Peter Tatchell sets out his Manifesto for London, standing as an Independent green left candidate for the London Assembly in the election on 4 May 2000.
Peter Tatchell, the former Labour candidate for Bermondsey, is standing as an Independent in the London Assembly elections on 4 May.
He will fight for all Londoners with the same passion and determination that he has fought for gay human rights.
No party whips! No spin-doctors! No vested interests! Because he is independent, Peter will stand up for London.
Peter wants social justice and equal rights for every Londoner.
He is backing Ken Livingstone for Mayor. Ken needs allies like Peter in the Assembly, in order to stop his budget and policies being vetoed.
With your support, Peter can win. He is standing in the list section of the ballot and needs only 5 to 8 percent of the vote to get elected.
Peter’s message to Londoners
I resigned from the Labour Party in February – after 22 years membership – in protest at the rigging of the Labour mayoral selection contest. Ken Livingstone was robbed.
I know how Ken feels. Although democratically selected as the Labour candidate for Bermondsey in 1981, party bosses banned me for over a year. When I eventually fought the by-election in 1983, I was never given the whole-hearted support of Labour headquarters.
Now I want another chance. My pledge is this: I will fight for a fair deal for all Londoners. Better transport, health-care, education and housing. Action against unemployment, crime, pollution and discrimination.
Standing as an Independent, I won’t have to follow a party line. I can put the interests of Londoners first. Everyone knows that I’m no pushover. When something needs to be done, I refuse to take “no” for an answer. That’s what we need to get London back on track: someone who will fight London’s corner and stand up to the government when they get it wrong.
The London Assembly has huge potential to promote social justice, democratic participation and human rights for all Londoners. I want to help make that happen. I am asking for your support on 4 May.
Peter Tatchell
STAND UP FOR LONDON!
Vote Livingstone for Mayor & Tatchell for Assembly
TATCHELL MANIFESTO FOR LONDON
KEEP PUBLIC TRANSPORT PUBLIC
* Four year fares freeze on tubes and buses
* No tube privatisation
* Rail safety to be enforced by a watchdog independent of Railtrack and Transport for London
* Conductors on the buses to cut journey times and improve passenger safety
* Extend tube and bus services to 3am
* Fund improved public transport through bonds, congestion charges for cars in central London, and a tax on company car-parking spaces
* Make the River Thames the 14th “tube” line – with high-speed, four-stop hovercraft/hydrofoil commuter river buses between Embankment and Richmond in the west and Greenwich in the east
* A river bus terminal adjacent to Embankment tube, with airport-style lounges, shops and cafes
* Two new tramlinks – from Dulwich to Waterloo, and Streatham to Victoria – to cover those parts of south London without tube stations
RECLAIM THE STREETS
* Close local high streets to traffic to create a network of urban villages all over London
* Make Sunday a no-car day in the West End
* Grass-over Victoria Embankment between Westminster and Waterloo Bridges to create the London Sculpture Garden – an open-air exhibition of 150 sculptures, rotating annually
* Link up parks, squares, canal banks and riverwalks to establish pedestrian and cycle routes criss-crossing London
* Sylvia Pankhurst Parkway – a three mile ribbon of parkland connecting St James’s Park with Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens to create a continuous car-free walking and cycling route from Whitehall to Kensington High Street and Notting Hill Gate (achieved by excluding cars from Horse Guards Road, The Mall and South Carriage and West Carriage Drives, and by sinking the roads at Hyde Park Corner into a cutting and building a land causeway over them)
GREEN THE CITY
* Transform the capital into a Garden City by planting a million new trees to cut pollution and visually enhance the environment
* Tough new controls to upgrade air and water quality, and curb noise emissions
* Convert Greater London Authority (GLA) vehicles and Transport for London buses to hydrogen, gas and electric power to cut fumes and toxic waste
* Promote renewable energy with an avenue of power-generating windmills on the forecourt of the GLA headquarters, and by cladding the building with solar panels
* An Environment Commissioner to coordinate the Green City programme
SAVE OUR NHS
* Press the government for more NHS hospital beds, doctors, nurses and specialists
* Reopen local Accident & Emergency departments
* Shift the emphasis in health care to prevention rather than cure to cut costs and save lives
* A London-wide agency to integrate and coordinate HIV prevention campaigns and support services
* Campaign for the legalised medical use of marijuana, and for a Royal Commission to consider the case for decriminalising recreational drug use
* As a condition of licensing, require all bars and clubs to provide condom vending machines and display safer sex information
* A Health Commissioner to promote a programme of Health for London, with a focus on sickness prevention and health promotion
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR ALL
* Support a four year rents freeze
* Register all empty property and establish a fast-track allocations system to get unlet homes occupied
* Set up an internet-based, London-wide scheme to enable council tenants to organise their own flat swaps with other council tenants in any part of London
* Promote the mass build of low-cost, high-quality, environment-friendly, crime-resistant housing to stop Londoners being priced out of living here
* Repopulate the West End and City of London through new housing schemes to create safer, integrated living and working communities
