Grenfell Silent Walk – tomorrow 14th May 2018

Tomorrow is 11 months on since the Grenfell Tower disaster devastated our North Kensington community. We will likely have a long wait to see those we believe responsible brought to justice and many of us are still struggling to cope with our trauma and loss.

There will be a protest outside Parliament between 3pm and 6pm.

The Silent Walk  will return to its original route and will start outside Notting Hill Methodist Church at 7pm.

We  say a big thank  you all who have joined with us and supported our community

Next month it will be one year on and there will be a series of activities organised then.
Here is a statement from Grenfell United:

“Grenfell United would like to thank all those individuals and local organisations that have contacted us with regards to arranging activities around the year anniversary of the tragic events of the 14th June 2017, and take this opportunity to inform the community of our plans for the 14th, 15th and 16th of June 2018. On the 14th June, Grenfell United are asking that the privacy of the bereaved families and survivors is respected.
During the daytime members of Grenfell United will be gathering together privately in order to be able to support each other and reflect and grieve in peace. We will be calling for the UK to observe 72 seconds of silence at midday to remember each life that was lost in and after the Grenfell Tower fire. On the evening of the 14th June, Grenfell United will be taking part in the Silent March and then we will gather to observe “Iftar” and the breaking of bread at sunset, which we hope many of our fellow marchers will join us in.
On the 15th June, Grenfell United are working with the Dept of Education to request that as many school children as possible are able to wear green items of clothing to school in order to highlight “Green for Grenfell” (more information to follow). On Saturday 16th June, Grenfell United will not be putting on any events ourselves but we will be encouraging our members to join in with the many activities that are being organised by the North Kensingon community (including Al Manaar and various local RA’s).
Finally, we would like to thank you for your support at what will be a challenging and difficult time for our community. Grenfell United are determined that the local community comes together in unity over the anniversary period and that local organisations who wish to contribute with events or ideas do not feel marginalised or excluded. It is very much the hope of Grenfell United that all the different local organisations and RA’s can come together and work collaboratively to ensure that any events that are being scheduled are run in a way that respects the wishes of bereaved family members and ex-Grenfell Tower residents and promotes inclusivity and celebrates community cohesion.”

Advertisements

THINK : Our first birthday

Yesterday was the  first anniversary of our blog. We thank all our readers, followers and supporters who have been with us on our journey. We also thank all the campaigners, other blogs and community groups who have inspired us. Still we have a lot to do in and around our community and we are not going to sit here and shut up or go away…..

THIS IS NORTH KENSINGTON

We are proud of our diverse mixed community and its uniqueness and history, which has sadly in recent times come under threat by our council  and  unscrupulous property developers who do not have our best interests at heart.

We started this blog last May as more of a noticeboard for campaigns and local community activities, but as anyone can see now, the blog has evolved into something very different! We have been on a rollercoaster of a journey – our blog and Group started before Grenfell and we have had a lot of cope with  for obvious reasons. Although we have had a lot to deal with, we do recommend that others become  more involved in our community activities, and supporting others.

BUT ALSO NOT JUST  ABOUT NORTH KENSINGTON
Our priority as a group and blog   will always  be our immediate local area, but we will always take an interests in our neighbouring communities and the issues residents there have to face.

Many regular readers of this blog will have read our posts on Earl’s Court, and we have some posts about Chelsea coming up. We intend to inform (and yes, sometimes, to entertain!) and always to support our friends and campaigners in ours and other communities.

We may be feeling deflated and run down after some disappointing local election results in RBKC, but this also means we have more of a duty to make our voices heard!

THIS IS NORTH KENSINGTON AND THIS IS OUR COMMUNITY

Here is a selection of a few of our most popular blog posts to celebrate a year of THINK:

Out takedown  of former MP Victoria Borwick and her election leaflet :

https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/2017/05/20/victoria-borwick-mp-and-the-half-baked-truth/

On some of the amazing campaigners who are truly an inspiration to us:

https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/2017/07/27/thank-grenfell-action-group-friends-of-north-kensington-library-and-save-our-silchester-they-are-north-kensington/

Our first post on Earl’s Court and the brilliant alternative plans for the area by  the Save Earl’s Court campaigners:

https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/2017/08/03/think-special-post-from-earls-court-a-new-beginning/

Success for the campaign to save Notth Kensington Library:

https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/north-kensington-library-happily-ever-after/

