Vote for The Bermondsey Party:
Delivering a New Bermondsey!

Pledge 1:

We will stop Southwark Council from flytipping, and take a pro-active approach to clearing up our streets, including prosecuting offenders.

(*a simple policy that Southwark's politicians fail to deliver year after year)

Pledge 2:

We will give everyone over 16  a free shopping pass* entitling you to £500 free shopping every week at Surrey Quays Shopping Centre.

 

(*goodness only knows how we'll pay for it)

 

 

Or see Labour's 2014 manifesto:

 

http://www.southwarklabour.co.uk/our-promises.aspx

Pledge 3:

 

We will provide free childcare* for every child in Southwark from conception in their mother's womb*.

(*this applies even if you don't yet have a child, but are thinking about having one - we believe in equality for all)

Or see the Lib Dem 2014 manifesto:

http://www.southwark-libdems.org.uk/manifesto

 

Pledge 4:

We will keep council tax low for hardworking people*, giving you more money in your pocket to buy beer and fags

(*Average Band D council tax bill will fall by £0.53 per annum)

Or see the Conservative's 2014 manifesto (if you can find it!):

http://www.southwarkandbermondseyconservatives.com/

Pledge 5:

We promise to ensure that 50% of all those who like the colour turquoise will be represented equally at the top*

(*but if you prefer the colour orange, we cannot guarantee you the same representation)

Or see the All People's Party 2014 manifesto:

http://allpeoplesparty.co.uk/

There now follows a
Party Election Broadcast

by

The Bermondsey Party

Only The Bermondsey Party can be trusted with your vote.

 

So, VOTE BERMONDSEY

on

Thursday 22nd May 2014
 

because #BermondseyDeservesBetter

(and pink).

 

#ProudToBeEnglish? Too right we are!

Trending worldwide on Twitter today,  #ProudToBeEnglish summed up in four words what many millions of Englishmen and Englishwomen felt today about themselves and their homeland England.  We love our country, past and present  - always have, always will.

 

Pie and Mash (Image © The Stanleys Arms, SE16)

There are of course those über-liberals who dare to promote a new liberal bigotry, cradling at its heart a visceral hatred of our nation and all it stands for.  You know who they are: you can hear them pontificating destructively about our nation everyday on the BBC Today programme and in a public sector workplace near you.  

 

Just how English and 'British' is the taxpayer-funded BBC?

They'll tell you that that England has never done anything to be proud of, but neglect to tell your children that we built an empire, created the industrial revolution and continue to spread our values across the world.

 

(Image © Wikipedia)

They'll convince you that its racist to even look at the St. George flag, let alone fly it.

 

 

They'll have you believing that loving your country is weird and old-fashioned - that being English means being anti-progress and anti-inclusion.

 

English football fans (Image © Marcus Vetter)

They are so blinkered that they cannot understand why  millions of people from around the world (including our relatives and ancestors) love our country, too.

 

 

 

So, here are ten reasons why we're #ProudToBeEnglish:
  

 

1. Literature - Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Pinter

 

2. The Royal Family - continuity and national identity

Coat of arms - Former Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey

3. The St. George Flag

 

4.  Ours is a green and pleasant land, full of open spaces and beautiful countryside

Hanging baskets at London Bridge, Bermondsey

 

 5. We are a welcoming and tolerant nation

6. The great English pub

The Grange pub, Grange Road SE16 - recently saved for the community

  

7. Democracy, freedom and justice

 

8. Hard working and generous people

Cafe and gallery on Bermondsey Street, SE1

 

 9. The arts, culture and entertainment

 

10. Our glorious history and heritage. 

 

English values: Supporting the vulnerable and needy

So, on this very special of days, pause for a minute or two to contemplate what Englishness means to you.

 

Happy St. George's Day!

(Image © Wikipedia)

 

Fly tipping: Whose responsibility is it anyway?

Will Spa Terminate Fly tipping and Litter?

 

 

In the poky back rooms of Spa Terminus Limited and the plush office suites at Southwark Council Towers, there appears to be some confusion over just who owns and manages one of Bermondsey's few remaining business parks, the Dockley Road Industrial Estate in SE16.  The council denies being the freeholder and owner and seem not to know who manages it.  In fact, if the appearance of the estate is anything to go by, management is a commodity that is sadly lacking here.

