting Tory plans to close down Belsize fire station

The poll will take place on Thursday 14 March and allow local residents to have their say on Tory plans to close down nearby Belsize fire station and recent Tory cuts to police numbers in Gospel Oak.

Leader of Camden Council, Cllr Sarah Hayward said, “The Tory led government are failing communities like Gospel Oak. Cuts are forcing families out of the area, the economy is failing and costs like food and heating bills continue to rise.

“Moreover the Tories are being reckless with our safety. The Tory Mayor is closing Belsize fire station, Camden Police have lost over 130 officers since 2010 and will be left with just one fully functioning police station – in Holborn.

“Gospel Oak deserves better. Again and again, on every issue from the police and fire services to the NHS and the economy the Tories just don’t care about communities like Gospel Oak. We need a strong Labour voice to oppose the Tories and fight for everyone in Camden and Gospel Oak.”

Labour will democratically select its candidate this weekend at a meeting of local members in Gospel Oak.

Community safety in Camden could be put seriously at risk if Boris Johnson’s plans to close fire and police stations in Camden go ahead, according to Camden councillors.

It was announced today that the Tory Mayor of London plans to close 12  fire stations across London, including Belsize in Camden, as part of a plan to cut £65 million from the London Fire Brigade’s budget over the next two years. Belsize Fire Station covers the area including Camden Market, which suffered a major fire in 2008. There are fears that the closure of Belsize Fire Station will impact on response times and put extra pressure on West Hampstead Fire Station, jeopardising public safety.

Cllr Abdul Hai, Cabinet Member for Community Safety said: “The proposed closure of Belsize Fire Station is another example of our Tory Mayor Boris Johnson failing to consult local residents and having no regard for their needs.  Cutting essential frontline services will impact response times and put the community at risk.  This is yet another false economy.”

The announcement about Belsize Fire Station comes just one day after the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime launched a ‘consultation’ over proposed plans to close 65 police stations across London, including three in Camden: Hampstead, West Hampstead and Albany Street. The proposed plans would also reduce the hours that Kentish Town station is open, leaving just one police station, Holborn, open in Camden all day.

The number of police officers in Camden has already been cut by 11% since May 2010, and the number of PCSOs cut by a staggering 38%. Boris Johnson was elected Mayor in May on a promise to increase front line policing. Now we find that he is cutting police officers and closing police stations.

Camden Labour will be attending the MOPAC Consultation meeting 8.00pm on 22nd January at the Camden Centre, Bidborough Street. If you would like to come and make your voice heard, please register here  www.london.gov.uk/policinge vents. 

Camden’s Labour councillors have also arranged a meeting before the consultation with the Camden cabinet member for community safety Abdul Hai and Camden’s GLA member Andrew Dismore on what police cuts mean for our communities. This meeting is at 6.30pm and is also in the Camden Centre. You do not have to pre-register for this event.

Camden residents of all ages are worried about the future of Belsize Fire Station

Camden’s Labour council has expressed grave concerns about the possible closure of Belsize Fire Station and the future of emergency services across Camden.

Belsize Fire Station is one of 17 fire stations across London which faces closure as part of the Tory Mayor Boris Johnson’s plan to cut £65m from the London Fire Brigade’s budget over the next two years. Furthermore, not one of Camden’s fire stations, including Euston, West Hampstead and Kentish Town, has been included on the list of ‘safe stations’. Proposed closures in Islington, Clerkenwell and Westminster may also put extra strain on the already stretched services in Camden.

Sarah Hayward, Leader of Camden Council and Labour Councillor for King’s Cross has written to Boris Johnson expressing her concern for emergency services in Camden. You can read this letter here.

Cllr Hayward said: “Camden’s central London location, mainline stations and busy tourist and economic hub mean we have a lot of opportunity but also risks. Our local fire crews and those nearby have helped save lives and reduce risk from the King’s Cross Station fire, the terrorist attacks of the 7th July 2005 and the Camden market fire in 2008. They respond to literally hundreds of local and domestic calls a year.

“Worse still the cuts appear politically motivated.  12 of the 17 closures are in Labour Boroughs and none is in any borough that Labour could reasonably hope to win from the Tories in 2014. I have to seriously question whether these cuts are being done with safety in mind. It seems the opposite.”

Abdul Hai, Cabinet Member for Community Safety added: “The proposed closure of Belsize Fire Station is another example of our Tory Mayor Boris Johnson failing to consult local residents and having no regard for their needs.  Cutting essential frontline services will impact response times and put the community at risk.  This is yet another false economy.”

First, the Tory Home Secretary, Theresa May imposed a 20% cut on police grants. Now she is embarking on a further onslaught on the fabric of policing in this country.

Last week, the police authorities in West Midlands and Surrey, two of the largest forces in the country, announced radical privatisation plans. Private companies are to take responsibility for investigating crimes, detaining suspects, and responding to incidents. The police are public servants accountable to the public whom they serve. They police by our consent. They are there to uphold the law and ensure that justice is done for all. They are not there to maximise the profits for their City masters.

Last year it was primary health services in Camden. Now it is the welfare-to-work firm A4e. These private firms reap rich profits when times are good; they disappear with their swag when times turn difficult. The problem is that this Tory government has dug so deep into police budgets that police authorities can no longer balance their books through short term savings. Some authorities feel that they have no option but to embark upon this structural change which could destroy the fabric of policing in this country as we know it.

Councillor Abdul Hai, Labour Cabinet Member for Community Safety said, “Camden under the current Labour administration recently invested in 16 police officers dedicated to the wider Camden Town area from April 2012. This action to put more police on the streets is in direct contact to the actions of the Tory Mayor Boris Johnson who is cutting police in Camden and London which has led to  Camden Town’s Safer Neighborhood Team being reduced from 8 PCSOs to 3.

“We are told that Boris Johnson sees himself as the next Leader of the Conservative Party. Today he is content on cutting front line policing. In his enthusiasm to appeal to the Tory right, will he now turn to privatise policing in London?”