The festival will feature a wide range of dancing including Egyptian belly dancing, outdoor whirling, Tango, wheelchair ballroom, Be-Bop jazz, hip hop, tea dancing, Camden Clogs and many more. Many of the events are free.
To download a flyer click here, or more information about the festival visit the What’s on in Camden? guide.
Pubs, clubs, bars, late night food shops and other licensed premises can be a source of disturbance, nuisance and disorder - but while we should never shirk our responsibility to protect local residents, we also need to protect the businesses that are often at the heart of our local communities and play such an important part in making Camden special.
While Licensing Panels of specially-trained Councillors make decisions on applications for licenses, infrequent meetings of the Licensing Committee bring all of the Councillors who sit on Licensing Panels together to look more holistically at issues of licensing.
One of the issues we looked at on Tuesday was Special Policy Areas - designated areas where there is a high concentration of licensed premises (Camden Town and Seven Dials, though we are consulting on extending the Seven Dials area to include other parts of Holborn and Covent Garden)
The debate brought out a worrying tendency of many on the Committee to prioritise looking tough over being effective, ignoring any evidence in a strange (and slightly sad) desire to simply ‘be like Westminster’. Of course our first priority is to protect residents from nuisance, disturbance, crime and disorder. But we do this best by cracking down on irresponsible and problem licensees (the Lib Dems would give communities the power to close down pubs that are causing problems), and by encouraging and supporting responsible licensees who in turn give life to our communities, bring a massive boost to the local economy and play a huge part in what makes Camden a special place. Too many members of the Committee seem eager to view licensees as the enemy rather than the key to better licensed premises - a view that is only going to undermine attempts to encourage and attract responsible licensees.
Many of the Committee members want to make the Special Policy Areas even more restrictive, with a blanket presumption against increasing operating hours. While this may sound attractive to many it is simply not needed, has no evidence base, may undermine our current rules by opening us up to more legal appeal and challenge and, by prioritising looking tough and painting licensees as the enemy over working together for a more effective solution, will only alienate those we most need to work with. The reality, ignored by many Committee members, is that there has not been a single successful appeal against a refusal to extend a licensed premise’s hours based on our current policy. In other words, our current policy works when we use it.
Of course we do still have problems - often serious problems - in these special areas. The cause, however, is much closer to home - and it is unsurprising that some members would prefer to focus on looking like they’re toughening up instead of confronting the embarrassing reality: that members, the Police, the Environmental Health service and others are not doing their jobs properly. At Tuesday’s meeting we looked at attendance - a record that all of us on the Committee bear a collective responsibility for, and should be ashamed of. At Licensing Panel meetings, when decisions are made on licence applications, Environmental Health reports are notable for their absence and Police reports for their standardised content, rarely tailored to the actual premise in question and often falling apart under scrutiny - especially as the officers attending (who, I should state clearly, do a huge amount of very good work on licensing in general) are often poorly briefed.
One particular area of concern is over how the Police approach Camden Town: while the licensing team paint an apocalyptic picture of doom and devastation (they should see Cardiff City Centre on a Friday night…), their own figures show nuisance and crime is significantly down - largely thanks to the huge investment in more police on the streets (one of my first acts as Executive Member for Community Safety in 2006) and the strengthening of licensing enforcement. Furthermore, while they have called for a moratorium on all new late night food licences in Camden Town, only 4 of these licenses have been brought for review. If we are going to encourage responsible licensees that contribute to public safety and crack down on those causing problems, this balance is surely very wrong.
The way we approach licensing needs to change quite radically if we’re going to really make a difference. Looking tough is not good enough - looking at ourselves and our partners, and how we work, should be our priority.
The Lib Dem campaign for a one-hour bus ticket, allowing pay-as-you-go Oyster Card users to pay once per trip, is gathering momentum. Add your support now and help get a fairer deal for bus users.
London Lib Dems believe that a fair bus fare is when you pay once to get from point A to point B, regardless of how many buses you need to take. This is how the tube works, and how buses and trams in many major cities around the world work too. Oyster Card pay-as-you-go users are being cheated, having to pay for each bus they take when they’re only making a single trip.
Cantelowes is quite well connected by bus routes - but many trips require more than one bus. The 390 takes you to Kings Cross, for example, and the 29 and 253 to Camden Town - both are large hubs, where you can get a bus to many parts of London.
