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6:24am Tuesday 13th May 2008
LABOUR councillors have welcomed the High Court decision to quash Basildon Council's £1.9million bid to evict travellers from illegal sites.
Basildon Labour group described the result, which has halted the eviction of 86 familes from Dale Farm, Crays Hill, and 15 from Hovefields, Wickford, as "common sense".
The comments came as up to 40 MPs of all parties agreed to sign a letter calling on the council to stop pursuing evictions.
The pledge was made at a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Gypsy and Traveller Law Reform held in Westminster.
On Friday the judge ordered no evictions take place until the welfare of people on the sites and the possibility of finding alternative homes have been assessed by the council.
Council leader Malcolm Buckley said the authority was considering whether to appeal.
Lynda Gordon, Labour group leader, said: "This is not only about enforcing planning law, but about treating people with genuine needs fairly and with compassion.
"I hope the judgement acts as a wake up call and the Tories will seriously reconsider their position and seek a realistic solution to the problem that addresses the concerns and worries of the travellers, settled community and council."
Meanwhile, Grattan Puxon, a lead campaigner for the travellers, said the council has told him it will be unable to attend a proposed eviction protocol meeting today in Brentwood.
Council 'not racist'
COUNCIL leader Malcolm Buckley has welcomed the fact the judge found no "racism" in the authority's eviction bid.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission took part in the case alongside travellers, and argued the council's stance was "direct discrimination" against gipsies.
It also claimed the council failed to properly consider the needs of disabled people and women on the sites.
The commission's involvement led campaigners to accuse the council of racism.
However, Judge Mr Justice Andrew Collins said he found no direct discrimination and decided against most of the commission's submissions.
Mr Buckley said: "I am pleased the judge found no evidence of discrimination. The judge commented on the commission taking a whole day in court and said he was minded to charge it costs."
Vicky Burton, spokeswoman for the commission, said: "The judge said he would have preferred written, rather than oral submissions, but we believe he gave weight to the arguments and we have not been awarded any costs."
undertaker, crays hill says...
7:39am Tue 13 May 08
evilc, essex says...
7:41am Tue 13 May 08
mike b, Billericay says...
8:00am Tue 13 May 08
Bitta, Rip Off Britain says...
8:06am Tue 13 May 08
undertaker, crays hill says...
8:33am Tue 13 May 08
Bitta wrote:They were probably worse than this lot thats why we need a radical change.
"this lying cheating corrupt government".. What you have said there undertaker may well be true but cast you mind back a few years, wasnt exactly the same things said about the tories when then were captain of this sinking ship we call England? We are now the dumping ground for the whole of Europe, and it'll never change if/when the conservatives take the helm again.
Sherry, At work :( says...
9:03am Tue 13 May 08
Daniel, Pitsea says...
9:07am Tue 13 May 08
Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
9:36am Tue 13 May 08
Gary, Basildon says...
9:50am Tue 13 May 08
Andrew wrote:Backed by 40 MPs across ALL parties.
Typical Labour, putting the rights of law breakers before the rights of the law abiding majority. Which is why Labour will be relegated to third party status at the general election.
shallotman, Basildon says...
9:53am Tue 13 May 08
Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
9:54am Tue 13 May 08
V.Meldrew, Benfleet says...
10:04am Tue 13 May 08
Nigel, says...
10:06am Tue 13 May 08
mike b, Billericay says...
10:44am Tue 13 May 08
Gary, Basildon says...
11:22am Tue 13 May 08
Andrew wrote:no not in the report I read.
\\\'as up to 40 MPs of all parties agreed to sign a letter calling on the council not to stop pursuing evictions.\\\'
Jane, Basildon says...
11:58am Tue 13 May 08
V.Meldrew wrote:I completely agree with this. The difficulty will be finding someone at the Benefits Agency who has enough of a spine to instigate it!
Basildon Council should use the extension of time to properly identify and means test every resident on the sites - both legal and illegal. All housing, benefit and welfare organisations in conjunction with Tax and Inland Revenue have the power to do this without consent if they need to.They should do this to identify just who "needs" housing and who does not. All vehicles on the sites could also be checked against DVLA records and if they don't tally - crush them. This is not against their rights, simply something that the rest of us accept every day of our lives. It might even succeed in getting them moving faster than any Court order!
jimbo, bilericay says...
12:19pm Tue 13 May 08
V.Meldrew wrote:Well said, Meldew, ol' chap.
Basildon Council should use the extension of time to properly identify and means test every resident on the sites - both legal and illegal.
All housing, benefit and welfare organisations in conjunction with Tax and Inland Revenue have the power to do this without consent if they need to.They should do this to identify just who "needs" housing and who does not.