Local residents fighting to save Wornington College stand up to KCC management and RBKC:

https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/2017/10/06/a-community-comes-together-in-our-battle-to-save-wornington-college/

And some good news for the Save Wornington College campaign:

https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/2018/01/27/good-news-for-wornington-college-the-commissioner-says-no-to-the-proposed-merger/

On some who sat on the Grenfell Recovery Scrutiny   Committee:

https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/2018/01/18/is-the-grenfell-recovery-scrutiny-committee-a-farce-think-scrutinises-some-of-the-scrutinisers/

Some on the council and their supporters would rather not talk about Grenfell. We do not know how any decent human being can turn their backs on the isssue:

https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/2018/04/30/local-elections-kensington-hustings-falls-apart-as-the-tories-failure-to-address-the-elephant-in-the-room-takes-its-toll-on-proceedings/

And finally our post and some pictures of last month’s Grenfell Silent Walk. We will always remember, campaign for and support all in and around our community affected:

https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/2018/04/14/grenfell-silent-walk-ten-months-on-%EF%BB%BF/

of course ware still relative newcomers on the blogging scene and we would like particularly thank the two local blogs who have  been a big influence on THINK of course:

From The Hornets Nest :

http://fromthehornetsnest.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1

And Grenfell Action  Group:

https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/

This is our 164th post. Thanks ever so much to everyone from North Kensington and beyond  all for your support!!

Anyone hear the one about Malcolm Spalding, Earl’s Court and the dead parrot?

Word has got round to THINK of a speech made in the Town Hall by Tory councillor for Earl’s Court. Malcolm “Bananaman” Spalding, in which he compared the Save Earl’s Court campaign to a “dead parrot”

He also called the campaign to Save Earl’s Court the “biggest and most spectacular failure in local history”.

Bananaman Spalding also in the speech said about the demolition works: “Everything is working beautifully. Despite a Cllr (Linda) Wade’s best efforts and the Save Earl’s Court campaign, they haven’t saved it. It is going to plan”.

Well THINK believe that Cllr Spalding should explain himself to residents and businesses in and nearby the area  who have suffered greatly due to this ruinous plan. We think he needs to explain his position on the issue  to his electors  in full. 

When the issue of the  masterplan was last brought up in Kensington Town Hall by Earl’s  Court Lib Dem Cllr Linda Wade, earlier this year who sought a statement from RBKC Deputy Leader Kim Taylor-Smith at the time, we saw Spalding sat in the chamber, yet he was strangely very quiet…….

See our post from back in February here:

https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/2018/02/18/could-there-be-good-news-for-earls-court-at-last/

We have not found any record  of Malcolm Bananaman Spalding actually opposing the masterplan and we believe any support for this unworkable plan is simply bananas…..

What we do see  sense in supporting however, is the petition by the Save Earl’s Court campaigners to build the world’s greenest venue on the site of the former exhibition centre. We urge all our readers to  sign, share and support this here:

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/build-the-world-s-greenest-venue-on-the-site-of-the-earls-court-masterplan-london-1

We will leave the last word  on this to the Save Earl’s Court supporters. A campaigner has told THINK:”The dead parrot is in fact Capco’s  Earl’s Court Masterplan which is in chaos and which is no longer viable. The Save Earl’s Court campaign has always highlighted  how risky it was. Spalding is not crowing any more.”

A controversial Conservative councillor for Courtfield:

tPictured here on the left, is Cllr Janet Evans (aka “Botox Janet”) . She is a newly elected RBKC Tory councillor for Courtfield Ward.

THINKers have seen Botox Janet some months before she became a councillor as she has been seen regularly cheering on her Tory friends and  rudely shouting at other visitors to the chamber who do not share her enthusiasm (including then-Labour candidate and now councillor for St Helen’s, Portia Thaxter).

Janet Evans is also the proprietor of Janet’s Bar in Old Brompton Road. A few months back we checked out some of the reviews posted online – they made for interesting reading!  To be fair to Janet’s Bar, we haven’t been to the place, but we’re not exactly sold on the idea of getting a side order of rudeness  or even racism with our drinks!

Interestingly and surely by no mere coincidence a few of  these reviews  have mysteriously disappeared from Tripadvisor  at around the same time Botox Janet  was elected!  (Though some can still be found on Google)

Just as well THINK had some copies…….

Some reviews of Janet’s Bar:

“most horrifying experience. the rudest american woman treated my friends and I disgustingly, wouldn’t serve us as 1 of us didn’t drink alcahol. don’t come here, terribly overpriced and shocking service.”

