As expected it was a comfortable win for John Cryer who had a slightly reduced majority over the Conservatives.
Elsewhere nearby, Wes Streeting retained Ilford North, Iain Duncan Smith saw off a challenge to keep Chingford and Woodford, and Stella Creasy got a majority of more than 30,000 in Walthamstow.
Kicking things off we have Jake the Cavalier at the polling station on Hermon Hill. Please do send more – or indeed other politically interested pets – to info@wansteadium.com.
Apart from some leaflets and a little bit of canvassing, the general election seems happy to let Leyton & Wanstead do its own thing.
The indications are that people are solidly behind Labour’s John Cryer, with the latest large-scale MRP study indicating that his position has strengthened during the campaign.
Despite some fake news graffiti (see above) it seems the parties are concentrating their campaigning efforts elsewhere, in more marginal constituencies.
★ There was however a flurry of confusion in Cranbourne Avenue and Newbury Court where residents were informed they were in the Ilford North constituency before corrected polling cards were issued. They are, as they have long been, part of Leyton and Wanstead.
A spokesperson for Redbridge Council told Wansteadium: “The error was quickly identified and resolved. Letters explaining the situation were hand delivered the following day to all affected electors, along with replacement poll cards and postal voting packs where appropriate. The streets named above were the only ones affected.”
★ An honourable mention should go to the independent candidate, Henry Scott, who has the distinction of being the youngest candidate in the whole country. He is 18 years old, grew up in Leytonstone and Wanstead, and is campaigning on backing Whipps Cross, stopping Brexit democratically, and climate action.
★ In terms of local interest, Chingford and Woodford Green is on many people’s lists of seats to watch. Iain Duncan Smith has been MP there since 1992 but is seen to be vulnerable to tactical voting. One of the tactical voting sites, Remain United, has the seat as 14th highest target seat. Based on 2017 figures, it requires under 1,000 to vote tactically to force an upset.
★ However you’re voting, we wish you a happy polling day. Photos of dogs at polling stations are welcome, as ever (info@wansteadium.com).
Wanstead Climate Action, a group of residents who are warning about what needs to change to limit global warming, offered these re-written carols, written by @BinstedVillage, to make their case.
Jingle Bells / No More Flights
No more flights no more flights absolutely none
If you want to save the planet listen to our song oh!
No more flights no more flights absolutely none
If you want to save the planet listen to our song.
Every time you fly/To the Med from London town
It melts a chunk of Arctic Ice/As big as a house (per person!) *
If you have to go/Take the train instead
Or you could use Skype, attend/That meeting from your bed – hey!
No more flights no more flights absolutely none
If you want to save the planet listen to our song oh!
No more flights no more flights absolutely none
If you want to save the planet listen to our song.
*’Per person’ in the style of ‘ho ho ho’
Deck the Halls / Public Transport
Deck the roads with bikes and buses
Fa la la la laaa, la la, la la.
Public transport for the masses,
Fa la la la laaa, la la, la la.
And about those tens of billions
For new roads – it just won’t work!
Traffic jams return in millions
And the angry drivers go berserk.
See the blazing fires before us
Fa la la la laaa, la la, la la.
Worse each year, so join the chorus
Fa la la la laaa, la la, la la.
Time for Highways England’s sacking,
Fa la la la laaa, la la, la la.
Green New Deal is what we’re backing,
Fa la la la laaa, la la, la la.
Good King Wenceslas / Sea of Plastic
Good King Wenceslas looked out,
On a sea of plastic
Ban that single use right now
That would be fantastic
In our rivers in the sea
In our drinking water
Poisoning the food we eat
And our sons and daughters
Hither page and stand by me,
If thou knowst it telling,
Who’s that sleeping in the street,
Where and what his dwelling?
Sire, he sleeps on plastic bags
By a rubbish mountain
Archways, doorways, are his home
Rain his drinking fountain.
Bring me food and bring me drink
Bring me warmth and shelter
Bring me politicians here
Tell them to do better
Finding him a place to stay
Must be our endeavour
Through the rude wind’s wild lament
And the bitter weather.
Sire the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my boat and it might sink
I can go no longer.
Rising oceans, war and drought
Bring us more and faster
Climate justice round the world
That must be the answer.
We Wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish for a healthy planet
We wish for a healthy planet
We wish for a healthy planet
And a Green Deal New Year
Glad tidings we bring to you and your kin
We wish for a healthy planet
And a Green Deal New Year
Now bring us a vegan pudding
Now bring us a vegan pudding
Now bring us a vegan pudding
And jugs of good beer
12 days of Christmas (Crisis)
On the Twelfth Day of Crisis the People want to see
Governments all Actin’
Net Zero Carbon
No Ice Caps meltin’
All Voices Singin’
Alarm Bells a Ringin’
No Sixth Extinction
No More Floods
Climate Justice
Three Core Demands
More Turtle Doves and
A future that’s good for you and me
Volunteers and funding are being sought for a winter night shelter to run in the hall at Christ Church over the winter months. A £4,000 grant from the Aviva Community Fund has been announced which will help meet the costs, and there is also a crowdfunder running to help.
Here the Rector of Wanstead, the Reverend Dr Jack Dunn, answers some questions about the project.
The traditional season-opener – Maz at Heads n Tails proudly showing his temporary forest – is here, as is a welcome sense of festive anticipation on the High Street.
And while the shops are gearing up – not least the Ginger Pig which is looking suitably Victorian – there is also a giving spirit which belies the troubled times we’re living in.
Among the efforts we’ve noticed (feel free to point out more) are: