Lynne Featherstone

A road that was branded a “death trap” by a local councillor will now receive funding to make it safer after a sustained campaign by local Liberal Democrats. In February this year Cllr Fiyaz Mughal revealed that Westbury Avenue, in Noel Park ward, had been the scene of 14 serious accidents. He demanded that Haringey Council investigated speed restrictions and measures that would improve safety for local residents.

Last week Haringey Council announced that new crossings for pedestrians, slow road markings, vehicle activated slow down signs and raised entries to roads off Westbury Avenue will be installed. Local Liberal Democrats welcomed the progress but said that a 20mph speed limit still needed to be introduced in the area.

Cllr Fiyaz Mughal, Noel Park, comments:

“Looking at the evidence showing how many accidents had occurred on this road and after speaking to local residents it was clear we needed to campaign to make this road safer for pedestrians.

“I am glad that the pressure that local Lib Dems and residents have put on the Council has provided results. But we will not stop there – we still believe that to ensure safety we need to reduce the speed limit to 20mph on this road.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, adds:

“Hopefully now that plans are afoot to reduce the speed of vehicles on this road the accident rate will fall.”

Haringey are at it again - or more accurately - they are not at it. Yet another 'consultation' on parking that has failed to be properly delivered. The local Noel Park LibDems carried out a survey that shows that one in six people failed to even receive the consultation document.

Local people should have received their consultation documents in April this year asking their views on a proposed parking controlled zone for West Green and Bruce Grove. However, from the survey in Boreham Road and Westbury Avenue, carried out by local LibDem councillor Fiyaz Mughal, it is clear that many people never received the documents at all.

The LibDem survey also showed that around seventy per cent of those people who did not receive the consultation documents were against the new CPZ.

Tonight, the Council's Labour cabinet will decide is the scheme will go ahead - which is clearly nuts - as so many people haven't even been asked.

News reached me late - but fabulous news! My Liberal Democrat councillor colleague Fiyaz Mughal has been awarded an OBE. It is awarded to him for services to the voluntary sector, including his work as director of Faith Matters. Congratulations Fiyaz. Very well deserved!

A quick reminder / round-up of my Lib Dem colleagues on Haringey Council who are online themselves:

Matt Davies (Fortis Green ward councillor) blogs at mattdaviesharingey.blogspot.com
Karen Alexander (Harringay ward councillor) is on Twitter as @karenjalexander
Neil Williams (Highgate ward councillor) blogs at neilwilliamslibdems.blogspot.com
Fiyaz Mughal (Noel Park councillor) has a website at fiyazmughal.org.uk
Richard Wilson (Stroud Green councillor) blogs at www.richardwilson.me.uk

I've been working with Councillor Fiyaz Mughal on the issue of road safety along Westbury Avenue:

This film is hosted on YouTube.

Over the last year, the online presence of Haringey Liberal Democrats has steadily been growing and expanding. Five of my local colleagues now have their own sites / blogs:

Matt Davies - Fortis Green councillor
Fiyaz Mughal - Noel Park councillor
David Schimtz - Tottenham Parliamentary spokesman and Seven Sisters candidate
Neil Williams - Highgate councillor
Richard Wilson - Stroud Green councillor

Haringey Liberal Democrats are also on Facebook, including information about our forthcoming events, or - if you're not a Facebooker - you can also instead out about our events via the main party website.

Oh, and don't forget - I'm on Facebook, Twitter (mini-blog style updates) and Flickr (photos).

In Redvers Road, Noel Park, there's been a problem - bus drivers and no toilets! After a brilliant piece of action by my Lib Dem colleague - Cllr Fiyaz Mughal - everyone will now be relieved! Until now, bus drivers caught short during the day, had been using bushes and the alleyway behind Hollywood Green cinema. Transport for London have now installed loos for the drivers to use. Hurrah!

Heard that one of the Haringey Lib Dem councillors, Fiyaz Mughal, has been given a really fantastic award – Ambassador for Peace. The prize is handed out by the London-based Universal Peace Federation, in recognition of his bridge-building work between the Israeli and Palestinian communities. The award also recognises Fiyaz's economic support for the region, in the form of promoting micro-finance, especially for businesswomen. Well done Fiyaz!

I can't sew! But this morning, I went to a small women's training group that teaches sewing, English and maths and IT skills for women. I was there to present the end of term certificates - but first we had a session where they all told me about themselves. There were women from many places in the world - and this lovely small helpful organisation is working away to give them access to jobs and skills. And they were all so lovely - from the two 16 year old sisters from Afghanistan who are clearly going to get to grips with everything in super-quick time (they had certificates in everything) to another girl who had just passed her Britishness test and was telling us all (to much hilarity) what the questions were. Native Brits would almost certainly fail unless they studied for it!

And they asked me to tell them about being a woman in politics. So I did. I rarely speak on that subject or about myself - but amongst this group it seemed appropriate. The group is run by Rafat Mughal who was a Labour councillor when I first was elected to Haringey Council. She left some time back, but her son, Fiyaz, is now a Lib Dem councillor here in Haringey (Noel Park ward – gained his seat from Labour in May).

I think it's rather good that we can all have different political views, even within families - that should be how it is. We can all believe or think different things, dream different dreams, have different desires - but that is what makes the world go round. I can't imagine how dreadful it would be if we were all of one mind!

Well - it was very close! Massive Lib Dem gains, but not quite enough to take control of Haringey Council - Labour majority cut to just three (30-27 - no other parties have any councillors) with Lib Dems making 11 gains.

We also topped the vote across the borough - adding up the top votes in each ward - and actually now have councillors in a majority of the wards in Haringey. So - very close! Best every Lib Dem result, including our first councillors in Tottenham, many in Wood Green etc.

Lib Dem highlights:

Alexandra - 3 Lib Dem holds - Dave Beacham, Wayne Hoban and Susan Oatway re-elected

Bounds Green - 2 Lib Dem gains - Ali Demirci and John Oakes

Crouch End - 3 Lib Dem holds - Ron Aitken and David Winskill re-elected, joined by Lyn Weber

Fortis Green - 3 Lib Dem holds - Matt Davies and Martin Newton re-elected, joined by Sara Beynon

Harringay - 2 Lib Dem gains - Karen Alexander and Carolyn Baker

Highgate - 3 Lib Dem holds - Bob Hare and Neil Williams re-elected, joined by Justin Portess

Hornsey - 3 Lib Dem gains - Robert Gorrie, Errol Reid and Monica Whyte elected

Muswell Hill - 3 Lib Dem holds - Jonathan Bloch and Gail Engert re-elected, joined by Sheila Rainger (who has taken over my old council seat)

Noel Park - 2 Lib Dem gains - Catherine Harris and Fiyaz Mughal elected

Stroud Green - 1 Lib Dem hold and 2 Lib Dem gains - Laura Edge re-elected and Ed Butcher and Richard Wilson elected

Congratulations and commiseration to all candidates and helpers - both those who made it and those who didn't, in all parties.

UPDATE: There are now further election result details on Haringey Council's website.