“Never have been treated so rude, horrible experience. Janet the owner, yelled at me to get out of her bar because I wasn’t drinking even though everyone in my group had ordered very over priced cheap drinks, she said if I didn’t leave she would kick me out, 5 minutes after arriving not even getting a chance to look at the menu.”

“Avoid this place ! Racist and rude bar tender, disgusting”

“The owner is an actual psychopath and she only hires fellow psychopaths to work there. Enter at your own risk unless you’re also a psychopath.”

“Kicked me and my friends out when one (of four) didn’t buy a drink. Made a big scene for no reason. The prices are extortionate and the drinks suck, plus Janet is very rude. Sad!”

“Janet is probably one of the worst people I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting. Rude, unfriendly and ruined our evening. Don’t go here!”
“What an absolutely appalling experience. The rudest establishment in the greater London area.

“The staff seem to have got customer service completely wrong. ”

“Rudest bar manager. Screams at you, never says thank you. Awful drinks. Totally overpriced. Everywhere else in SK for those prices gets you a proper drink. She should be closed. Avoid.”

“On a serious note – never ever go here. The owner is a sociopath.”
“‘Janet’ is the most disgusting human being I have ever met. I have never experienced so much prejudice. 3 out of 4 of us bought beers and she told us to leave because the 4th person wasn’t drinking. She called us ‘pricks’ and ‘cheapskates’.
AVOID.”

“Kicked me and my friends out when one (of four) didn’t buy a drink. Made a big scene for no reason. The prices are extortionate and the drinks suck, plus Janet is very rude. Sad!”

“Janet is probably one of the worst people I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting. Rude, unfriendly and ruined our evening. Don’t go here!”

“overbearing owner ruins this bar. Janet asked intrusive questions about my ethnicity after trying to read my surname off my credit card. She also asked personal questions about my friend’s health issues as I tried to pay. Other customers have told me about her xenophobic and racist remarks. Rumour has it that she even owes some of her employees. I wouldn’t be surprised if she can’t afford to pay them. The only thing keeping this business afloat is their late license and lack of local competition. They never have foot fall until after the pubs close. Bad employment practices and a bratty owner. Don’t give them your money – let the free market run its course!”
“Having read the reviews, I’ve decided to go to this bar to experience the nasty owner. I’ve never read such a lengthy series of dreadful reviews about a single individual’s behaviour. And her replies on Facebook are so offensive, indignant and unapologetic… mental problems? She’s a tourist attraction of hatred, and meanness. Incredible how someone faced with so much criticism of herself can go years blaming others. What must it be like to spend your life being horrible to people and becoming notorious for it? I’ll have two inexpensive drinks, use the toilet a lot (she doesn’t like this apparently), and taunt her a bit to see what she’s made of. Let’s dance! 😂”

RBKC TCC Street Properties: the blind leading the blind?

Pardon us at THINK if we imagine it to be just a mere coincidence that the TCC (Tenants Consultative Committee) meeting for street properties just exactly happens to be this evening, at the same time as induction for councillors – so no local representatives there.

What, therefore, is the point in going? Are we just to sit there while the council recites rhetoric and palms residents off with a PR exercise.

We are running out of tolerance with RBKC and their refusal to  involve residents in exploring other housing options, particularly their blind ignorance towards any idea of residents forming housing co-operatives, for example.

RBKC also invite some who lets just say have mud   – if not blood – on their hands to have a say in these meetings.

All in all we think the TCC street properties meetings are  partly a precursor to regeneration  on the quiet for those who are most vulnerable, and also for others, are merely an exercise in handing over more power to those less accountable. Maybe if RBKC really wanted  to do something helpful, and informative perhaps they could hand residents a full list of their contractors?

Otherwise it just looks like a far less accountable version of the TMO. We urge RBKC to please be open and straightforward  with residents and to learn from their mistakes –  after all some of us will  spend the rest of our lives living with the council’s mistakes……

THINK’ s election night(mare) and the results

 The local elections are over and so are THINK’s hopes for real positive  change in our community. 

For those who would like to see the results in full  (and for those who can bear to), you can go to this link which has the ward by ward results:

https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/local-democracy-and-elections/local-council-elections-2018-results

Some THINKers were at the Town Hall for the count that night. We were there for quite a few hours before the results came in. One THINKer needing the ladies walked in and saw something  odd in the cubicle our leader, Elizabeth “Dizzy Lizzy” Campbell was coming out of – who knew Dizzy Lizzy eats bananas in the toilets? 
On seeing big piles of ballot papers in the red trays , we did have our hopes up, but sadly as everyone now knows, the postal votes came in and we were left with huge disappointment.