We Bermondsey residents don't care  much about ownership.  But, we do care about our area and desperately desire an end to the fly tipping menace that has blighted our streets and alleyways for far too long.  Unfortunately, the Dockley Road Insdutrial Estate does very little to stem  the tide of this modern day epidemic.  As a direct result of their lackadaisical attitude, the view from Dockley, Spa and Rouel roads is a grubby one. 

Who is responsible for removing and recycling the mountains of pallets that build up inside the estate?

 

On which planet is it acceptable for a Christmas tree and single mattress to be dumped up against a wall (in full view of passers by) for over two years?

 

Does anyone care that rubbish and litter is carried by the wind out onto the pavement...

 

 

... making its way onto the street?

 

 

Are they oblivious to the fact that failing to keep the estate and its tarmac border clean and tidy encourages fly tipping and local litter bugs?

Some of these brazen offenders even have the chutzpah to empty the contents of their home waste bin onto the strip of private land bordering the estate; the council say they can't clear it up because they say it is 'private land'.  But, we have a suspicion that Southwark Council is involved in the estate in some way - as freeholder perhaps?  If it is the owner, then they are neglecting their responsibilities and need to change.

It's time for someone @SpaTerminus, the owners, the management company and the traders within the Dockley Road Industrial Estate to take personal responsibility and clean up their act - fast! 

 

 

We're proud of the business community that is steadily transforming the estate: from ice cream to Monmouth Coffee; from the Little Bread Peddler bakery to the well-loved Kernel Brewery.  However, the trade and reputation of the businesses will be adversely affected if the estate becomes known as a health and safety hazard zone.
 

 

So, Spa Terminus and the estate's managing agent and freeholder (whoever they may be!) must take responsibility and terminate this unsightly mess now.  Furthermore, it is essential that they put in place systems to keep the business park safe, clean and tidy.

 

 

While it is doing so, someone should cover the four manholes surrounding the estate...

 

 

...before a child or pet is seriously or fatally injured.

The Curious Case of the Mattress up a Tree: The Fly-tipping Apologist's Mantra

 

 



Perhaps they didn't mean to do it, just an unfortunate accident, something completely out of their control. 

 

Perhaps they slipped and fell on a bar of soap then lost their grip and hold. 

The scene of the crime: the tree at Messenger Court, Spa Road, SE16

Erm... maybe the mattress flew out of their hands, all slippery and slithery and gone!

 

Um... maybe they took their adoring gaze from their kids, while Jemima and Johnny jettisoned it from their home.

"I threw the mattress out of my window because..."
SOLUTION No.1: identify the tenant and terminate their tenancy...

I don't think they knew the rules - unaware that Southwark Council collects double-bed mattresses for free.


I don't think they could read the signs, or the mailshots, or the full page ads in Southwark News - that's the key!

 

 

I've got it! The council don't collect often enough; there's no space in their flat; they didn't learn to read!

 

I've got it! The leaflet should've been translated into 204 languages, then they'd have known and taken heed!

 

 

Day in, day out at Rouel Road, SE16.

Could it be their upbringing - their gender, their ethnicity or class?

 

Or could it be that they were simply stressed out after a long day bringing in the brass?

 

The Neckinger Estate, Enid Street - perhaps a £1000 fine would stop this?

Surely it's not that they're stupid or selfish or thoughtless or mercenary?

 

Surely it's not that they don't care about Spa Road, themselves, their homes or Bermondsey?

 

Flytipping inside Dockley Road Industrial Estate
- the Christmas tree and mattress have been in situ for 2 years!

 

Some locals care enough to challenge this menace that's blighting our land;

 

But, we can't just leave it to freeholders, landlords and politicians - our community must take a real stand:

 

Left by St James' church, Thurland Road, SE16

 

It's time for excuses to cease; it's time for the law to bite;

 

For only prosecution and consequences can stop them, this army of flytippers who treat the mattress as a kite.

The offending mattress - now lying on the ground at Messenger Court SE16
When will it be collected?