Category Archives: Police

Goodbye Leicestershire Police Authority

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“It’s been a real pleasure to serve on the Leicestershire Police Authority these last 18 months, together with my Labour colleagues Cllr Lynn Senior, Cllr Barbara Potter and Cllr Max Hunt. We worked hard with fellow Police Authority members to deliver an effective and efficient police service. Labour members in particular helped lead the way earlier this year in saving hundreds of police jobs.

In this era of Police and Crime Commissioners I’m confident that my Labour colleagues on the police and crime panel will do an excellent job in holding the new Commissioner to account. I’d like to thank Paul Stock, Angela Perry and all officers at the outgoing Police Authority for their hard work and for helping us to do our jobs. And I’d like to wish Chief Constable Simon Cole, Deputy Chief Constable Simon Edens, Assistant Chief Constable Steph Morgan and all the excellent officers and staff at Leicestershire Constabulary all the very best for the future.”

Cllr Sundip Meghani

My first year as a Councillor – activities and achievements

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Exactly a year ago today residents in Beaumont Leys voted to elect me as one of their local Labour Councillors to serve on Leicester City Council.

It was a tremendous honour and a huge privilege to have been entrusted to represent the views of local people, especially as I’ve lived in the area since I was 7 years old. Also as the son of immigrants, who came to this country from East Africa fleeing persecution, and as someone who was born and raised on a council estate in Leicester, it was particularly poignant to have been chosen to serve on the very Council that had once supported me and my family when times were tough.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love my party and my politics, but to be honest my love of politics merely stems from my love of people. That may sound like an awful cliché but it is the truth. In-fact I believe that if you’re not a people person and you don’t genuinely thrive on being able to solve problems and help make peoples’ lives that much easier, then you shouldn’t seek to hold public office.

Whereas if you have a passion for putting people first, for lifting hopes and aspirations, for fighting social injustice, and for leading by example and working hard, then politics isn’t just a career choice, it’s a moral imperative; an obligation to use your skills and expertise to serve the public and to try and make a difference in the world.

It’s been an incredible year and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I’m grateful to my good friend Vijay Riyait and all the wonderful people mentioned in this post who worked tirelessly on the election campaign.

I’ve been fortunate to have two excellent co-Councillors in Vi Dempster and Paul Westley, as well as a good deal of support from our hardworking local MP Liz Kendall, and City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby. It’s a real pleasure to be part of such a great Labour team.

In addition to working closely with my fellow Councillors in holding regular ward surgeries, attending residents association meetings and carrying out specific casework and solving problems on behalf of constituents, here’s a summary of my other activities and achievements during my first 12 months as a Leicester City Councillor:

Policing:

  • Appointed as a Member of the Leicestershire Police Authority and attended numerous Authority and sub-committee meetings.
  • Delivered a speech on policing cuts at the 2011 Labour Party conference and discussed the issue with the Chair of the Police Federation.
  • Raised the issue of policing cuts in the Council chamber as well as in the local, regional and national press.
  • Led the Labour team at the Leicestershire Police Authority in fighting to save nearly 200 jobs and helping to secure neighbourhood and frontline policing.
  • Attended a special conference on the ‘Roots of Violent Radicalisation’ hosted by the Home Affairs Select Committee and Leicester East MP Keith Vaz.
  • Together with co-Councillors, approved funding for a local police community safety shop at the Beaumont Leys shopping centre.

Education and young people:

  • Continued to work hard as a school governor at Soar Valley college and took on a new role as a governor at Beaumont Lodge primary school.
  • Delivered a speech on achievement at Soar Valley College in Rushey Mead.
  • Delivered a speech on aspiration at Babington College in Beaumont Leys.
  • Attended a special conference on the application of new technologies in schools.
  • Took up an appointment as a Member of Court at the University of Leicester.
  • Attended summer fetes with co-Councillors at Glebelands primary and Beaumont Lodge primary schools, and the Beaumont Lodge Neighbourhood Association.
  • Delivered a speech at the University of Leicester in support of the ‘Living Wage’ campaign being run by Labour Students.

