Harmony in Luton and the other kind of grit

It's been a busy start to the year. With the help of my growing team of volunteers, we've been doing a major leafleting campaign to reach thousands of people in Luton South (interested in volunteering? please email me joe@joehallforluton.com).  I'm updating my campaign materials soon to reflect the work I've been doing on my manifesto -- more on this in the next few weeks.

The biggest news -- snow and grit aside -- has been the trial of the small group of Islamic extremists who disrupted the Royal Anglian Regiment's homecoming parade last year.  With sensational quotes after they were convicted for public order offences, they've been trying hard to scare and divide us.  But we can see through the inflammatory words: they speak for no-one but themselves. We, the rest of us (whatever religion we happen to be, or none at all) want to get on with our lives in peace.

That's why I was really glad to take part in the launch of Luton in Harmony on Friday, a new initiative to celebrate how tolerant and how united Lutonians are. I think we need to make much more of how well we mix together most of the time in Luton.  We should give ourselves more credit and remind ourselves -- and the rest of Britain -- that by and large it just works.

That's not to say life is rosy.  We haven't got everything figured out and there are plenty of challenges.  But that's the point: when there are problems we sort them out peacefully together.  Most of the time it's a great thing.  I think it makes life much more interesting and we should be very, very proud of having such a diverse town.  Even though there's so much more we need to do in Luton, the fact that there are people from different cultures and backgrounds in Luton isn't the big issue it can seem in the national media.  (There are plenty of other issues I believe we need to solve -- more to come in future blog posts.)

Of course the easy part is launching an initiative.  The harder job is making it real, keeping it going and really getting people involved. I've started doing my part and getting some of my supporters and local businesses on-board.  Please do the same: you can find out more at www.luton.gov.uk/harmony.

It's been a challenging past couple of weeks for the many local people affected by the snow  (and more is forecast).  It brought it home to me visiting a street of sheltered housing for older people and helping get some action to have their street gritted.  The Council workers I spoke to were working very hard to help with an enormous task and too few supplies.

But we're also going to need another kind of grit.  Luton's image won't change overnight and I doubt the extremists, few though they are, will just go away.  We'll need a very human kind of grit and determination to make the aim of Luton in Harmony real, to stay focussed on working together, to keep building our town positively together.  Luckily I think we have this kind in plenty.  We could make this a really good year for Luton.

Back to the hard work of the campaign.  Please get in touch if you have questions or would like to get involved joe@joehallforluton.com

Happy New Year! Are you interested in volunteering?

Happy New Year to you, I hope you had a good break.

Nationally, the political parties are gearing up their election campaigns as we look towards a probable late March or early May election (come on Gordon, tell us when it will be).

Locally, many people are still fed up with politicians and I'm concerned that many people in our community simply won't vote at the coming election.  I believe we need to regain people's trust and forge a new kind of politics that's honest and genuinely connected with local people.  That's why I've got back out on Luton's streets this week to engage with as many people as possible.

Are you interested in volunteering to help me on the campaign?  The main things I need help with are knocking on doors and delivering leaflets with me.  Speaking to people on doorsteps is one of the most interesting ways to spend a day or an evening (don't worry, I do the talking!) -- meeting local people from all walks of life, discussing every issue under the sun.  If you think you might be interested or would like to know more, please email me at joe@joehallforluton.com.

Keep enjoying the New Year -- more soon.

Joe