One of the results that we were particularly interested in was Earl’s Court as the Tories there have long benefitted from a three way split vote there.

We heard one bit of good news in hearing that the brilliant Liberal Democrat councillor and local campaigner Linda “Wonderwoman” Wade had not only been re-elected but she polled more votes than any other candidate. Unfortunately Tories Cllr Malcolm Spalding and Hamish Adourian were also elected there (but not Lloyd North, whose past as an “actor” may well have contributed to him having fewer votes than the others) 

We also saw former Tory MP for Kensington, Victoria “Lady Baking Powder” Borwick at the count -she was hugging Tory chair  and nasty bully Andrew “Bully Beef” Foster at one point. 

Some locals here may have seen Borwick along with Tory Cllr Matthew Palmer upsetting some residents by  posting about Grenfell on Nextdoor when an election campaign was on. 

Yes, Matthew “Chicken Run” Palmer was there too, but as he represents safe Tory Queen’s Gate Ward, there was no chance of him losing his seat.

RBKC Deputy Leaders Kim “Tailored Sloth” Taylor-Smith and Will Pascall were re-elected in Stanley Ward

Labour only made one gain – St Helen’s Ward, where the Conservative councillor Eve Allison had just a majority of only one vote, so no surprises there. 

All in all it was a dreadful night and some of us were there until 7am in the morning, just hearing the bad news. We expect social housing and all council owned buildings (including Canalside House and Wornington College) to now be at risk as RBKC’s reserves are running low and because the Tories will now feel that they have the public’s full support – this was the one election that could have made a difference, but no. We will not in our lifetime likely ever see a real posintive change at RBKC. Earlier, we saw Justice 4 Grenfell  illuminating a sign outside the Town Hall. THINK do not expect to see this in our lifetime either:

We hear that the Labour campaign was late in getting going, that their postal votes were not as organised as the Conservatives, but we won’t look around for someone to blame here. 

THINK will watch this council’s every move  like a hawk  – we particularly wonder who will now chair the Housing and Property Scrutiny Committee now  (decent Tory) Sam Mackover has stepped down from the council – it will be more than a bad joke if Matthew Palmer (who sits on that committee)  takes his place…….

We do not feel safe in our homes or convinced that RBKC will not bring back regeneration and “CON”sultations under another guise. In fact we won’t be surprised to see them trying to force us away from our homes and communities and out of North Kensington . 

And if anyone thinks that making noise, waving a banner about or having countless meetings will make the slightest bit of difference to what happens;  let us tell you it won’t. It is all about the balance of power and there are 36 Tory councillors and only 13 Labour councillors and one Liberal Democrat and this make up will decide everything regardless of how others feel about it.

Local Elections:The worst possible outcome for North Kensington

We admit it – our predictions were wrong. It turned out yesterday that the Rotten Borough Tories had mobilised the troops and also got lots of postal votes in.  

Some might say that Labour having one more councillor (Portia Thaxter elected in St Helen’s), Lib Dem Linda Wade re-elected with a big personal vote – she had the largest vote in that ward, by the way) and some new faces such as excellent Save Our Sutton estate campaigner Ian Henderson elected for Labour in Colville for example, will make a difference, let us tell you something  – it sadly won’t. 

This puts opposition councillors at 14; yes that is 14 out of 50 – hopeless. 

We now expect RBKC with its lack of reserves to go ahead with regeneration social cleansing programmes and further asset stripping of its public buildings – to claw back some funds. 

Many of the Tories will now feel this result gives them public approval to do so.

THINK do not have any deluded beliefs that  the old form of “horse trading” between councillors will ever achieve anything positive for our community. 

Moreover, it is a slap in the face for those of us affected by Grenfell. We believe that the council will now feel vindicated in its shamefully treatment of Grenfell survivors, bereaved and many others living in social housing.

There  is nothing other than write this or go to the media that we can ever do about this and we apologise to our friends in our local community that we are utterly powerless to stop the ruination of this local area, its identity and people’s lives. We are truly sorry.

Local Elections: Earl’s Court Tories and the Kippers

We at THINK are a  strongly pro European blog and we know that many EU citizens reside in all parts of this borough and that their votes in these local elections will be crucial.