All vehicles on the sites could also be checked against DVLA records and if they don't tally - crush them.
This is not against their rights, simply something that the rest of us accept every day of our lives.
It might even succeed in getting them moving faster than any Court order!
Paul, says...
3:37pm Tue 13 May 08
Sherry wrote:
Typical resonse from Labour, sucking up to the whims of non-conformists. As for the pictures in the paper yesterday, well, i would just like to go to that court and rip that sign off above the heads of those women, where has 'justice' been served there then?, and where are the men from Dale Farm?, anyone would think only women lived there. This government would do well to sit back and contemplate how to claw back the 18 million a year it costs to evict these travellers, money which comes out of MY wages. I can't wait for a general election to get these nobs out who are so out of touch with reality it's untrue.
Where are the men from Dale Farm?
The Vicar, In his Gnomemobile says...
3:48pm Tue 13 May 08
Jason, Crays Hill says...
5:57pm Tue 13 May 08
Kim Gandy, Rayleigh says...
5:59pm Tue 13 May 08
Sherry wrote:
Typical resonse from Labour, sucking up to the whims of non-conformists. As for the pictures in the paper yesterday, well, i would just like to go to that court and rip that sign off above the heads of those women, where has \'justice\' been served there then?, and where are the men from Dale Farm?, anyone would think only women lived there. This government would do well to sit back and contemplate how to claw back the 18 million a year it costs to evict these travellers, money which comes out of MY wages. I can\'t wait for a general election to get these nobs out who are so out of touch with reality it\'s untrue.
Lynda Gordon, Labour group leader, said: "This is not only about enforcing planning law, but about treating people with genuine needs fairly and with compassion.
wellblowme, Anywhere but here says...
6:35pm Tue 13 May 08
undertaker, crays hill says...
6:48pm Tue 13 May 08
Kim Gandy wrote:These are the very same people who try to convince us that islam is a religion of peace.So i dont expect anymore from their so called perfect world of idealism.
Sherry wrote: Typical resonse from Labour, sucking up to the whims of non-conformists. As for the pictures in the paper yesterday, well, i would just like to go to that court and rip that sign off above the heads of those women, where has \'justice\' been served there then?, and where are the men from Dale Farm?, anyone would think only women lived there. This government would do well to sit back and contemplate how to claw back the 18 million a year it costs to evict these travellers, money which comes out of MY wages. I can\'t wait for a general election to get these nobs out who are so out of touch with reality it\'s untrue.Lynda Gordon, Labour group leader, said: "This is not only about enforcing planning law, but about treating people with genuine needs fairly and with compassion.Well just you wait and see Lynda, when your party gets a thorough pasting at the next general election. I wonder why Gord hasn't yet asked US who we want for prime minister? As for the masses deserting labour, the only thing that worries me Vicar, is the fact that this government is openly importing voters. I speak to my foreign colleagues who are under the mistaken impression that this is a good government. Of course it is, as far as they are concerned. But I am on a crusade to inform them exactly how this government is using them for cheap labour and replacing lost votes. I have no truck with my Polish and Philippino - and African colleagues because they work hard and I get on great with them - but I am going to leave them under no illusion as to what kind of regime they are working under. Sherry, they ALWAYS operate this way. Shove the women and children in the front line when the TV cameras start rolling. I should know, having been there, face to face with the McCarthy woman. The men have even have their faces blanked out when they are in camera shot. Now I wonder why that is? Anybody who has nothing to hide doesn't have their faces blanked out. It's the same with evictions, shoving their children in the way of vehicles and machinery and then claiming that the bailiffs are endangering their children's lives. They know every trick in the book, every wrinkle and every loophole - and they exploit it to the max. You only have to look at the quotes issued by Sheridan when acting as spokesman - and McCarthy for that matter. You just know their do gooders are writing it all - and their fatcat lawyers are supplying all the info about racism and discrimination. Words they would never have heard of until such people put them into their heads. It's all so blatant and inyerface and I singularly fail to understand why they still incur support from brainwashed individuals who have an inate inability to see the wood for the trees. It never ceases to amaze me, particularly in the case of the professional do gooders. Incidentally, from contacting Lord Avebury, Clive Mardner and others instrumental in the recent £12,000 community centre travesty, I received replies only from Avebury. Full of wishy washy politically correct garbage in which he makes it obvious he understands they are breaking the law and he appears to be not only going along with it but openly encouraging it by being at the official opening. He has no concept of the good old British "fairness and listening to two sides of the story" concept and seems to live in a Cloud Cuckoo Land Nirvana where everybody and everything exists equally - or should do. He just ignores the inequalities abd the discrimination against local people and seems ignorant of all the other issues surrounding this case. He totally ignored my questions about slaves. So his Human Rights benevolence obviously doesn't extend to down and outs who are being exploited. Unbelievable. Only when you talk to these people do you understand just exactly how out of touch and intrinsically stupid they really are.
