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Recently government figures reveal homelessness at its highest in a decade, sadly it’s no surprise. Providing temporary housing is straining already tight council budgets but the true cost is social: lives disrupted, jobs risked, families divided. Someone is legally ‘homeless’ if they’ve no home available to occupy. Rough sleepers have the most complex needs but…
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Like millions of British citizens I’m a member of 38 Degrees, the mass-online pressure group named after the angle at which enough snowflakes can start an avalanche. One of the group’s most effective campaign techniques is co-ordinating mass-emailings of decision-makers on an issue, which as a councillor means I’m sometimes in the odd position of…
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Over recent years there has been a lot of talk about devolution, those who keep up with the news will know various deals have been agreed across England and might even be aware that Sussex and Surrey councils are seeking their own deal. Yet, most people, including those in local government, don’t necessarily have a…
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After years of anticipation by the Conservative Party’s right-wing, grammar schools are back on the agenda. There’s something depressing about the cyclical nature of political debates, more so because each cycle never seems to be triggered by new research but rather long-held opinions bubbling to the surface. A recent poll indicated two-thirds of parents would…
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Last weekend I was pleased to attend Crawley Campaign Against Racism’s fortieth anniversary. When 16 year old Danny Martin wrote to the Crawley Observer calling for the community to make a stand in the face of the National Front, who could have predicted four decades later the organisation founded in his letter’s wake would still…
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As August draws to a close I am reminded that for many Crawley residents September marks the start of a new year. While the formal year begins in January, the financial year in April and arguably the political year begins with the May elections, for Crawley’s young people every September marks the start of a…
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It doesn’t need saying that the UK has had a fantastic Olympics. Ending second in the table went beyond anyone’s expectations and huge congratulations are well-deserved for all those involved in producing such a superb result. The question now is: what do we as a country take away from this achievement. Team GB are already…
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August is typically a quiet month for councillors. The regular cycle of committee meetings takes a pause and party politics remains on hiatus following the year’s local elections. It’s a time when we can catch up on the backlog of casework, read in greater depth about the issues facing local government and consider the longer-term…
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Last week, Crawley Borough Council voted unanimously to support the Cabinet’s Budget Strategy. The strategy follows the approach Labour has pursued over recent years and which we put forward in our manifesto at this year’s local elections: prioritise finding new income over cuts and empower those on the frontline to make their services more efficient.…
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Southern Rail is a mess and it’s about time someone did something about it. At tonight’s council meeting we will be debating a Labour motion calling upon the Government to sort out the management of the company. To understand what is happening and why it is the Government who need to act we need to…
Peter Lamb for Crawley 