THINK believe that the good citizens of Earl’s Court  fully deserve to know about Conservatives Cllr Malcolm “Bananaman” Spalding and fellow Conservative candidate  for Earl’s Court, Hamish Adourian and their position on Brexit.

We have received a copy of UKIP’s manifesto. Have a look here:

We think it is more than likely that Earl’s Court voters who care about the future of this country and of EU citizens here will give Spalding and Adourian a one way ticket out of here……

A resident of Earl’s Court also informed us that   on the day on the referendum vote, Bananaman Spalding and a friend were seen outside Earl’s Court Station shouting “the Brussels tyrants are unelected!”

At another time, later, Cllr Spalding, was  seen outside a meeting of the French Lib Dems (MODEM) , that was organised by Earl’s Court Liberal Democrat councillor Linda Wade, and offering his card to people three, saying “if you need my help, please get in touch” .

THINK believe that what is less than helpful, is pretending to care about EU citizens and then voting for Brexit and campaigning  against their rights to remain in the U.K.

THINK’s guide to the RBKC Local Elections: The runners and riders



……And they’re off! The local elections are in full swing and we at THINK shall be following the proceedings in full – and voting of course! 

If some of our readers are unsure with regards to which council ward they are are living in, please go to this link and enter your full postcode:

https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/yourcouncil/yourcouncillor/postcodesearch.asp

Some wards will inevitably be more hotly contested than others, but we say to  anyone who is disallusioned   with living in a “safe seat”,  and does not think their vote will count, to go out there this Thursday May 3rds, and vote and make it count – sitting on your hands is not the answer! 

Here below,  is our guide all to the council wards in RBKC  and candidates who will be standing for them , plus some rough predictions of our own (these are based on local knowledge of the wards, parties and visiting patterns as well as taking the current situation into account – we could be wrong of course – the only thing that is certain is that these will be the most lively local elections that RBKC has ever had!) We won’t be pinned down into predicting the exact result as 

ABINGDON WARD

Three council seats

Conservative Party

•  Cllr  Sarah Addenbrooke
• Cllr Anne Cyron
• Cllr James Husband

Labour Party

• Manju Gregory
• Sharda Rozena
• Stuart Shapro

Liberal Democrats

• Ciara Brown
• Jeremy Good
• Jonathan Owen

Advance

• Micki Rogers

Our prediction Safe Conservative hold on all three seats: We believe that Tories Anne Cyron, Sarah Addenbrooke and James Husband will be safe here , but we are interested to see how much of an impact the new Advance party will have on their majorities. 

BROMPTON AND HANS TOWN WARD:

Three council seats

Conservative Party

• Walaa Idris
• Sophia McVeigh
• Cllr Mary Weale

Labour Party

• David Kear
• John Morley
• Marian Skeen

Liberal Democrats

• Moyà Denman
• George Herford
• Robert Woodthorpe-Brown

UKIP

• Elizabeth De Stanford-Wallitt

Our prediction – Safe Conservative hold  on all three seats: This is one of the safest Tory seats and we expect both Mary Weale and the two new candidates to be elected. We are believe that their majorities will be reduced as pro-EU votes may switch to Lib Dems and pro-Brexit disallusioned Tories switch to UKIP. We do not predict this will happen in large enough numbers to be any threat to the Conservative vote here however. 

CAMPDEN WARD

Three council seats

Conservative Party 

• Cllr Catherine Faulks 
• Cllr Robert Freeman 
• Ian Wason 

Labour Party

• Tabatha Batra Vaughan
• Frank Kovacs
• Ian Trewin 

Liberal Democrats

• Richard Burnett-Hall
• Priscilla Congreve
• Tim Walker

Advance

• Peter Marshall
• Sonia Mihelic

Our prediction Conservative hold  onto three seats but  majorities greatly reduced : We expect the Tories to hold on to this but we think  the Tories could see their majorities slashed  as Advance and the Lib Dems  take  disillusioned   votes from them. Also the Advance and  the Lib Dem candidates  have been very prominent out campaigning in the area .