Clueless, Cuckoo Land says...
7:31pm Tue 13 May 08
Daniel wrote:Blast those Nazi's and their horrendous treatment of Irish Travellers
Well done the Labour representatives. Lynda Gordon seems to prefer common sense to appeasing the bigoted mob. Some people in the area really do talk about the Travellers in the same way that the Nazis talked about not only Travellers, but Jews and others too.
undertaker, crays hill says...
8:10pm Tue 13 May 08
Daniel wrote:You do talk bo11ocks dont you.
Well done the Labour representatives. Lynda Gordon seems to prefer common sense to appeasing the bigoted mob. Some people in the area really do talk about the Travellers in the same way that the Nazis talked about not only Travellers, but Jews and others too.
Fed up, Southend says...
10:30pm Tue 13 May 08
A Resident, says...
11:06pm Tue 13 May 08
Sherry wrote:Let's ask Lisa if she can find out why we never see any men folk shall we - maybe she has the answer, as I, like you Sherry, are very curious indeed as to their absence in such important matters.
Typical resonse from Labour, sucking up to the whims of non-conformists. As for the pictures in the paper yesterday, well, i would just like to go to that court and rip that sign off above the heads of those women, where has 'justice' been served there then?, and where are the men from Dale Farm?, anyone would think only women lived there. This government would do well to sit back and contemplate how to claw back the 18 million a year it costs to evict these travellers, money which comes out of MY wages. I can't wait for a general election to get these nobs out who are so out of touch with reality it's untrue.
Derek Mace, Wickford says...
11:42pm Tue 13 May 08
Hovefields resident, Wickford says...
12:07am Wed 14 May 08
Sherry, At work :( says...
8:54am Wed 14 May 08
Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
9:05am Wed 14 May 08
undertaker, crays hill says...
9:24am Wed 14 May 08
Sherry wrote:The easiest way to answer those gullible fools is to read my answer to daniel.:)
I just want to know why the word 'BIGOT' and 'NAZI' always crop up when there is a discussion about the travellers. I am not prejudiced, i don't have an irrational opinion, i am not causing harm to someone's rights, and i am certainly not a supporter of the Nazi's!. It wouldn't matter to me who they were or where they came from, my feelings would still be the same, they shouldn't be there, they are taking the p1ss, and they should be made to leave. It was their decision to live this life, they were not forced into it, they are not homeless, so why should our money be spent funding this fiasco? (I'm so glad Labour are acting in this way too, it just means even more nails in the coffin, roll on that election) :)
undertaker, crays hill says...
9:31am Wed 14 May 08
Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
12:06pm Wed 14 May 08
jimbo, billericay says...
2:32pm Wed 14 May 08
Andrew wrote:Jeeze, I could not watch it for long. How much lying do they think they can get away with. "Oh, the children", "we have nowhere to go", "heavy handed police", "poor effing us".
The apologists for these lawbreakers are even turning up on Youtube now:
http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=3JAyI-oB5
dc
Sherry, At work :( says...
5:48pm Wed 14 May 08
Sherry, At work :( says...
5:50pm Wed 14 May 08
Andrew wrote:Thanks, i learnt something new today :)
Sherry, as I sid earlier, it is 'Godwin's Law ' (google it). In all internet debates, sooner or later the losing side will compare someone or something to Hitler or the Nazis.
bonzer, essex says...
6:02pm Wed 14 May 08
jimbo wrote:The stuff on You Tube,like the 40 MP's signing a letter is propaganda but it's getting more desperate since the court judgement last week put the writing on the wall.
Andrew wrote: The apologists for these lawbreakers are even turning up on Youtube now: http://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=3JAyI-oB5 dcJeeze, I could not watch it for long. How much lying do they think they can get away with. "Oh, the children", "we have nowhere to go", "heavy handed police", "poor effing us". I'm afraid, you Crays Hill residents, that unless you get yourselves organised, this load of Outlaws will get their own way in the end and then Gawd help us all!!
Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
6:46pm Wed 14 May 08
bonzer, essex says...
10:43pm Wed 14 May 08
Andrew wrote:Andrew - it's very hard to ignore them but a lot of it is just a wind up and I don't think they have any real influence - at least I hope not !
Bonzer, its all the pc liberal messages supporting these criminals under the video that get me.
Godwin, says...
1:28pm Tue 20 May 08
Andrew wrote:It must be close.
Godwin's Law within 8 posts. Is that a record?
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Andrew, Shoeburyness says...
7:23am Tue 13 May 08
Which is why Labour will be relegated to third party status at the general election.