Dear All
Legacy is a word banded about the place by politicians; they want to take the credit when things go right.
They are usually unavailable and hiding when things go wrong.
Govanhill is in Glasgow.
The area is a slum.
Labour Councillor of shame Jim Coleman recently said in relation to Labour policy for Glasgow;
"The administration will continue to provide leadership for the city as a whole. As always, our focus is firmly on Glasgow's priorities."
Where was the leadership in Govanhill?
Why didn’t the Labour Council of shame tackle the problem of rogue landlords letting out overcrowded slums?
Why was it left to the Govanhill Housing Association and its Director Anne Lear to act on behalf of residents?
Why didn’t the Labour Council of shame go to the Holyrood Parliament to petition minsters for funds?
Couldn’t they be bothered to make the case?
SNP Minister said some living conditions in Govanhill in Glasgow are "totally unacceptable for the 19th, never mind the 21st Century".
This is the legacy of Steven ‘bin laden’ Purcell and the Labour Council of shame.
There is now a special evidence session at Holyrood looking at the problems and hopefully the inquiry will look at the Labour leadership of the City Council who haven’t done enough.
SNP Housing Minister Alex Neil is considering granting Glasgow City Council, and other local authorities, additional powers to address the situation faced by those living in poor housing conditions.
We need a Housing bill that requires private landlords to monitor their properties to ensure that housing is not let where overcrowding becomes an issue.
A bill that has teeth is required, a levy on rented properties should be considered also.
Govanhill has some of the most severe housing problems in the UK, with an estimated 1,200 slum flats.
To turn round Govanhill from the slum that it has become will require tens of millions of pounds.
Govanhill is the real legacy of the Glasgow Labour Party elite; they brought the slums of the 1930’s back to Glasgow.
Glasgow’s shame is the Labour Party in selecting ineffective representatives.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
As a home-owner, i would like that part of the bill (regarding the rights and responsibilities of private landlords) to be extended to councils. Our local authorities do not understand how to control their misbehaving tennants.
ReplyDeleteDear Allan
ReplyDeleteYou should get your thoughts together on paper and send them to SNP Minister Alex Neil at the Scottish Parliament.
I am in favour of a new housing bill to tighten up private landlords who abuse the system but I am sure that other issues would be on the table too.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
The Govanhill Defence Campaign: http://govanhilldefencecampaign.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteWe are a group of activists who have consistently been out on the streets of Govanhill this past year, campaigning against poverty, racism and the political gangsters of the Labour council.
In response, recent weeks have seen a campaign of police harassment against activists, with people charged, threatened with arrest and material seized on peaceful stalls on Victoria Road.
This is a question both of basic democratic rights and of resisting further attacks on working-class areas such as Govanhill. Please link to and view the blog and support the campaign.