CHELSEA  RIVERSIDE WARD

Three council seats

Conservative Party 

• Cllr Adrian Berrill-Cox
• Cllr Gerald Hargreaves
• Alison Jackson 

Labour Party

• Kasim Ali
• Sofiane Saidoune
• Lorna Sherlock

Liberal Democrats

• Peter Kosta 
• Josie Mayers

UKIP

• Richard Braine
• Sophie Braine
• Alasdair Marsden

Advance

• Eryl Humphrey Jones 

Our prediction – Labour gain all three seats from Consevatives:Well this is an interesting one! Only two Lib Dem  candidates and three candidates from UKIP, plus a candidate from Advance in the mix too! We predict that all these candidates will take votes from  the Tories in an already marginal ward. This is also a ward with a lot of social housing in it and similar issues to those we have in North Kensington. We predict a huge swing to Labour also and for all three Labour candidates (who are very popular there)  to take all three seats comfortably. That’s it you heard this right – Labour gain from Conservatives and Adrian Berrill-Cox and Gerald Hargreaves will be out! 

COLVILLE WARD

Three council seats

Conservative Party

• Christopher Knight
• Carole Noble
• Chris Spring 

Labour Party

• Ian Henderson
• Nadia Nail
• Cllr Monica Press

Liberal Democrats

• Susanna Cheney 
• Nicola Kerr
• Nigel Warrack

Advance

• Nadia Boujjettef
• Claire Van Helfteren

Our prediction – Labour hold on to all three seats with increased majorities:We believe that this once Labour marginal, despite a strong Lib Dem presence, will turn into a safe Labour seat. We believe the Conservative here will dwindle as the two Advance candidates pick up some extra votes – this is also likely to affect the Lib Dem vote. Monica Press will be safely back in.

COURTFIELD WARD

Three council seats

Conservative Party

• Janet Evans 
• Greg Hammond 
• Cllr Quentin Marshall

Labour Party

• Luke Francis
• Rene Gimpel 
• Angharad Monk

Liberal Democrats

• Charlie Goodman
• Norma Peacock 
• Tim Verboven

Advance

• Amir Tayebi

Independent 

• Kyle Farren 

Our prediction – Photo finish! This is one of the trickiest ones to predict. Labour are making in-roads in with a strong presence here. We do not know if this will be enough to take any seats but this is one of the ones to watch. Traditionally there has also been a strong Lib Dem presence here too. Whether this will result in a split Lab/Lib Dem vote and let the Tories back in, or whether either Labour or the Lib Dems take a giant leap and pull a few surprises in what used to be a safe Tory ward is anyone’s guess……

DALGARNO WARD

Two council seats

Conservative Party 

• Marina Palmer
• Dougal Steward

Labour Party

• Cllr Pat Healy 
• Cllr Robert Thompson 

Liberal Democrats

• Jacqueline Taylor 

Our prediction – Safe Labour hold on to two seats : This North Kensington safe  Labour   ward should see  Pat Healy and Robert Thompson  safely re-elected likely with increased majorities. 

EARL’S COURT WARD

Three council seats

Conservative Party

• Hamish Adourian 
• Lloyd North
• Cllr Malcolm Spalding

Labour Party

• Samantha Batra
• Bruno Diantantou
• Danny Sweeney 

Liberal Democrats

• Harry Baden-Powell
• Carmel McLoughlin 
• Cllr Linda Wade

UKIP

• Callum Dorrington Hutton
• Mike Jones

Green Party

• Erwin Schaefer 

Our prediction – Photo finish!  but we expect both Labour and the Lib Dems to do well. Conservatives could really be in trouble here : This is another very difficult one to call as it is a three way marginal and has a strong presence of all three major parties, but we predict that as well as a few Tory votes going to UKIP , we believe the Lib Dems will  mostly benefit from the local  Tories’  unpopular support for Brexit. Labour have really been campaigning hard here too. We believe that both Lib Dems and Labour in what was a three way split vote ward, will put the squeeze on the Conservatives. Close to call, but we think Malcolm Spalding could lose this! 

GOLBORNE WARD

Three council seats

Conservative Party

• Will Mumby 
• David Mytton
• Georgina Stewart

Labour Party

• Cllr Emma Dent Coad MP
• Sina Lari 
• Cllr Pat Mason

Liberal Democrats 

• Frances Owen 
• Andre Petrolo
• Rosemary Somers

Our prediction: Safe Labour hold onto three seats: This is one of Labour’s safest wards and we expect to see Emma Dent Coad and Pat Mason back with increased majorities. 

