Chinese embassy on Great Portland St, in busting at the seams

In the televised exchange between Kier Starmer and Xi JinPing at the Rio G20 conference, we hear our PM bring up himself the issue of the Chinese Embassy move East in London. It has been a sore point for the Chinese as the premises along Great Portland Street, as its busting at the seams, having been there since the Qing Dynasty first sent an envoy to the UK. 

Furthermore, not since the US embassy moved to South London from Grosvenor Square have we had a similar proposed move of a major embassy in London like the Chinese Embassy move to Royal Mint Court, on the verge of the East End and gateway of the Docklands in East London. Its significance can not be understated as London”s diplomatic enclaves expanding into the historical quarters of the East End with this proposed move, is unprecedented.  

Yet it faces much local opposition in the first attempt to get planning permission having been thrown out and has again been resubmitted by the consultants hired by the Chinese to the local council Tower Hamlets. 

Looking at the application, the usual concerns of diplomats premises in the City of Westminster where we have the vast majority of them along with Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, seem to be all addressed. For example the refurbishment of the buildings on the site with the residential quarters for their staff and a brand new community facility, all combined actually to reduce the massing of the site overall. That is, it’s not an overdevelopment of the Royal Mint Court and very much in keeping with what we have there already. While other issues like the diplomatic parking is all accommodated within the site and not outside the premises, a source of much contention in central London neighbourhoods like Marylebone. 

As for issues of security and demonstrations going over to the East as many have suggested who oppose the Chinese government, l am not sure its quite the issue made out by some. As the problems of policing could not have been as severe as those outside the US embassy over the years when it was on Grosvenor Square with the major demos it has attracted from the Vietnam war onwards? Since its move to the Nine Elms, it seems to have quieten down a lot in front of the US embassy at the new location. It maybe moving out of Central London does that and may well do so when the Chinese embassy moves East. 

Having been on the London Assembly when the two previous Mayoral Development Corporations (MDCs) were set up – London Olympics and Old Oak Common – l am not sure it’s actually needed, if you were going to pedestrianise Oxford St as the Mayor has declared.

The simple truth is that if you are serious, you would have to sort out the buses that bring Londoners to Oxford St in the first place. With as many as 16 bus routes plying their trade along Oxford St, you really do need to both alter their routes and offer alternatives for Londoners to get there. As it’s a major thoroughfare for buses going across London, on the Northside of the river. So l was surprised when this was all muted a few weeks ago, no mention of this huge task had been made for this push to pedestrianise Oxford St and something TfL need to be getting on with asap.

Also we have to acknowledge some of the progress made by Westminster City Council, with getting rid of the US sweet shops, getting “Ramadan lights” along the street during the month of fasting and also getting major new venues like the Moco Museum at the Marble Arch end of Oxford Street. After the Mound fiasco a few years ago, major progress has been made which should be acknowledged at least.

Funnily enough, for such an important thoroughfare of public transport in London, it’s actually not even a red route and is a major oversight since the formation of the GLA in 2000. So let’s make it a red route and thus make Oxford St become the responsibility of Transport for London. That way, the Mayor would be a better position to make a contribution to Oxford St success. So in short no need for MDCs but simply transfer Oxford St to TfL as a red route, as first stage of pedestrianisation of Oxford St. 

After noting the dismal record of Thames Water leakages and capital spending in London during the summer l asked my local Council, WCC, for information of the annual number of road works required due to leaks in Thames Water’s pipework. Their response was that some 3,000 holes are dug each year to repair water leaks annual at present. Please see letter below. Additionally there have been £250,000 in fines to Thames Water for over-running road works.

It appears to me, that Thames Water have record highs of road works, and don’t appear to be on top of these water leak problems we have on the streets of London. This after being in charge of these works for over 30 years and replacing the old pipes with plastic ones. Clearly costing a lot of money to their customers – us – as well.

It is clearly another reason, that illustrate that privatisation of the water industry in 1990s has not worked for the benefit of its customers and also not worked for road users caught up in these maddening works all across Central London.

Martin Wolf ( 16th September 2024) is right to say that for a credible growth plan Rachel Reeves should look again at taxation. The place to start is with taxation of property and land in particular.

Here Land Value Tax (LVT) can stimulate economic growth by encouraging efficient land use, reducing speculation, and promoting investment in productive activities. It can also generate stable revenue for public spending without distorting economic decisions, potentially leading to more equitable and sustainable development.

