Minutes:
Clerks note – The Mayor varied the order of business, so that item 12 was heard before item 11. These minutes follow the order of the agenda.
The Mayor introduced his debate by celebrating Haringey as one of the country’s most diverse boroughs and referring to the many community groups he had engaged with over the past year, which had made it such a privilege to serve as Mayor. He set out some challenges to community cohesion that were emerging, and his hope those challenges would be met.
The Mayor then introduced his three speakers. First, Rabbi Mason, of Muswell Hill Synagogue, outlined his previous work on community cohesion, the present challenges at a national level, and how pleased he was that it was entirely normal locally to work on cross-community projects.
Second, Bibi Khan of Wightman Road Mosque, set out how essential community cohesion was to helping relations between individuals, and to building a stronger and safer society. The voluntary sector was key to this, in particular at a time of reduced public funding. She paid tribute to Leon Joseph and his personal contribution to this agenda, and set out how people would have to work together to overcome future challenges.
Finally, Yasar ?smailo?lu set out some challenges faced by people
coming from different cultural backgrounds, and how he’d
noticed the improvements to the borough that accompanied greater
community cohesion over the past forty years. He thought Haringey
would be a good example for increasingly diverse towns to follow as
they integrate in the future.
The Mayor then started the debate.
Councillor Rice, having lived in the borough for fifty years, gave some historical context. He noted Haringey had attracted people coming from areas in conflict, that the borough had established a number of community centres for different communities, and the Broadwater Farm riots had encouraged further efforts for community cohesion. He had been disappointed that the 2011 Tottenham Riots had shown that community relations were not completely settled.
Councillor Mallett noted that people had arrived in Haringey from areas of conflict and reconciled, rather than reflecting the divisions they had left. She noted increased social isolation meant a more deliberate effort was needed for face-to-face interactions, including public spaces and voluntary organisations. She noted that housing challenges could mean people being separated from their family and social networks locally.
Councillor Engert set out her pride at Haringey’s diversity, which had proven more resilient than other parts of the country following the European referendum. She outlined the particular challenges faced by some communities, which could lead to disengagement. The borough should do more to support disadvantaged communities, and to ensure people from EU countries are made to feel welcome in the absence of clear Government support for them.
Councillor Doron recalled that his grandfather had been at the battle of Cable Street, and had emphasised the need to work together against divisive movements at a Cable Street commemoration event hosted by the Mayor of London last year. He thought a successful, diverse borough could provide a beacon of hope to communities across the UK.
Councillor Arthur noted the threat to cohesion posed by inequality, and was concerned at statistics suggesting Haringey was the most unequal area in the country. He was concerned at the risk of not taking strong, bold action to support growth in the borough, which would entail inequality being continued.
Councillor Newton felt all Councillors had a responsibility to support community cohesion, and thanked community leaders for their efforts. He noted the threat posed by Brexit to community cohesion, and the need to mitigate this. As a pluralist, he felt diversity strengthened communities, rather than diluted them.
Councillor Wright thought age, wealth and geography were among the many ways one could consider diversity. He mentioned the well-known ‘Battle of Wood Green’ in the 1970s in the borough, and hoped there could be a small grant fund to support community cohesion projects. He drew attention to the forthcoming Scrutiny report on Child Friendly Haringey, and supported the guarantee of rights to EU citizens resident in the borough.
Councillor Ibrahim emphasised the need to value one another, rather than merely tolerate each other. She felt Haringey showed a continued commitment to diversity, and set out some of her personal history as the child of people who had left a country in conflict and found a home in Haringey. She felt Haringey’s civic identity reflected a different meaning of patriotism.
Councillor Adamou also gave some personal history, and how the different Cypriot communities came together in Haringey at a time of conflict in Cyprus. She thought the Council and Councillors had a responsibility to promote cohesion, and her multi-cultural ward was a great example of people from different backgrounds coming together.
Councillor Hearn noted that politics, informed by untruthful campaigns and ill-informed opinions, was increasingly divisive, and there was a growth in hate crimes. She felt honesty and open-mindedness was needed to build cohesion, and politicians had a responsibility for truthfulness.
Councillor Mark Blake had been to a reception at Parliament that day for MAC UK, and he commended their approach of involving young people, in the place they live and doing work with young people, rather than to them. He thought young people should be listened to and involved in the borough’s work to help develop solutions to problems they faced.
Responding to the debate on behalf of the Cabinet, Councillor Ayisi set out some information on the diversity of the borough and noted the increase in hate crimes over recent months, which made some people feel less safe in the borough and arose from irresponsible campaigning. He set out some work that was underway to resettle Syrian refugees, and work with faith leaders to re-establish a faith forum in the borough to promote community cohesion and better engagement with faith communities. Additionally, the Council was working with Open Doors on the needs of older LGBT people, and had received funding recently from the Government to support migrants settling locally.
Concluding the debate, the Mayor thanked the speakers and Members for their contributions.