Estimates are that about 1 million Non-British EU Citizens live in London. Germans, French, Italians, Scandinavians, Poles and many more - all EU-nationalities live and work here. However, these Non-British EU Citizens are four times less likely to be on the electoral register than UK citizens.
You might say this we don’t care about the society we live in, we don’t want to integrate into British society. We have heard this over and over again…
“There seems no reason to behave respectfully towards that little old woman coming out of the Post Office if you feel that she belongs to a culture that is alien from your own… Why not piss against the wall if you feel that it is not really your wall, but part of a foreign country.’” (Boris Johnson, Lend Me Your Ears, p207)
In contrast to some prejudice against foreigners, we are London citizens like everyone else. And we are eligible to vote in the London elections on 1 May. We live in London. We commute in London. We work in London. We pay taxes in London. We breathe the London air. We value the British sense of fairplay as much as the fish and chips.
Most of all, we want to contribute to London functioning better for everybody who lives here.
That is why we care about how London is run who it is run by.
Many issues with high prominence on the Continent are reflected positively in Ken Livingston’s work for London so far and in his future plans. Ken’s commitment to environmental issues matches the beliefs of many Europeans, as does his support of the London Living Wage campaign, transport policy and Safer Neighbourhood policies.
Ken has made living in London more affordable. There are free language courses for new arrivals and free travel for children, disabled people and pensioners. Now Ken also ensures that those who buy less polluting cars pay much less than those who don’t. And of course, he also works for the aim that 50% of new homes should be cheaper homes to buy and homes at affordable rents. Many EU citizens, especially those who have recently come to the UK from new EU member states, are employed in the lower paying sectors of the labour market. The introduction of the living wage by Ken Livingstone and subsequent increases of it has already benefited these workers.
Ken has made living in London much easier. Through introducing the Oyster card (now over 10 million signed up), public transport has become easier to use, and Ken has doubled the night bus network. Ken has made London the only major city in the world where there has been a significant shift from the private car to public transport, cycling and walking. He not only talks about tackling climate change but actively implements effective measures towards this end. Every tonne of CO2 not emitted in London has a positive impact on the rest of this globe.
Ken has made living in London more fulfilling and empowering, not just through cheaper access to cultural events but also through investing in education and skills. He has helped to provide better facilities for young people outside of school hours and pioneering equalities policy before anyone else so everyone can enjoy the same rights.
Even EU citizens who only plan to live here for a few years or less benefit from re-electing an administration which is doing so much to get London moving, to reduce anti-social-behaviour and crime by rolling out Safer Neighbourhood Teams of Police in all of London’s boroughs.
Protecting London from the xenophobic far right
There is a very real threat of reactionary and divisive candidates, with the extreme right BNP party only missing out on a seat by 0.2% in the last London elections. We need to prevent those parties who are trying to break up the bonds between Londoners. London is a world in one city. The global becomes local and the local becomes global.
Ken is the one politician in London who has fully grasped this trend and is utilising it to the benefit of all Londoners, including standing up to foreigners living in London, as he has done supporting the Polish community against the Daily Mail over its reporting of Poles in the UK. Under his time as mayor, London has overtaken New York to become the most successful city in the world, but most importantly he has constantly ensured that all Londoners benefit from this success.
“People from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in London to become Londoners and to fulfil their dreams and achieve their potential…They choose to come to London, as so many have come before because they come to be free, they come to live the life they choose, they come to be able to be themselves.” (Ken Livingstone, 7th July 2005)
David Schoibl, Chair of Labour Movement for Europe (London & the South East)
Claude Moraes, London Labour MEP
Mary Honeyball, London Labour MEP
Robert Evans, London Labour MEP
Gemma Tumelty, President of the National Union of Students
Chuka Umunna, Compass Management Committee
Martin Rathfelder, Director of SHA
Henning Meyer, Managing Director of Social Europe
Conor McGinn, Irish Londoners for Ken
Tijs Broeke, Chair of the Dutch Labour Party London Branch
Axelle Lemaire, Chair of the French PS London Branch
Stefan Marx, Member of the German SPD London Branch
Maite Morren, LSE Labour Committee (in a personal capacity)
Christos Loutradis, Greeks for Ken Livingstone
Marta Krokos, Poles for Ken
Samuel Tarry, Chair of Compass Youth
Cesar Calderon, Chair of Las Ideas
If you would like to find out more about the Labour Movement for Europe (London and South East)’s activities, please check out our website at http://www.lme-lse.org.uk or email lme.lse@hotmail.co.uk.