LVT is also considered a progressive tax because it primarily targets landowners, who are often the wealthier individuals or entities. By taxing the unimproved value of land, LVT ensures that those with more valuable land holdings contribute more, thereby reducing income inequality and promoting a fairer distribution of wealth.

Labour should also consider a LVT as part of their review into reforming Council Tax and business rates. This proposal aims to ensure sustainable funding for local government in the long run.

Peace campaigners to visit diplomats amid risk of nuclear war

Two delegations from the London Region of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament  visited Embassies across London on Thursday 19 September to highlight the growing risks of global nuclear war and urge all nations to work for peace.
The event is took place ahead of the United Nations International Day of Peace and comes amidst increasing global tensions at a time when the world stands closer to nuclear war than perhaps any other point in history. 

A delegation visited the Embassies of the United States and China, both nuclear-armed countries, and France and Germany, key NATO Member states. The delegation also delivered a letter to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street. 

The delegation called for a ceasefire and urgent negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict, which has resulted in over six million refugees and around four million internally displaced people. In August 2024 the OHCHR had recorded 11,520 civilians killed and 23,640 more injured since the invasion in February 2022, and believes the real number is higher. 

The current situation in Gaza will also be highlighted, where Israel’s incessant bombardment has resulted in over 40,000 deaths since 7 October 2023. Hunger is widespread and disease rampant. Recent research published by Parliament suggests a further 10,000 are missing or under rubble and 94,398 people have been injured across Gaza and Israel. Few countries have experienced the level of devastation taking place in Gaza, since World War II ended.

At the same time, another London CND delegation visited Embassies of states which have signed but not yet ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, including Ghana, Indonesia, Brazil and Columbia. The Treaty bans nuclear weapons in the same way as biological and chemical weapons have also been banned. The TPNW was agreed by the United Nations in 2017 and to date more than 90 states have signed.

London Region CND Chair Carol Turner, who will lead the delegation, said “If the world doesn’t urgently seek peace there is a real risk that the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine could escalate out of control. We are keen to hear from diplomats about efforts to bring about peace and reinvigorate efforts for a reduction in global nuclear stockpiles.”

Last Sunday night on Talking Point on NTV Europe ably presented by Syed Neaz Ahmed where we discussed what the Interim government should do in light of recent events in Bangladesh, and  probashi (otherwise known as Non-Resident Bengalis – NRBs) issues frequently came up.

Voting rights – for many years various regimes in Bangladesh have promised to permit probashi aboard to be able to vote in their home constituencies in Bangladesh. But this has not been operational via the Foreign Service yet in London we see many other natives of other countries voting in their ancestral homes at their consulates and embassies. Whilst the Interim government is looking at the present democratic set-up in Bangladesh, why not look at making this finally happen now?

Which does bring up the issue of the treatment of probashi in the Middle East. Whilst they have much more temporary status than us in Europe and North America, they clearly need protecting and defending by the Bangladeshi foreign consulates, particularly in regards their employment rights.  This needs to be foremost in the minds of the interim government in their dealing with Middle Eastern states and trust we can at least see a new approach.

Probashi investment in Bangladesh is a substantial source of investment funding if not at least hard foreign currency! As they have been sending remittances back to Bangladesh for many decades now from Europe, North America and especially from the Middle East. It appears too many it could all be better used as has been the case in with flows of remittances into China, India and Mexico as well.

and then we have the issue of all the ill gotten gains of aboard through money laundering from Bangladesh. The probashi would be very useful in chasing up these ill-gotten gains of corrupt officials aboard like in London, New York & Paris and other cities around the world. If only via officials in these cities and countries. Some real progress can be made here but it needs coordinating with the relevant public authorities.

And finally the funding and training of RAB ( Rapid Action Battalion) from aboard – scrutiny of this needs to be undertaken, given the role that has been played by them in judicial killings over many years and also over the recent upraising as well.  This maybe best done by the probashi in the relevant countries concerned, in their democratic set-ups.

So l am glad l had an opportunity to give a good airing to the matters and trust the Interim government of Bangladeshi under Prof Yunus will also take on board the issues and concerns of the probashi around the world as outlined above particularly in Europe, Middle East.