The Lib Dems are campaigning for a one-hour bus ticket - just like they have in major cities around the world - to give bus users a fare deal and encourage more people to use public transport. Already hundreds of people have signed the petition - you can show your support by signing up here. The campaign also has a Facebook group. It really can make a difference - the Lib Dems campaigned for half price bus and tram fares for the unemployed, to help them travel around the city to go to job interviews. It took a few years, but finally it happened! So with your support, we can really make a difference and make public transport better.
The expenses scandal has rocked the political establishment to the core. Amid the shocking disregard for taxpayers money that some MPs have displayed, there is a silver lining - real, meaningful reform is being discussed for the first time in over a decade. But if we are to seize the moment it is the public, not politicians, that need to decide how to fix our democracy. Join with others at a rally opposite Parliament - 6.30 - 8.30pm, Thursday 9th July, Methodist Central Hall.
It seems clear that some politicians have their own changes in mind; but democracy should belong to the people, and elections should be our way of choosing our representatives - not their way of getting and keeping their jobs. Too many votes are wasted (70% of votes in the last general election made no difference to the outcome), the Government is unaccountable and lacks a mandate (only 1 in 5 people voted for Labour, but they have a large majority in the House of Commons and can force unpopular things through like the Iraq war, university top-up fees, Heathrow expansion, post office closures etc), and too many MPs have ’safe seats’ - where they know they are going to win the election and so don’t have to listen or respond to their electors.
The current crisis has put politicians on the back foot - but we can’t let them change the rules their own way, keeping voters in the sidelines and ensuring they keep their comfy lifestyle. This time, we need to demand that the people have a say over what changes are needed. We need a Citizen’s Assembly to rewrite the rules of politics by recommending a different, more effective way of voting; and a referendum so the people can decide for themselves.
Already thousands of people have made their voices heard - including Damon Albarn, Stephen Fry, Vivienne Westwood, Philip Pullman and many others - but if we’re going to win control back from the politicians we need even more. Sign up to the campaign at www.voteforachange.co.uk, and join the Rally for a Change on July 9th, 6.30pm, Methodist Central Hall, Westminster.
Cantelowes Area Forum meets tonight at the new Kentish Town Health Centre, where we will be focusing on supporting local business.
The Area Forum is an opportunity for you to meet your neighbours and your councillors, helping to set priorities and working together to improve our neighbourhood. It is open to anyone who lives, works or studies in Cantelowes ward. For more information on Area Forum meetings, or to register for updates, visit the Council website.
Tonight you can join your local councillors for some refreshments and informal chat between 6.45pm
and 7pm. The meeting will run from 7pm until 9pm, at the exciting new Kentish Town Health Centre on Bartholomew Road. As well as an opportunity to raise any concerns or issues you have, tonight’s meeting will focus on supporting local businesses. We will also discuss how to use the new £10, 000 Area Forum fund that the Lib Dems have introduced, responding to demand from local people to give Area Forums the ability to deliver results as well as discuss issues.
We hope to see you this evening! If you can’t make it but would like to feed in your ideas, or be kept informed about future meetings, contact us.
The Deputy Mayor challenged by the Lib Dems over expenses claims has resigned - the 5th high-profile resignation of a senior advisor hand-picked by Boris Johnson since he took office last May.
Despite pledging to restore trust in City Hall finances, Tory Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s administration has been plagued by scandal and improper use of taxpayers’ money. The latest high-profile casualty is Deputy Mayor Ian Clement - hand picked by Boris Johnson to advise the Mayor on Government relations, with a salary of over £127, 000.
Despite using a taxpayer-funded credit card to buy a series of personal items, racking up a £1, 500 bill, Boris Johnson and the Conservative administration backed him, claiming he’d done nothing wrong. Following pressure from a range of groups, including London Lib Dem leader Mike Tuffrey AM, Ian Clement resigned today.
Commenting on the resignation, Mike said; “Ian Clement’s resignation was inevitable but three fundamental questions still need to be answered by the Mayor.
“Firstly, over a period of nine months Ian Clement repeatedly broke City Hall rules about personal spending. Why did Boris Johnson allow this to take place?
“Secondly, is Boris Johnson still allowing his senior staff to bill taxpayers for taking each other out to lunch and dinner?
“Third, will Boris Johnson now agree to publish the full expense details of all of his senior staff? Only this step will allow the public to judge what type of regime the Mayor is really running at City Hall.”
