Did John Cryer influence Labour Brexit shift?

John Cryer MP

Could Wanstead MP John Cryer have been one of the influences behind the shift in Labour party policy which means the party is now backing calls for a second referendum on Brexit.

Mr Cryer, who voted Leave and has not changed his position on that, announced on Friday that his position on calls for a People’s Vote had changed. He said he supported an amendment which would mean a vote between two choices: Theresa May’s deal and remaining in the EU – eliminating the possibility of a No Deal Brexit.

Mr Cryer is chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, and his shift may have been influential on the party leadership which has been hit by defections of MPs and accusations of failing to deal with anti-semitism.

In a letter to constituents, Mr Cryer wrote:

Those of you who have followed my commentary on the Brexit process are well aware of my feelings about a second referendum, which has been touted by many for some time as the only way to resolve the impasse in Parliament and avoid us crashing out of the EU with no deal.

For those who have not read my sentiments in newsletters, articles and replies to constituents, I have long been concerned about the potential threat to social cohesion posed by a second referendum. The mood in the country is febrile and has been since the original vote. I do worry that the prospect of a second referendum is viewed by many passionate Brexit voters as a “metropolitan plot” to stop Brexit and feeds the deep sense of alienation which provided some of the impetus for people to vote Leave in the first place.

Nevertheless, after unprecedented defeats for the government and no obvious parliamentary majority for any one course of action, it is increasingly difficult to see parliament getting behind a deal. I for one do not wish to be offered an eleventh hour Hobson’s Choice between May’s bad deal and a chaotic No Deal.

An amendment by my Labour colleagues Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson proposes that the PM’s deal should be passed on the proviso that the people of this country get the opportunity thereafter to vote in a “confirmatory” referendum: to accept or reject Mrs May’s deal. I am cautiously and reluctantly minded to support this amendment for want of a preferable alternative. If Mrs May’s deal (with whatever concessions she is able to extract from the EU) is the best this government can muster, let the people be the ones to decide if it beats continued membership of the EU.

New homes to be built in Wanstead – on top of old ones

Photo: Apex Airspace, Abbey Road

The government has approved a plan to install prefabricated homes on top of buildings in Wanstead as part of a test programme which could address the housing shortage across the country.

The plan, reported in Planning Portal, follows tests on the concept which involves manufacturing prefabricated single storey constructions and installing them on top of existing buildings. Wanstead is one of five areas for which approval has been granted.

It is not clear where in Wanstead the plan is referring to, but the report says some of the homes could be completed by the summer. They could clearly only be built on sites with flat roofs where rights could be negotiated with freehold owners.

There would also, presumably, be local planning permission needed – but the news does raise the prospect of a number of new penthouse-style flats being available in Wanstead within the next year.

The homes will be built by Apex Airspace, whose work was featured on the BBC’s Inside Out in this report.

(HT Joe Bloggs.)

One door closes, another opens

So it really does look like farewell to the Currant – we didn’t jump on the initial indications that something was awry last week, just in case – but it looks like the To Let sign is staying. To the team, thank you for your efforts over the past couple of years.

Fans of the Currant’s cakes might want to know that local baker Heron’s Nest is still operating and can be contacted via Facebook. It was Heron’s Nest which brought a tear to BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew’s eye last summer by making a Manuka honey cake – apparently one of the finest creations to have reached the Test Match Special commentary box.

At the other end of the High Street, the former Elizabeth Pryce letting agent, which is now part of Keaton’s, is being fitted out by Bell’s Blinds, a local chain. Good luck to them in their new venture. White wooden blinds and plantation shutters certainly are very Wanstead at the moment.

A new advert for Wanstead

sdr

A film crew on the High Street on Tuesday, choosing Wanstead’s Piccolo as the setting for their commercial. This time it was for a “sports” product, though producers were tight-lipped about what the actual advert was for. “You’ll have to watch to find out,” they said. Whatever it is, it involves an inflatable flamingo.

St Mary’s: Bishop says weekly services can stay – but there’s a ‘but…’

(Pic: Geoff Wilkinson)

Campaigners wanting to preserve a tradition of weekly worship at Wanstead’s St Mary’s church on Overton Drive have had some good news – though there are strings attached.

The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, has decided not to accept a plan that would have seen services take place at St Mary’s on just a handful of Sundays each year.  This was the decision that members of the congregation at St Mary’s had been lobbying him for.

But the bishop also decided that most services at St Mary’s would be led by a lay member of the congragation, rather than one of the ordained ministers. There would now only be one Holy Communion at the church each month, instead of the current four.  On one Sunday each month there would be a joint service at Christ Church.

The Wanstead parish has two churches – St Mary’s and Christ Church – and the parish had proposed the plan to stop weekly worship at St Mary’s, even though the congregation who go there wanted it to continue. The rector of Wanstead, the Revd Jack Dunn, said he “warmly welcomed the [bishop’s] wise and compassionate” decision.

In short, then, it means that the precious Wanstead building can continue to be used on most weeks. A working group is being set up which will attempt to find ways to make the new arrangement sustainable.