Shamik Das reports on Tory-run Bexley council's plans to charge kids to use a playground - following on from Tory Wandsworth's plans to do the same last month.
Just last month, Tory-run Wandsworth announced plans to charge kids £2.50 to use a playground. Now, Tory Bexley is planning to do the same, charging kids to play, pricing the poor out of the playground. They plan to charge children at least £1 to use Belvedere Splash Park – a plan not subject to any public consultation, a plan which the council admits will disproportionately hit those on lower incomes.
And, just like Wandsworth – whose leader was recently appointed Boris Johnson’s chief of staff – Bexley also has close links to the Mayor. In 2008 he appointed council leader Ian Clement to be his deputy mayor and in February he appointed current Tory council leader, Teresa O’Neill, as his outer London adviser.
Labour’s candidate for 2012 Ken Livingstone said of the plans:
“A disturbing theme is emerging across London. Every time a London Tory council leader decides to charge kids to play, Boris Johnson gives them a senior role in his administration.
“Hundreds of thousands of families in London are being squeezed with higher fares and cuts. I share the growing concerns about the direction of Boris Johnson’s administration with so many of his key advisers behind these ‘pay to play’ proposals.”
As we’ve said before on this blog, the divide between the sporting opportunities granted the privileged and those offered the poor are growing, from playgrounds and playing fields to the Olympics and Test cricket, background is having an ever greater say in outcomes – something the likes of Boris, David Cameron and George Osborne are not only unable to understand, but are actually making worse.
Not all kids go to schools that can boast 12 squash courts, 20 tennis courts, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, four cricket fields, a nine-hole golf course, rowing on the lake that will host the 2012 Olympics, perfectly mown outfields…
53 Responses to “Another day, another Tory council planning to charge kids to play”
Celyn
Another day, another Tory council planning to charge kids to play: http://bit.ly/laANOt reports @ShamikDas
Andrea Thomas
Well said, Jack!
Fortunately, I don’t live in London. I do have 4 children, so that would cost me either £10 or £4 for a trip to the park. This is hardly accessible to the majority of families. Where else are children supposed to let off steam and get exercise in built up city areas? What are the long term additional costs in terms of obesity, diabetes, etc? Typical short-sighted Tory policies!
We should also remember that a good number of Tories (including Boris) are ex-members of the Bullingdon club, so what is their understanding on the value of money?
Ed's Talking Balls
Andrea,
I guess Tory MPs have the same understanding of money as Harriet Harman, Ed Balls, Ed Miliband etc. After all, they all have similar backgrounds.
I agree with you that charging people to go to parks is perverse; I am very much in favour of having more parks and planting more trees etc. It’s mad that people complain about obese, unruly youths while simultaneously restricting their access to areas where they could exercise. A shift in thinking would be good here.
But please let’s not turn this into a rich Tories/working class Labour matter. Both parties draw their MPs, particularly their leadership, from the same narrow pool.
Anon E Mouse
Andrea Thomas shows the typical New Labour tendency of smearing the messenger with her pathetic tribal nonsense.
Considering the numbers of school playing fields sold off in the last 13 years it just shows typical Labour hypocrisy to run this completely pointless article.
If this is the most serious “offence” levelled at Boris Johnson – that like Harriet Harman he’s a toff (although not landed gentry like her) then the government and the mayor have nothing to worry about.
Whilst Ken Livingston associates with Islamic fascists who agree with female genital mutilation, execution for homosexuals and the legitimised marital beating and imprisonment of woman behind black cloaks subservient to men I’ll take Boris Johnson every time.
Basically Andrea Thomas believes a person should be condemned on the school they were sent to by their parents over which they had no choice. Nice.
Says everything about her unpleasant character and adds nothing (apart from nastiness) to this debate. So a few kids can’t play in a park? Boo hoo.
Thanks to people like me in their droves supporting Labour, it resulted in thousands of woman and children being killed in Iraq and all you can go on about is a park in London?
Get a grip please…
Andrea Thomas
How do you know anything about my beliefs on schools? I made no mention to them.
How do you know anything about my character or which political party I support?
I made no mention of these either.
Perhaps you shouldn’t be so quick to draw ludicrous assumptions on people based on a paragraph that they write.
Also, for the record- my reference to the Bullingdon club. This club isn’t only about being exceptionaly rich; it is also about being destructive.
Perhaps you should get your facts straight before you try to assassinate them