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Be Independent. Vote Rosser on May 4th.
There's no avoiding the fact that I was, until recently, a Director of Homes for Islington. This may well piss a lot of people off. I can understand that but want to take the opportunity of discussing my role at HFI. First off, I want to be absolutely clear that I have no intention of decrying my recent colleagues. I believe that they do their best for all Islington Residents and are fully supportive of delivering the Decent Homes Standard and an improving service. These are laudable goals, which they pursue with great dedication. To begin with, I was asked to stand as a Director by the Islington Leaseholder Forum when it's then representative resigned. He felt unable to accept the Code of Conduct, which he felt put a gag on voicing his opinions publicly. I could accept the Code of Conduct and have acted within it's restraints. My view had always been that one might be able to achieve small advances by working within the 'system'. This means accepting collegiate responsibility, sometimes for things you disagree with. By doing so, you hope that you will win the confidence of your colleagues. In return you hope that they will appreciate your arguments. Win some, lose some, as they say. This is the perennial Catch22 of being 'in office'. I sat on the Leaseholder Forum for 4 years and played a leading role in establishing a Leaseholders' Association. The fact that I agreed to sit on the Board of HFI did not mean that I suddenly changed my colours. It meant taking a different approach. That approach may have had some success, over time. But I came to the conclusion that we didn't have the time to wait and see. Nothing that I said, or could have said, would have reduced leaseholders' bills (mine included) in the short term. As those bills mounted, the clearer it became that the issue could only be resolved through some form of political involvement. I'm usually in favour of bottom up solutions. In this case I think the issue can only be decided from the top. That is why I have decided to stand for the Council and why I'm calling on people of all parties to lobby for a Cap on the leaseholder re-charge. But this election is not simply about leasehold issues. I basically come from a libertarian and community position. I could have been Labour, but go along with Glenda Jackson's line "It's not my party I'm ashamed of, it's my Government". Paradoxically, I could almost be LibDem at national level. But here in Islington, I can't support the drive to privatise services and flog off assets. The LibDems espouse community development but seem to be undermining it. I can't go along with increasing lunch club fees, increasing parking charges and putting up the price of a host public amenities. I have a pretty elastic mind but, given my differences with both parties, the only alternative at the moment is to stay Independent. I hope you can join me by voting Independent on May 4th. |
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