Camden Labour community safety lead, Cllr Abdul Hai, said “The truth is out about the Tory fire station closure plans: Camden residents will have to wait significantly longer in an emergency. Given that fires can quadruple in intensity every two minutes, public safety is clearly at risk. 

Andrew DIsmore, Cllr Abdul Hai and Labour campaigners protest against the threat to Belsize fire station

“Belsize ward will see a massive increase in attendance times of 3.22 minutes; Camden Town with Primrose Hill will see a 1.04 minutes increase; Hampstead Town an increase of 1.39 minutes and Haverstock a 1.01 minutes increase.

“I will continue to fight these plans and I urge Camden residents to attend the march to save Belsize fire station on Saturday 25 May from Oriel Place in Hampstead at 12 noon.”

London Assembly member for Camden, Andrew Dismore, said:

“This shows how flawed is the Mayor’s Draft Fire Plan. The borough response times in the plan hide these local increases, which are disgraceful.

“The Mayor’s plans to cut 12 fire stations, 18 fire engines and 520 firefighters are unacceptable. We presented him with a fully costed plan to keep them all, but instead he has chosen to cut council tax by one penny a day. While a small amount to individual Londoners, across our city this adds up and will lead to a 12% cut to the front line of  our invaluable  fire service.

“It is more urgent than ever that Londoners respond to the Mayor’s consultation and tell him what they think. Boris must take Londoners for complete fools if he thinks he can get away with this.”

Details of the FBU march on 25 May can be found here. There will be a public meeting on the plans on Thursday 30 May 7-9pm at the McNamara Suite, London Irish Centre, 50-52 Camden Square, London NW1 9XB.

Camden has led a group of 17 Councils across London to secure deals that will provide a wireless network where residents, businesses and visitors will be able to access 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi services every day using registered devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets.

Once users have taken advantage of the 30 minutes of free time, they will have the opportunity to purchase extra time from the provider of their choice.

Independent of the 30 free minutes, users of the service will be able to access Camden Council’s online services free of charge 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The contract with Arqiva provides substantial financial incentives for Camden and will help to deliver the objectives of the Camden Plan to make the borough a place where everyone has a chance to succeed and where nobody gets left behind.  Income will be generated for the Council from data over the 10 year life of the contract will be used to support digital innovation in local firms and tackle digital exclusion.

The service will be rolled out across the borough from 1 June 2013 to the end of 2014, covering areas which will have the highest demand first. Phase one will target the South of Camden in areas of high footfall. The remaining phases will cover:

• Camden Town and Kentish Town
• Kilburn, Finchley, Hampstead and Belsize Park

Labour Councillor Theo Blackwell, Cabinet member for Finance said:

“Our aim is to make Camden one of the most connected places in the country.  This is great news for residents who will be able to access Wi-Fi services in public and open spaces. It will also be a huge benefit to businesses who will be able to trial new advertising techniques to better target their customers.

“Our large number of visitors and tourists will benefit from being able to access online information about events nearby and find information to visit local shops, bars and restaurants.”

Below is a list of those elected for the 2013-14 municipal year:

Council positions

Leader:  Cllr Sarah Hayward

Cabinet:  Cllr Nasim Ali, Cllr Theo Blackwell, Cllr Pat Callaghan, Cllr Julian Fulbrook, Cllr Abdul Hai, Cllr Phil Jones, Cllr Valerie Leach, Cllr Angela Mason, Cllr Tulip Siddiq

Chair of Audit and Corporate Governance:  Cllr Peter Brayshaw

Chair of Development Control:  Cllr Milena Nuti

Chair of Licensing:  Cllr Maryam Eslamdoust

Chair of Standards:  Cllr Roger Robinson

Chair of Children, Schools and Families scrutiny:  Cllr Jenny Headlam-Wells

Chair of Culture and Environment scrutiny:  Cllr Awale Olad

Chair of Housing and Adult Social Care scrutiny:  Cllr Meric Apak

Fostering and adoption panel:  Cllr Thomas Gardiner

Deputy Mayor:  Cllr Lazzaro Pietragnoli

Labour Group positions

Chair:  Cllr Mike Katz

Secretary:  Cllr Larraine Revah

Chief Whip:  Cllr Roger Robinson

Deputy Whip:  Cllr Adam Harrison

Campaigns and Communications Officer:  Cllr Maeve McCormack

Backbench representative on group executive:  Cllr Samata Khatoon

Treasurer:  Cllr Maeve McCormack

The Tory Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, wants to close 12 fire stations, remove 18 fire engines and slash 520 frontline fire station posts.

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

A new report into the plans has exposed how they “will put lives in danger”.

Camden Labour’s lead on community safety, Cllr Abdul Hai said, “The planned closure of Belsize and Clerkenwell fire stations mean higher response times for people living and working in Camden.

“A few seconds can make all the difference to public safety when dealing with a rapidly spreading fire. It’s essential that the Tories think again about their closure plans.”

The march from Hampstead to Belsize has been organised by local firefighters from the FBU who are worried about what the closure plans will mean for the fire service in Camden.

Cllr Hai added, “Camden Labour will stand up for local people against this threat to our borough.

“I urge residents to back local firefighters at the march on 25 May, attend the public meeting at the Irish Centre on 30 May at 7pm and respond to the consultation at www.london-fire.gov.uk”

Camden Labour Party is recruiting a full-time borough organiser to assist with campaigning and other party activity.

Applicants must be members of the Labour Party and should have paid or voluntary experience working in an organising capacity for an MP or local Labour Party/Labour Group. The post is full-time and will involve some flexible working, including some weekends and evenings (appropriate time off in lieu will be given).