There was a meeting of Camden Council on Monday, 24th April. As part of my accountability to residents, below are the actions I took at the meeting:

  1. I praised a group of people with learning difficulties who bravely made a deputation calling for support to give evidence to the Commons Work & Pensions Select Committee about how to make it easier for them to get into work, and asked them and their social worker what concrete policy changes Camden could adopt. (D)
  2. I asked opponents of Camden adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of ‘anti-Semitism’ whether they believed comparing the actions of Israel to the Nazis was anti-Semitic and whether they believed criticising Israel and not governments that treat their Arab citizens far worse (including almost all Arab countries) was anti-Semitic. I was appalled to hear that they did not, provided no comparison was made directly to the Holocaust. (D)
  3. I gave a speech on the motion to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of ‘anti-Semitism’, citing in particular incidents not just of words being used to hurt Jewish people, but violence in our very borough – including at UCL in October. I noted particular difficulties with anti-Semitism on university campuses, and as the home of many world-class universities and as a borough known for openness and tolerance, we have to prioritise combatting anti-Semitism at universities to ensure our borough remains open and welcoming to all. (M)
  4. I voted for Camden to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of ‘anti-Semitism’. I was delighted to see this carried unanimously, which shows that hatred has no place in Camden, but also demands further vigilance to ensure anti-Semitism is stamped out. (V)
  5. I would have asked the Cabinet Member for Sustainability & the Environment about fly-tipping fines, but we was one of the few councillors not to be called to ask a question! I will be following it up. (R*)
  6. I asked the Cabinet Member for Community Safety about the criteria for success for the bi-borough pathfinder, whereby Camden and Islington police have been merged. I asked about this in January, and follow-ups have not yielded an answer. The Cabinet member promised to send me the full details of the criteria against which success will be judged. (R)
  7. We did not get to the scheduled questions to Cabinet members. However, I was due to ask an oral question about the failures of the dedicated phone line for the waste service. (Q*)
  8. We did not get to the scheduled motions. However, I was due to second a motion calling for the Metropolitan Police to guarantee the futures of all police stations in Camden in the face of the merger between Camden and Islington police. (M*)

You can see a full round-up of meetings this year here.