At the air pollution monitoring station along the side of the Westway off Wood Lane,W12 – we could we similar monitors at Marylebone & Paddington

After all the commotion about the expansion of ULEZ into Outer London, it maybe time to bring back the focus to Central London on air quality issues.

But first we need to known about the latest research of the impact of ULEZ in Central London. For example, it was only recently we got confirmation after many years of the impact of LEZ, which preceded the ULEZ launched under the first Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone in Feb 2008 at  Ally Pally in North London. The LSE Study concluded that London’s LEZ had improved the exam performance of school pupils at the end of ket stage two. A Cambridge University study of ULEZ in Central London, children switch to walking and cycling to school after introduction of London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone. This is on top of the wood burning stoves contribution to air pollution in recent times. 

I for one would like to see the impact of the Westway coming into Central London from the West with its trail of Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV). Particularly in light of the impact of the Elizabeth Line, may well have had there as we see less private cars coming into London not just from Outer West London but also the Thames Valley. In this respect it helps that we have air pollution monitoring station at the side of the Westway just off Wood lane, W12. It would even better if we had similar monitoring stations in Paddington, North Kensington and Marylebone. 

There is also the impact of increasing numbers of SUVs on the roads of London and its still not clear how many vehicles came into Central London’s many office developments during peak time. This all the while private vehicles users are switching to electric cars as the second hand car market for them has taken off and the infrastructure for electric vehicles is improving.

I hope to have the opportunity to make this contribution at Westminster City Council September Air Quality consultation meeting of residents. 

This summer so far British Bangladeshis have had to endure being insulted by British politicians; seeing race riots in the North similar to what the NF use to do along Brick lane and finally our ancestral home returning to the worst days under military regimes in Bangladesh during the 1970’s. The latter was of course a source of much embarrassment at school for me!

For some reason during the General Election 2024 a few national politicians like Jonathan Ashworth MP for Leicester South cited Bangladeshis asylum seekers as one of the worst abusers of the system when only the previous month the governments of the two countries entered into an agreement on how to send back failed Bangladeshi asylum seekers to Dhaka. His rant on BBC Newsnight against South Asian asylum seekers clearly contributed to him losing his parliamentary seat subsequently as he learns the hard way, you should not insult your voters. 

Soon after the GE of 2024 was concluded with a Labour landslide, trouble brewed after the tragic killing of three girls in their dancing class in Southport. The fatal stabbing of three young girls at a dance class in the seaside town of Southport, in the north of England, followed by the worst unrest the UK has seen in more than a decade. Immediately after the attack, social media posts falsely speculated that the suspect was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK on a boat in 2023, with an incorrect name being widely circulated. There were also unfounded rumours that he was Muslim.

The day after the Southport riot, violent protests in London, Hartlepool and Manchester broke out, which police linked to Southport. More took place throughout the week – with many targeting mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers. Mercifully when the riots were meant to come to London, the Far Right lost their bottle! 

Through out this time, we had student protests building up in Bangladesh in particular in Dhaka over the quota system for civil service jobs for the descendants of Freedom Fighters from the 1971 war of liberation.  Which all lead to the toppling of the PM Sheikh Hasina Awami League government and an interim government in place with heavy military backing, which for me brought back memories of the military coups in Bangladesh throughout the 1970s and also the 1980s. 

So you can see how it feels very much back to the seventies for British Bangladeshis in the UK. 

I have been going to anti-Racist demos since my school days during the seventies and this must be the first time both the Police and mainstream media have welcomed our actions in light of the threat posed by the far-right threat to London last Wednesday night. 

Now over the years l have had my disagreements with  Police Commissioner Mark Rowley but l totally agree with the statements he made on BBC Radio 4 the following morning “… l think the show of force from the police and frankly the show of unity from communities together defeated the challenges that we’ve seen.”  It’s not often you get the Met Chief praising Londoner’s show of unity. 

Much more disturbing has been Elon Musk and parliamentarians fanning the flames with misinformation. How ever dangerous the circumstances were, we were not on the point of a civil war that is for sure. 

What is clear is that the far right bottled it when communities and the police get together and read the situation well. But let us not be complacent as this is an ever present threat easily fanned by outside forces.  And let us not forget the victims of Southport. 

Letter published in Westminster Extra https://www.westminsterextra.co.uk/article/sir-mark-was-correct-about-the-police-show-of-force