Forum Topic

Fleur Anderson our brilliant local MP

I hope as many residents as possible will support our effective, committed and helpful Labour MP. Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 395d61 Comments

Brilliant MP?If they are Labour I would say No!Where are their Policies? & now Starmer has Flip Flopped AGAIN , allowing another “ Brilliant “ MP, Diane Abbot to stand!!

Vic Condon ● 389d

Phillipa's post was a direct reply to the post of Robert Wheeler of 26/05/24 22:33:00.(Times may be an hour different if looking at things on the other forum as it doesn't seem to handle daylight savings time properly.)

John Kettlekey ● 392d

Ms BondWho has raised this as a concern ?'I would have thought that it was obvious that this was about the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance.  That you can't see this rather shows that you also have a problem with this'.Please give me date and time of the post.

John Hawkes ● 392d

The original point was that Rachel Reeves continually confuses the two so clearly is she up to job.

Robert Wheeler ● 393d

I would have thought that it was obvious that this was about the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance.  That you can't see this rather shows that you also have a problem with this.

Philippa Bond ● 393d

Ms Bond'Are you suggesting that just because something is legal that it is morally defensible'?Are you talking about private school education ?What is immoral about spending your own money to pay for the education you think will benefit or be most appropriate for your own child ?Is it immoral for someone to spend more money on a car, house, holiday, a BigMac than I could or would wish to do so ?

John Hawkes ● 393d

Ms Bond'Are you suggesting that just because something is legal that it is morally defensible'?To what does this refer ?Marches in support of radical Palestinians ?!

John Hawkes ● 394d

Mr RoseOf course this issue is all about class warfare and envy.But more to the point it is about freedom; freedom for groups to set up educational establishments and charge for attendance at them, and freedom for individuals to spend their own money to send their children to them.Apparently most countries do not charge VAT on educational services.Labour wants to in order to close them down or restrict the range of people that can afford to send their children to them."I can't afford to send my kid to a private school so why should you be able to" ?If all state schools were so marvellous, why would anyone want to pay for receiving a similar service ?And if there is to be VAT due on one part of the education sector, why not on others ?Should it be charged on higher education tuition fees ?Let's face it this sector is funded by the taxes of the many who gain no direct or indirect benefit from it.And as has been pointed out, many teachers are leaving the state sector which will have more of a problem coping with an influx of ex-private school pupils.Are ex-private school teachers likely to want or feel wanted to take their places ?'Class warfare'.There must be a board game called such that can be bought in Housmans in right-on Islington !

John Hawkes ● 394d

Are you suggesting that just because something is legal that it is morally defensible?

Philippa Bond ● 394d

Mr Carter'I really dislike these unpleasant attacks on Diane Abbott'.And similarly you feel the same about ad hominin attacks on Schapps, Truss, Sunak and his wife and Boris Johnson ?

John Hawkes ● 394d

What a tragic state of affairs that it has come to this.  We need a vision so we can see hope for a better future.

Robert Wheeler ● 394d

We can write this across our ballot paper, Robert. I did so for the London Mayoral election.

Lucille Grant ● 394d

What this  discussion demonstrates is that this is a badly thought out policy based on ideology.  Bridget Philipson seems baffled when these points are raised with her in interviews.  Rachel Reeves seems not to understand the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion when she is interviewed What a depressing choice we are being given.

Robert Wheeler ● 394d

Labour’s policy is to impose VAT at 20% on independent schools. This additional cost will inevitably be passed on to the parents. Parents of modest means who cannot afford the increase will be forced to withdraw their children  and send them to state schools. If too many children are withdrawn, a private school becomes no longer viable and is forced to close. This is already happening. Alton School in Hampshire, an £18 000 a year Catholic school which caters for 370 pupils, will close this summer. According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, up to 40 000 children will be pushed into the state sector, at a cost of up to £300 million pounds to the taxpayer. Is this fair or sensible?

Steven Rose ● 394d

> But many of the smaller private schools, charging on average £15 000 per year, serving families of modest means, will be forced to close. The pupils of these schools will then be obliged to enter the state sector, where the cost of educating them will offset a good part of the money raised by the VAT charge.It's not £15k/year lost to the economy though. A significant portion of that £15k/year will go into the economy a different way, on many things that will have VAT due.

