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Southwark News, Thursday April 21 2022
TAKE three: Soap Box stars on the environment and Low traffic neighbourhoods Our unique Gogglebox-style coverage of the issues that affect residents in the run-up to the council elections on May 5th By Kit Heren kit@southwarknews.co.uk Southwark News is carrying out a unique project to encourage more people to vote in the council elections on May 5.
In a Gogglebox-style show, we are filming how four Southwark households react to what local politicians say about three key areas: housing, crime and education, and transport and the environment. We are focusing on one part of the borough - Newington, near Elephant
and Castle - which had the lowest voter turnout in the last elections in May 2018. For the third and final episode on climate and the environment, Green Party candidate Clare Wood came back again, Labour’s candidate Natasha Ennin defended her party’s record, and the Liberal Democrats’ James Gurling was looking to roll back the years in the fight for his old seat in the ward. The Conservative Party were invited to send one of their candidates, but yet again did not respond to our repeated requests to join in.
We then showed the candidates’ answers to four households from a range of backgrounds in the ward to get their reactions: Ola, a mother of four and a Brandon Estate council tenant, Paula, also on the Brandon, Kym from the Newington Estate and her partner Les, from the Brandon Estate and Neil and Emma, leaseholders in Oyster Court. The focuses: low-traffic neighbourhoods, the council’s response to the climate emergency and the high level of fly-tipping in the borough.
Natasha Ennin - Labour Party candidate
James Gurling - Liberal Democrat Party candidate
the PoliticIans taking part in the second debate:
southwarknews.co.uk
Clare Wood - Green Party candidate
Meet our Southwark soap box families and hear their views: Why should you vote on May 5th?
Kym, 53, watched the debate with partner Les - she has lived on the Newington Estate for 30 years
Mother-and-daughter: Paula, 42, originally from Columbia and her daughter Kate, 23.
Oyster Court leaseholder Neil, 38, is married to Emma and they have four children. The family have been hit by massive cladding bills Ola is a mother-offour living on the Brandon Estate and is originally from Nigeria she is active in the tenants’ and residents’ association
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Your council makes important decisions and has responsibility for a huge range of things that affect your everyday life - from what housing gets built and where, to closing off roads to cars and keeping the streets clean and tidy.
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Individual councillors in your area are also meant to help you with problems that you come to them with.
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Southwark Council has been controlled by the Labour Party since 2010. Some 48 out of 63 councillors are from Labour. Fourteen more are from the Liberal Democrats, and there is one councillor who is independent. There are no Conservative or Green Party councillors at the moment, although people from both parties are running in May.
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Local elections are normally held every four years. The elections to choose new Southwark councillors will take place on May 5 this year. You vote by ward - the area which you live in - for whichever candidates you want to represent you. Depending on the ward, there are either two or three councillors to choose.
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Any adult from the UK or EU living in the UK, or any adult from the Commonwealth with permission to stay in the UK can vote, as long as they register.
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You can find your councillors on Southwark Council’s website by searching online for ‘find Southwark councillors’.
go to southwarknews.co.uk to watch it
