Welcome to this month’s roundup of what’s happening at Lewisham Council.

Last time we covered the problems at Lewisham’s flagship leisure centre, Glass Mill. This month we look at the problems of their flagship park scheme at Beckenham Place Park.

Lewisham is our home and Lewisham Liberal Democrats want both Glass Mill and Beckenham Place Park to be a success.

Unfortunately, both show similar problems of a lack of transparency and a failure to listen.

London Assembly candidate for Lewisham and Greenwich, Ade Fatukasi, has called on Lewisham council to do more to reflect the diverse community it serves, after figures showed the council failing to increase the number of BAME officers in its most senior grades.

• 46% of Lewisham population is from BAME communities [i]
• Only 10% of the Cabinet’s 10 portfolios are held by non-white councillors (compared to 21% of councillors who are BAME)
• Only 18% of officers in top grades are BAME (compared to 43% of staff overall)
• More BAME candidates rejected in application process compared to white candidates

Lewisham Liberal Democrats are selecting their prospective Parliamentary candidates for an early General Election. The Liberal Democrats came top in the recent European Elections in the borough of Lewisham and across Greater London.

New figures released by Lewisham Lib Dems show Lewisham Council is failing to sort out their own emissions, despite declaring a “climate emergency” in February and committing to zero carbon emissions. 1

The figures were revealed in Freedom of Information request and show that of the commercial property managed by Lewisham council, barely a quarter have energy use compatible with the UK reaching “net zero” emissions. The Committee on Climate Change say that only properties with an energy performance certificate (EPC) of C or above would meet their recommendations for reaching net zero by 2050. 2

23 year old Ade Fatukasi has been selected by the Liberal Democrats as their candidate for the London Assembly seat of Greenwich and Lewisham.

A ‘born and bred Londoner’, Ade grew up and went to school mostly in Lewisham. He passionately believes that someone needs to speak up for young people in our area. Ade wants to give young people and the wider community a real voice on the London Assembly.

PHOTO: Ade Fatukasi (second from left) with Siobhan Benita, Lib Dem Candidate for Mayor of London, Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem London Assembly member, and Chris Maines, a former Lib Dem councillor in Lewisham and a current list candidate for the London Assembly.

Welcome to the fourth of our monthly looks at what’s happening in Lewisham and at Lewisham Council.

Lib Dems top the poll in Lewisham  

First up are the European election results in the borough of Lewisham. As you might have seen, the Liberal Democrats topped the poll with the third biggest swing in the country from Labour to Lib Dems. Our vote increased from 4,000 in 2014 to 21,000 this time. Read our statement here on what the result means.

We know not everyone who voted for us this time necessarily sees themselves as Lib Dems, but we aim to give all those voting for us reasons to stay with us into the London-wide elections next year, a possible general election and the borough election in 2022. We will continue to lead the campaign to Stop Brexit, especially now that the Tories are moving towards a disastrous no-deal Brexit.

Problems at Glass Mill Leisure Centre, run by Fusion, are getting worse. Lewisham Lib Dems have been raising this issue for some time with the council. So what’s the background?

The Liberal Democrats received more votes than any other party in the London Borough of Lewisham in the European Parliament elections.

It comes after Remainers across the UK swung behind the Liberal Democrats in the campaign to Stop Brexit. Here are the main results for Lewisham...

If you voted Liberal Democrats in the European elections, why not join us and help choose our new Leader?

Vince Cable has confirmed he is standing down as Leader of the Liberal Democrats after spearheading a powerful campaign against Brexit in the recent European elections.

Today (Thursday, 23rd May) is polling day for the European Elections. Polling Stations are open from 7am to 10pm.

If you want to send a message to stop Brexit please VOTE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS today.

The Liberal Democrats are the largest Remain party in Britain. Recent opinion polls have put us ahead of Labour nationally and in first place in London.

If you want to send a clear message to stop Brexit there's only one choice on Thursday: Vote Liberal Democrats.

Support for the Liberal Democrats is surging with some polls putting us in second place across the country and first place in London. Read the Observer's lead article below...

Residents across Lewisham have been showing their support for the Liberal Democrat campaign to stop Brexit at next week's European Elections.

"We've been inundated with poster requests and offers to distribute leaflets all over Lewisham," says local party Chair, Peter George.

On the day Lewisham’s Cabinet votes on a new violence reduction strategy, Lewisham Lib Dems have revealed significant gaps in neighbourhood policing. This comes despite a promise by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan that all wards in London would have at least two dedicated neighbourhood PCs and a Police Community Support Officer.

Thank you to everyone who voted for Bunmi Wajero and Max Brockbank in yesterday's council by-elections.

We didn't win this time but in Whitefoot ward we finished second, well ahead of the Tories, with 20.6% of the vote, which was up on our vote at last year's council elections.

If the UK takes part in European Parliament elections on 23rd May and you’re a citizen of an EU country and resident in the UK, you can either vote in the UK or in your home country.

Find out how to vote in the EU elections.