John Kettlekey ● 394d

Steven. That was a slightly facetious comment in response to your one about state schools being flooded with pupils being redirected from the private sector. That's not a deliberate policy. I suspect there's inefficiencies in the sector that can absorb at least some of the costs. Given that more pensioners at the lower level are now being moved into the income tax bands it doesn't seem fair to me that this tax concession should be removed. 

Michael Ixer ● 394d

If the Tories had this policy then surely they'd just say that those people who needed £500/mo more to cover the extra costs should just be told they need to pull themselves up by the bootstraps, work harder, be more successful, and stop living off tax breaks.

John Kettlekey ● 394d

Forcing smaller private schools out of business and obliging their staff to seek employment in the state sector is BolshevismI repeat. Where and when has Starmer or the Labour Party  proposed this policy? You, yourself, among others have frequently told us that there is no difference between the policies of the 2 main parties.

Jane Carter ● 394d

Michael suggested that teachers in private schools forced to close because of the imposition of VAT ‘might be seeking employment in state schools’, though he did not discuss who would fund their salaries other than the taxpayer. Andy then used the phrase ‘enforced switch’, suggesting (perhaps tongue in cheek), that Labour’s 6000 new teachers might be those who had been made redundant in the independent sector. Forcing smaller private schools out of business and obliging their staff to seek employment in the state sector is Bolshevism. What other word can one use? It’s an act of class warfare which won’t raise much money and which, ironically, will ensure that private education becomes the preserve of the very rich. But that’s Labour - ideology over reason.

Steven Rose ● 394d

Ed, I'm not going to criticise Sir Kier for his proposal for a second referendum regarding Brexit as it's well documented on this forum that I supported that. 

Michael Ixer ● 394d

Starmer is much more naturally left leaning than Blair who the Labour Party are trying to sell him as.  Policies haven’t been thought through which is why he constantly has to flip flop.  As l said previously none of these policies are funded properly and this election will be change just for change sake.What a waste of votes, if there was a box that said none of the idiots above they would win.

Robert Wheeler ● 394d

Where and when has Starmer or the Labour Party talked about an enforced switch’. The concept of Starmer  as a Bolshevik seems frankly  ridiculous.

Jane Carter ● 394d

I don't know if it's stills the case, and it's not something I have any experience of, but I believe that before the pandemic there were comments about the number of Asian students from overseas who were at some of the top private schools, often, I believe focusing on STEM subjects. Surely it's not right that they should have their education effectively subsidised by the British taxpayer to then go home and compete against us? Or perhaps we should assist them?

Michael Ixer ● 394d

"I've spoken to Conservative party members who believed Brexit to be a mistake.."The Brexit & Remain campaigns were cross party. I seemed to remember a couple of Labour Brexit MP's being promoted to the house of Lords. Baroness Hoey & Baroness Stuart come to mind.The referendum was very badly handled before and afterwards. The problem was the Remainer never thought they would lose and the Brexiters never though they win.  Best not to mention Labour's post referendum position at the following election - I wonder who was in charge of that??

Ed Robinson ● 394d

The whole idea of an ‘enforced switch’, where the government deliberately undermines good schools and forces teachers to seek employment in the state sector, is pure Bolshevism, which I thought had disappeared with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Steven Rose ● 394d

If the additional funding is available to pay those teachers coming over or being a cynic is the 6000 new teachers in state schools simply those making the enforced switch?

Andy Pike ● 394d

@Richard 16.34Hi Richard😋 I assume your comment is aimed at me. Fair enough but DA's ludicrous maths gaffe was reported in the Lefty Bible in 2017 during the GE coverage:Diane Abbott has several numbers on police costs – sadly they are all wrong | Diane Abbott | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/02/diane-abbott-has-several-numbers-on-police-costs-sadly-they-are-all-wrongIt makes comical reading but for 7 minutes of pure comedy gold you can look and listen to it on YT: Diane Abbott's 'car crash' interview on LBC with Nick Ferrarihttps://youtu.be/kAEixRNPQmE?si=Ag_b68OU33-rQz22I heard it live on air in 2017 and watching it again today still makes me cringe.The odd shoes episode was widely reported during the 2019 GE coverage but here is just one:https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1216478/diane-abbott-shoes-election-vote-2019Starmer must be so relieved that she isn't representing Labour in any official capacity this time! Incidentally Angela Rayner also needs to brush up on her figures before she is interviewed by Ferrari on LBC:Angela Rayner grilled on the numbers in classic LBC interviewhttps://youtu.be/sSTGH2YHs34?si=TZjVcAdYIcIoy8NqNick Ferrari has tried many times during Khan's Mayoral tenure to interview him but he refuses to go on his show. However he is almost incumbent on James O'Brien's and I think we all know why.