HOLLAND WARD

Three council seats

Conservative Party

• Aarien Areti
• Charles O’Connor
• Johnny Thalassites

Labour Party 

• Lorna Kelly
• Nathaniel McBride
• Roberto Stasi

Liberal Democrats

• Hugh Lalor
• Dominique Lambert

Advance

• Deepali Nangia

Our prediction: Labour gain three seats from the Conservatives:This has been a marginal Conservative ward and the absence of any incumbent councillors (though two of  these former councillors Warwick Lightfoot and Rock Feilding-Mellen, do not appear to be missed). The deselection of  Deborah Collinson, who was well-liked, will only hurt the Tories further. We predict the vote to be close but we think that Labour will do  very well  and win here.

NORLAND WARD

Two council seats

Conservative Party

• Cllr David Lindsay
• Cllr Julie Mills

Labour Party

• Mona Adam
• Janice Sweeney

Liberal Democrats

• Blanche Girouard 
• Vivienne Shirley

Advance

• Valerie John-Baptiste

Our prediction: Photo finish!  – but we think Labour could take both seats: This will be very close. This is a marginal Tory ward in North Kensington  (and adjoining Notting Dale – the ward  that Grenfell Tower  it in) With two incumbent Tory councillors standing here, we believe that this is a two horse race between Labour and Conservatives, with strong presence from both parties – but we think that David Lindsay and Julie Mills are hanging by the skin of their teeth and we think they will likely lose by a whisker.

NOTTING DALE WARD

Three council seats

Conservative Party

• Clarissa Agnew
• Cordelia Evans
• Daniel Lewis

Labour Party

• Cllr Robert Atkinson
• Cllr Judith Blakeman
• Marwan Elnaghi

Liberal Democrats

• Lucy Chenery
• William Somers

Advance

• Melvyn Akins

Our prediction: Labour hold on to all three seats but with reduced majority and turnout: Notting Dale is the ward that Grenfell Tower is in, many locals are still traumatised and we predict a drop in the turnout. We also predict popular Advance candidate Melvyn Akins to pick up some votes, but Labour leader Robert Atkinson and fellow councillor Judith Blakeman are also popular and we predict them to be safely beat in this safe Labour ward.



PEMBRIDGE WARD

Two council seats

Conservative Party

• Laura Round
• Dori Schmetterling

Labour Party

• Annabelle Louvros
• Henry Peterson

Liberal Democrats

• Tom Fox
• Cllr Andrew Lomas

Advance

• Ritika Handa

Our prediction: Photo finish!Toss lose to call:Andrew Lomas is a former Colville Labour Councillor who defected to the Lib Dems, and now has switched wards, but we think he will be out of luck here as this is a two horse race between Conservatives and Labour. We thank Labour stands a good chance of taking the two seats here  but the Conservative vote is strong here. The lack of incumbent Tory councillors  and the possibility of Advance and Lib Dems taking Pro EU Tory voters with them could tip this Labour’s way.

QUEEN’S GATE WARD

Three council seats

Conservative  Party

• Max Chauhan
• Cllr Matthew Palmer
• Maxwell Woodger

Labour Party

• Carmen Callil
• Soonu Engineer
• Emma Southby

Liberal Democrats

• Jill Manasseh
• Sheila McGuirk
• Noel McNamara

Democrats and Veterans Party

• Ralph Hancock 

Our prediction: Safe Conservative hold onto three seat: As much as we would like to see the wonderful Carmen Callil ruin Maxwell “Tory Boy” Woodger’s chance of becoming a councillor – we know that this is a safe-as-Houses Tory ward. Matthew Palmer will be safely  back in.

REDCLIFFE WARD

Three council seats

Conservative Party

• Tom Bennett
• Cllr Marie-Therese Rossi
• Cllr Charles Williams 

Labour Party

• Isabel Atkinson
• Meg McDonald
• Mike Vessey

Liberal Democrats

• Virginia Morck 
• Katerina Porter
• Barbara Woodthorpe-Browne

Advance 

• Theo Goodliffe

Our prediction: Conservatives hold onto three seats but with reduced majorities: We think Mayor Marie-Therese Rossi and Charles Williams are safe – though we are interested to see what Labour, Lib Dems and Advance do to their majorities

ROYAL HOSPITAL WARD

Three council seats

Conservative

• Cllr Elizabeth Campbell 
• Cem Kemahli
• Cllr Emma Will

Labour

• Mary Gardiner
• Marian Kearney
• Michael O’Brien

Liberal Democrats

• Alexander Nowak
• Penny Pocock
• Margo Schwartz

Advance

• Mark Sautter

 Our prediction: Safe Conservative hold on all three seat: Dizzy Lizzy may not be too popular  here, but she can take some comfort in  being liked in one of the safest of Tory wards. We expect to see both her and Emma Will safely back

ST HELEN’S WARD

Two council seats

Conservative Party

• Cllr Eve Allison
• Miloud Bouhaddou 

Labour Party

• Cllr Mo Bakhtiar 
• Portia Thaxter

Liberal Democrats

• Toby McMillan
• Alexandra Tatton-Brown

Our prediction: Labour gain one council seat from the Conservatives: Eve Allison sits on a majority of just one vote in this North Kensington ward!  We believe  it is inevitable that this ward will  turn red.