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April 30th, 2008by Noel Hatch
Under the heading “London deserves a better mayor” www.telegraph.co.uk published an article last Saturday online, in which the author alledges that anti-semitism might be a vote winner under Eastern Europeans living in London. To start of with the author assumes that Ken Livingstone would be happy to be labled an anti-semite and goes on to say:
“Perhaps he felt that accusations of anti-Semitism would help him with Muslim voters; he may even believe that they will play with the many Eastern Europeans who, as EU citizens, are entitled to vote for him.”
I think this is outrageous. The Telegraph should apologise to Londoners of Eastern European origin immedeately.
Please see the full article by following this link
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/04/26/dl2601.xml
and be as outraged as I am.
PS: An apology to Ken and London Muslims would be in order as well.
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April 29th, 2008by David Schoibl
United Business Media UBM have announced that they will relocate their holding company for tax reasons to Ireland and they might not be the last to flee a “high tax UK”, as they might put it. There is a race to the bottom on corporation tax going on across Europe. The competition of regulatory and tax regimes across Europe leaves national governments no choice but to follow suit. A very low corporation tax in Slovakia led Austria to lower its corporation tax and now German Laender bordering Austria are lobbying their national government to lower corporation tax in turn. Unless we start discussing (corporate) tax harmonisation on the EU level this race to the bottom will continue and the tax burden on low income households will increase and further pressure will be put on national and regional governments to cut public spending. Member states goverments will only be able to regain sovereignty on (corporation) tax and wider macro-economic issues when they start collaborating on tax on the European level.
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April 29th, 2008by David Schoibl
The Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, joined Ken Livingstone on the campaign trail in London today in support of his bid to be re-elected Mayor of London on 1 May.
Mayor Delanoe was re-elected Mayor of in Paris last month, and his decision to join Ken Livingstone on the stump shows the high regard in which London’s Mayor is held by leaders of other key cities throughout the world - and underlines the importance of the Mayoral election for London’s standing internationally.
Ken Livingstone’s campaign said:
“London’s international status is key to its economic success, and it can only be maintained by taking the right decisions in the interests of London.”
The Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, joined Ken Livingstone and the Labour Movement for Europe (London & South East) campaigning in Islington today and then held a joint press conference, where Mayor Delanoë said that close cooperation between big European cities was strengthening all of them - and that Ken Livingstone should stay in that team to ensure this continues. He said: ‘London would be weaker if it were to be isolated’. He also said it would be dangerous for Europe if London had mayor supported by the far right:
Mayor Delanoë said today:
‘It is important for Europe that London should maintain its position as a leader working with European cities. London is a city that has made a great deal of progress since Ken Livingstone was elected.
‘Elections are about real issues around values and convictions
‘In terms of economy London has a spirit of healthy economic attractiveness that it is helping us all move forward.
‘I have seen that with Ken as Mayor London has made great strides forward. We have got together as Mayors of world cities to ensure we tackle climate change. Ken has made a great commitment to this. I have learned from London about the impact of solidarity when dealing with the homeless.
‘With our friends we have formed a strong team of Mayors - we need Ken to stay in that team to ensure this progress continues.
‘The cities of the 21st century are cities of great diversity in their population. As with myself, Ken believes it is necessary to bring all people together and ensure we benefit from the richness of all their contributions.
‘It would be dangerous for Europe if London had a Mayor who had been supported by the far right.
‘London would also be weaker if it were to be isolated. I think London needs a serious Mayor - because it is a very serious job.’
In the last week the London election, Mayor Delanoe’s backing for the re-election of Ken Livingstone was echoed by other Mayors from around the world.
In the last week the London election, Mayor Delanoe’s backing for the re-election of Ken Livingstone was echoed by other Mayors from around the world.
Mayor Klaus Wowereit, City of Berlin, said:
“It has been a great pleasure to work with you to build ties of friendship between Berlin and London and this has been of great value for the citizens of both of our cities.
“Your leadership, both, in breaking new ground with radical policies to improve public transport and protect the environment in London and your openness to ideas from cities, like my own, facing similar issues has marked you out as a great ambassador for London internationally. I am glad that we have been able to count one another as true friends. I look forward working with you for many years to come.”
Mayor Gavin Newson, City of San Francisco said:
“London has a great leader in Ken Livingstone. His willingness to take brave, forward looking decisions – such as to tackle congestion – have provided hope and inspiration to city leaders around the world. It was Ken’s drive and leadership that made it possible for 40 of the world’s largest cities to come together in the C40 to tackle climate change, something that would have been unthinkable otherwise. It has also been a pleasure to work with a fellow Mayor who puts into practice in his city the values of tolerance and celebrating diversity that I am so proud to represent in San Francisco.”
Mayor David Miller, City of Toronto said:
“It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with Mayor Ken Livingstone, the inspiring founder and leader of the C40 Climate Group of major international cities. His vision and commitment have established London as a global leader in the fight against climate change and demonstrate how cities like ours can drive progress to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
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April 26th, 2008by Noel Hatch