Sue Hammond ● 394d

https://www.property118.com/shelter-calls-for-90000-affordable-homes-to-rent-to-be-built-every-year/

Philippa Bond ● 394d

Surely ALL children should be getting "a decent education"?

Philippa Bond ● 394d

Mr Rose, if that scenario is  correct, is it not then possible that teachers will then be made redundant by private schools and might be seeking employment in state schools? Although I suppose it's possible that they might decide to leave the teaching profession ...

Michael Ixer ● 394d

There are more than 24 000 state schools in England. Labour’s plan to employ 6000 extra teachers, though welcome, would provide around one quarter of a teacher per school, which is not going to make a huge difference. But any increase in staffing will be outweighed by the arrival in the state sector of thousand of pupils whose parents cannot afford the increase in private school fees consequent on the VAT charge.

Steven Rose ● 394d

Indeed Nick. I believe all Wandsworth secondary schools are rated either Outstanding or Good whereas  not all private schools are that good. Putney Park, for example, closed because parents,  unimpressed with the teaching and results, removed their children. Merton and Kingston schools are also available to children from SW15.I can’t see huge numbers of ex private school pupils becoming a burden on the state sector. A sensible solution would be for the schools themselves to be merged into the state system.

Jane Carter ● 394d

Agreed at primary level but not true for secondary schools.

Robert Wheeler ● 394d

There are a lot of very good state schools in this area. Labour’s policy to increase the number of teachers by 6,000 can only help. Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 394d

Thank you for clarifying however it has nothing to do with £30k in school fees.  A simple chat with local mothers would clarify that vast numbers of middle class/struggling families go without to ensure a decent education.  Few can afford an additional £500 pmth from VAT on school fees and that is before the impact of removing charitable status.  Few if any private schools could afford huge numbers of bursaries. Sorry none of our politicians are listening to the public.

Robert Wheeler ● 394d

Posh independent schools charging £30 000 plus in fees will probably be able to survive Labour’s VAT raid by passing on the costs to the parents, though they will have less money available for bursaries such as the one Keir Starmer enjoyed. But many of the smaller private schools, charging on average £15 000 per year, serving families of modest means, will be forced to close. The pupils of these schools will then be obliged to enter the state sector, where the cost of educating them will offset a good part of the money raised by the VAT charge.

Steven Rose ● 394d

Both Starmer and Abbott went to fee paying schools but…….Both went to state grammar schools. Reigate Grammar, which Starmer attended became private while he was there. Harrow County, which Abbott attended was not fee paying. Anyway neither plan to abolish private schools, merely to take away their charitable status and to put the money into state schools where 93% of children go and where it’s far more needed. If people can afford 30k+ a year fees they can probably afford the extra if thecharitable status is removed. No doubt the schools themselves will have bursaries for those who can’t.

Jane Carter ● 394d

I really dislike these unpleasant attacks on Diane Abbott. Quite apart from anything else,  she has a degree in history from Cambridge so she  quite clearly isn't stupid, hiwevef much you nay disagree with her politically.

Richard Carter ● 394d

There are plenty of complaints about the homeless and the cost of living and the cost of mortgages and of renting.  The cost of land for housing is expensive and there is more green space if housing is in the form of flats.  The Councils have to provide a lot of housing particularly when families are made homeless.  The Section 21 No Fault Eviction notice is still in place.  This causes a lot of stress and disruption for families trying to stay together and keep their children in school.The London Plan which has to be okayed by the Govt Minister and the last one of which went backwards and forwards until it was is what you should be looking at.