STANLEY WARD

Three council seats

Conservative 

• Cllr Will Pascall
• Josh Rendall
• Cllr Kim Taylor-Smith

Labour

• Richard Chute
• Lorraine Motileb
• Mark Motileb

Liberal Democrats

• Vincent Lowe
• Guy Mayers
• Carl Michel

Advance

• Jennifer Eastwood

Green Party

• Heinz Schumi

Our prediction: Photo finish! : We predict this to be one of the most interesting results. The Labour candidates are making quite a postitive impact and this ward does have plenty of social housing, including the Sutton Estate in it. Plus the Green Party candidate is popular and well know locally and could take a decent share of the votes, plus an Advance candidate here too – could Kim “Tailored-Sloth” and Will Pascall be in trouble here?  

Whichever party has control of the council after this – there is one thing we can be sure about – the days of Dizzy Lizzy and the “kitchen cabinet” are well and truly numbered.

Please use your vote and use your vote wisely! 

 






Andrew “Bully Beef” Foster: Chair of the local Tories and nasty piece of work

Meet Andrew Foster, he is chair of Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham Conservatives (KCFC)

At Kensington hustings at Fox Primary School, a man, who we believed at the time to be one of the organisers, aggressively  got in one THINKer’s face and shouted and threatened to throw her out for using a dictaphone.

After our post on the Kensington hustings came out, THINK received information from  someone posting a comment on the post and also  from a couple of others via email, that the “toilet trained gorilla” we referred to, in the post, is none other than he!

See our post about it here:

https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/2018/04/30/local-elections-kensington-hustings-falls-apart-as-the-tories-failure-to-address-the-elephant-in-the-room-takes-its-toll-on-proceedings/

People were also banned from filming or recording hustings at St Cuthbert’s in Earl’s Court too. Why? Because nasty bully and tyrant Foster insisted upon it!

Some might remember our post regarding Maxwell Woodger’s offensive comments about Grenfell  at the Ladbroke Arms  pub, where he was alongside fellow Conservative candidates Laura Round and Greg Hammond (also former MP Vicoria Borwick had briefly dropped by).

Read about it here: https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/2018/04/10/local-elections-grenfell-just-how-low-can-some-conservative-candidates-get/

Well here is the picture from the Ladbroke Arms, taken  from the Daily Mirror, with Maxwell Woodger circled in red.

The man to the left of him  now appears very familiar to us ; why yes, it’s  Andrew Foster again  – making an appearance he’d probably like us to forget! We now know that Mr Foster likely witnessed Woodger making these offensive remarks.

Seriously , what are some of the local Tories thinking?

At least Foster’s predecessor Julie Mills could at least conduct herself in a civilised manner in public!

See our old post about the Tory cull and Julie Mills here:

https://thisisnorthkensington.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/the-tory-chansaw-massacre/

Of course, Julie Mills paid the price for axing a number of councillors – not all of whom were to blame for the turmoil RBKC is in.

Two of those who had been deselected Cllr Eve Allison and Cllr Adrian Berrill-Cox, have since been reinstated by Conservative central office – after all, it doesn’t look very good for them if they deselect their only black and their only disabled Councillor does it?

No wonder local  Conservative  communications are  so appalling when they  can’t even pick an agreeable person to be in charge!

Dear, oh dear,  can the local Conservatives ever get it right?  They  do indeed appear to be the “Nasty Party”.
THINK believe that if the Tories would at least like to appear like decent human beings, they should throw Andrew “Bully Beef” Foster’s career  in a KCFC bargain bucket and into the bargain bin  of obscurity and replace him with someone half decent.

And just in case Bully Beef turns up at any other public meetings and tries to censor members of the public,  allows his own colleagues to behave offensively or behaves aggressively towards others, here below, is another picture of this moron so others can  recognise him and show him the door…..