ACTION ON POVERTY & LOW PAY
* A minimum wage of £4.50 an hour payable by all Greater London Authority (GLA) controlled bodies and by all companies that do business with the GLA (which would put an extra £30 a week into the pockets of the lowest paid)
* An Urban Regeneration Commissioner to tackle inner-city poverty
* Oblige all GLA suppliers and service providers to guarantee high standards of health and safety and environmental protection
POLICING WITHOUT PREJUDICE
* Action to root out police corruption, racism, homophobia and all forms of prejudice, in order to restore public confidence and respect
* Crack down on hate crimes to protect the black and gay communities
* Make prejudice and discrimination by officers an explicit offence under the police disciplinary code
CRIME BUSTING–SAFER HOMES, SAFER STREETS
* Protect the public by ensuring that every neighbourhood has its own designated police officer with responsibility for community liaison, crime prevention and victim support
* Enable the police to concentrate on fighting serious crime through the creation of a new London Patrol Service, which would take over routine police duties – such as traffic management, the notification of highway repairs, home security advice, and street patrols to deter and report crime
EQUALITY & RESPECT
* Strong representation for women and black people in the Greater London Authority (GLA) administration
* Free nursery education places for all 2 to 5 year olds, and free after-school clubs for pupils of all ages
* Disabled access to public transport and buildings
* Recognition and rights for unwed couples – gay and straight – through a GLA Domestic Partnership Register
* An action programme to stamp out racist and homophobic bullying in schools
* Comprehensive equal opportunities and non-discrimination by the GLA and GLA-controlled bodies
* Contract compliance to require firms doing business with the GLA to guarantee equal opportunities to all their employees and customers – including spousal benefits for couples on the GLA Domestic Partnership Register
JOBS FOR LONDON
* Restructure business rates to raise the tax paid by big companies and lower the tax burden on smaller ones, in order to encourage enterprise and the growth of small businesses – thereby enabling them to take on more employees
* The transformation of London’s education and economic systems to create the new knowledge-based, socially-enhancing, ecologically-sustainable jobs of the future
CAPITAL OF CULTURE & SPORT
* Free summer art exhibitions and music concerts in Hyde Park
* London on Ice – close The Mall to traffic and transform the former roadway into a long lake which would, in winter, be frozen artificially to create the world’s biggest, free open-air ice rink
* London Games – every two years – to promote sporting achievement
* Expand and develop London’s community-based festivals, such as the Notting Hill Carnival and Pride/Mardi Gras, into major international cultural events
LONDON LOTTERY
* A London lottery to fund new lost-cost housing, free nursery education and after-school clubs, improved public transport, and the greening of the environment
* Alternative or additional funding for these Greater London Authority (GLA) projects could be derived from:
+ Tourist tax – £2 a night on occupied hotel beds
+ Congestion charges – £5 a day for cars to enter central London
+ Company car-parking space levy of £1,500 a year
PARTICIPATION & DEMOCRACY
* Live internet coverage of all Greater London Authority (GLA) proceedings
* Community Forums on issues of concern to Londoners, where the public can question the Mayor and Assembly members and propose new policy ideas
* Direct input for community groups into the GLA’s decision-making process
VOTE TATCHELL – LONDON ASSEMBLY 4 MAY
STAND UP FOR LONDON !
VOTE TATCHELL ON THE LONDON LIST
Peter has lived in London for more than 28 years – nearly all his adult life. He can trace his roots back to his great, great grandfather, Thomas Tatchell, who lived in Holborn and worked as a tavern keeper, first at the George Inn on Snow Hill and later at the White Bear in Princeton Street.
Peter lives in a council flat at Elephant & Castle, on one of London’s toughest inner-city estates. He knows firsthand the difficulties experienced by millions of Londoners. That’s why he has such passion and enthusiasm to change London for the better.
Tenacious and determined, Peter doesn’t give up easily. Despite death threats, hate mail and attacks on his home, he speaks out for what he believes to be right. We need someone with his guts to stand up for London.
If you want someone to kick up a fuss, Peter’s the man to do it. He’ll battle for a public transport system that is accessible to women, the elderly and disabled. He’ll campaign against racist and homophobic violence. He’ll fight to remedy low pay and unemployment. And he’ll shake up the system to transform London into a clean, green city of the future.
Peter is independent-minded, resourceful, imaginative and a bit of a rebel. These are the qualities required to solve London’s problems. We don’t want party clones that stay “on message” and obey orders from party headquarters.
Peter would be good for London. He’s got fresh ideas. He’s willing to dream the “impossible” and then work out how to make it happen.
Overcoming the odds is Peter’s trademark. Lesbian and gay human rights was not a popular cause when Peter started campaigning in 1969, aged 17. Homosexuality was still classified as an illness, and gay people were sacked from their jobs. But Peter never gave up. He kept on battling for justice, and eventually things began to get better.
Now Peter wants to win a better deal for all Londoners. You’ve seen what he’s done for gay people. Give him the power to do things for you. Vote Peter Tatchell on 4 May.
More information:
www.tatchellforlondon.freeserve.co.uk
AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR ALL LONDONERS