Philippa Bond ● 394d

Sorry to contradict you Robert. But Diane went to a state school, Harrow County School for Girls. Keir went to Reigate Grammar School, a state school which went independent while he was there. The school gave him a bursary so that his parents did not have to pay the fees. Unfortunately Labour's act of class warfare in imposing VAT on the independent sector means that many  schools like his will no longer be able to offer bursaries.

Steven Rose ● 394d

Well the local Oasis Putney Primary seems to have plenty of space, with just c143 pupils currently. Of course when built under the auspices of the previous all-knowing Conservative Council it was planned to have nearer 400 to cope with rising demand for places - which never happened.Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 394d

This current Labour are too in hock with the unions to fund any meaningful improvements.  They are all sound bites.  If any Labour politician has a chance they should purposefully engage with all their constituents.Both Starmer and Abbott went to fee paying schools but are penalising folk who choose to do likewise with children hit the hardest.  Has anyone recently tried to get into local state schools.  Expect more VAT on lots of things and watch your pension pots shrink.  Zero aspirations- why would anyone work when you can get it on the state.  Absolutely no vision.

Robert Wheeler ● 394d

I sincerely hope Fleur is as fabulous as you all say because I might need her help soon. There is growing speculation that Starmer will welcome Dianne Abbott back into the Labour fold, although not right now because he doesn't want to scare the horses before the election. However that will give her enough time to take a crash course in maths and learn which shoe matches the other one before she goes out ...

Sue Hammond ● 394d

Mr Carter and Ms Anderson will take up the fight for Wimbledon Park golf course (out of Borough) but not for you guys on Housing Estates at the other end of Putney away from the river views and the terraced houses.

Andy Pike ● 394d

And, Mr Hawkes, I don't believe the labour party itself disputes the right of Israel to exist? Obviously, members of all parties don't necessarily believe in all the official policies of their party. I've spoken to Conservative party members who believed Brexit to be a mistake (both before and after the referendum), they just keep quiet about it.Perhaps better to discuss these things openly?

Michael Ixer ● 395d

Mr Hawkes. I wonder why people get so worked up with the gender/sex topic nen there are far more serious issues such as NHS waiting lists, etc. The world isn't completely binary and here are some amonalies in chromosomes and external sexual characteristics in intersex people, although 0.1% might be out by an overestimate of a magnitude if ten?https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex

Michael Ixer ● 395d

Mr EvansI too recognise Ms Anderson as a very good constituency MP.None the less she is a representative of a Party who misunderstand the difference between gender and sex; whose leader has a poor understanding of human biology and believes 0.1% of women have a penis; has colleagues and certainly supporters who have an ambivalent attitude to the right of Israel to exist; others who seem to believe only non-white people can experience racism; whose previous leader was kicked out of the Party for antisemitism; and whose deputy leader recently called Conservatives 'scum'.At the election surely these major issues should be more determinant of who runs the country than who keeps the drains clear.

John Hawkes ● 395d

I'm glad Fleur responded promptly and effectively to the  broken storm drain, after all that is what a good constituency MP should do - work to improve the situation of her constituents. I wrote to Fleur the day after that appalling 6 hour waste of time debate (the proposed ceasefire). I watched it in full. Despite our previous correspondence on the subject I have yet to receive a reply from her this time. I don't vote for an MP with regard to foreign policy*,but for what he/she does for Putney and Roehampton. I voted for Fleur's Conservative predecessor then voted for Fleur last time even though she represented Corbyn who was leader of the Labour Party as it was pretty obvious (to me at least) that the Conservatives would win again and Corbyn would have to go. The Conservative candidate (whose name escapes me) struck me as a limp lettuce leaf at the time.Keir has  done much to improve the Labour Party since then but he  will inherit a poisoned chalice from the Conservatives. Does he know what a woman is, yet? Why does he never support nor apologise to one of his best female Labour MPs, Rosie Duffield? Just some of too many unanswered questions for me at the moment. *IMHO unlike many years ago, we now have far less to offer on the foreign stage, especially since Brexit. On top of that, as we all know, our once world famous NHS is on its knees and on its  way to being privatised, our education is no longer something to be proud of, we are way behind the times on matters of  maternity leave (12 months on very limited payment does not work when couples need to wages to rent or buy a home, the privatised railways and water companies do not work for us, only for their shareholders etc I could go on but I'm sure you get the gist.I have no idea who to vote for in six weeks time and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this. I have no truck with either Lib/Dems or the Greens. The Conservatives have to go as they no longer have answers to pressing issues (many of which they have caused) and we need  fresh blood in the House of Commons.

Lucille Grant ● 395d

That was Labour's motion with various amendments designed specifically not to cause a Labour rebellion and what many believe was against Parliamentary convention."Tories and SNP furious as speaker hands Starmer a boost over Gaza vote""Lindsay Hoyle gives Labour leader greater chance of avoiding rebellion over calls for ceasefire by allowing amendment"https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/21/mps-vote-keir-starmer-amendment-snp-gaza-ceasefire-motion-labour

Ed Robinson ● 395d

When we had flooding which caused the local storm drain to burst sending polluted water into many houses in the street we appealed to Fleur to bang heads together — the Council, Thames Water — and she did this very effectively. She also organised and attended a meeting of residents. 
I agree that the Labour Party was initially too slow call for a ceasefire in Gaza. But you can see Fleur’s views at https://www.fleuranderson.co.uk/voting-for-a-ceasefire-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/ She voted to support the call for a ceasefire and other actions on the 21st of February. Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 395d

First of all Labour are far more pro war than the Conservatives in opposition and in previous government. Many of the pro Iraq war Labour MP's are still there. These are people that voted a dozen times to deny an inquiry.Let's also not forget our former MP when she was a minister defined the whip! That's not likely to happen with our current MP is it?The difference between the two parties is so marginal they car literally cross the floor and fit right in.Vote Labour and I will definitely get the foreign intervention I do not want!

Ed Robinson ● 395d

A very interesting post Mr Boyce.

Sue Hammond ● 395d

You couldn’t be further from the truth about me being a Tory mouthpiece, Mr. Carter. I am sure Fleur listens to plenty of people: middle class voters in Putney who will not be directly affected by the imposition of large blocks of flats that will cause enormous damage to their communities. Loss of: parking, trees, green space, outlook, light, amenity space, storage etc.People in the estates who have opposed these plans have been accused of being stirred up by the Tories, or nimbys, or thugs, or not representative of the majority etc. The reality is that they are communities who are denied a voice, or any agency, or any power to decide their future.For this reason Labour lost a seat in West Putney, and for this reason many people in the estates will find it hard to vote for Fleur.She has not been a representative of the estates at all.I am happy to hear they you feel she represents you well.I am not at all surprised!

Gerry Boyce ● 395d

But you won't get a better outcome.  Vote Conservative and you definitely get the foreign intervention you don't want,  Vote for Greens or LibDems you'll get one of the two main parties; possibly one you least agree with - so, yes, I'll compromise.

Michael Ixer ● 395d

You myst be talking about a wholly different Fleur Anderson, because my contacts with her have always produced an answer that shows she has listened.  I may sometimes not  agree with her answer but there is no doubtvthat she engages; your response reads like something out of Tory Central Office.

Richard Carter ● 395d

I think it’ll be interesting to see how the estates in Roehampton react to nearly two years of being in fired by Labour. Obviously, the West Putney by election resulted in Labour losing a seat pretty comprehensively.The main opinion on Fleur that I get is that she listens a lot but never hears what residents say.Energetic and ambitious? Certainly.A good, effective representative? Not on your Nelly.

Gerry Boyce ● 395d

"Yes, one has to make compromises"No one does not when it comes to such matters.That is your and her choice. I will not support or vote for those that support any illegal foreign actions.

Ed Robinson ● 395d

I've only dealt with her on constituency matters. Yes, one has to make compromises; neither of the major parties has ideal policies with regard to the major issue, climate change, but in my opinion Labour's is preferable, and I don't want yo waste a vote on minority party that is unlikely to win. Sometimes one just has to be pragmatic in an imperfect world. 

Michael Ixer ● 395d

She didn't vote for a ceasefire.She supports Labour's position on the siege.There is also zero evidence that she would ever defy the whip.

Ed Robinson ● 395d

Yes, an excellent and energetic MP.

Michael Ixer ● 395d

Well said, Nick

Jane Carter ● 395d