Health and community:

  • Helped set up and Chair a new community task group to tackle domestic violence in Beaumont Leys and Abbey.
  • Actively supported the campaign to save the children’s heart centre at the Glenfield General Hospital in Beaumont Leys.
  • Attended a special event organised by the Somali community in Beaumont Leys.
  • Launched the British Heart Foundation’s Big Donation event at the Beaumont Leys shopping centre.
  • Attended the official opening of the new Beaumont ward at the Bradgate Mental Health Unit in Beaumont Leys.
  • Visited a new locally-run free lunch club at Christ the King church.

Transport and environment:

  • Voted at Planning Committee in support of modernising Leicester train station.
  • Participated in a special climate change and water management conference.
  • Worked with co-Councillors and local businesses to help tackle parking problems in parts of north Beaumont Leys.
  • Became actively involved in the work of the Castle Hill Country Park user group.
  • Attended a special conference on local transport policy in Leicester.
  • Helped secure 11 new grit bins for locations throughout Beaumont Leys.

Housing:

  • Attended a special conference on student housing and future strategy.
  • Wrote an article about increasing levels of homelessness and spent Christmas Day helping at a local homeless shelter to raise awareness.
  • Voted at Planning Committee in support of the creation of new housing developments and student flats across the city.
  • Hosted public meetings with fellow Councillors, the local MP and the Mayor to discuss traveller encampments and the on-going consultation on proposed sites.

Business and jobs:

  • Agreed to join the board of the Cooke e-Learning Foundation, a Beaumont Leys  based enterprise helping people to train for jobs.
  • Attended a conference and dinner hosted by the Indo British Trade Council.
  • Visited the Beaumont Leys Enterprise Centre to support local businesses.
  • Spoke in the Council chamber on the economy and drafted an article on how the Budget will adversely affect Beaumont Leys.
  • Hosted the 2012 HSBC English Asian Business Awards in Manchester and worked to secure Leicester as the 2013 host city.

Social justice and charity:

  • Lobbied the Foreign Office and raised the issue of the Sri Lankan civil war with Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt MP.
  • Attended numerous public events to oppose cuts to Legal Aid and lobbied the Solicitor General Edward Garnier QC MP on the issue.
  • Attended a fundraiser in support of ‘Unique Home for Girls’, a charity caring for orphaned and abandoned girls.
  • Visited the offices of Leicestershire AIDS Support Services and attended the annual World AIDS Day service at Leicester Cathedral.
  • Attended the launch of a 3-day festival organised by the Pushti Nidhi charity.

Culture and faith:

  • Met with Leicester Council of Faiths and attended events during inter-faith week.
  • Visited numerous places of worship across Leicester belonging to all of the city’s main faith communities.
  • Attended a concert of the Philharmonia Orchestra and an ‘Orchestra Unwrapped’ concert promoting music to school children.
  • Attended ‘Out of Africa’; an annual celebration of African culture hosted by Harvest City Church.
  • Attended an Inter-Cultural Evening hosted by the Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police.
  • Attended a lecture on Hindu and Christian dialogue hosted by the Leicester Friends of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.

Attendance record at all Leicester City Council & Planning Committee meetings: 100%

Statement regarding Police and Crime Commissioner elections

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“After a great deal of consideration I have decided not to seek the Labour Party nomination for Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire.

This is for several reasons. Firstly I thoroughly enjoy my role as a local Councillor here in Beaumont Leys and I want to continue working hard for the people who elected me.

Also I have come to the realisation that I still have a number of personal reservations about this new system of elected Commissioners, and so I cannot in good conscience seek to do the job under such circumstances.

I take great interest in policing matters and I look forward to continuing my work on the Leicestershire Police Authority. I shall also continue to hold this Tory-led government to account as they make savage cuts to policing right across our country.

I would like to thank everyone who has given me such good counsel and support in recent weeks.”

Cllr Sundip Meghani

Labour protects neighbourhood policing and officer numbers‏ in Leicestershire

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Members of the Leicestershire Police Authority (LPA) voted on Tuesday 21 February to increase the police precept by 2.5% for the coming financial year. Members rejected the Government’s offer of a one-off grant for a 0% precept freeze and opted instead for a baseline increase to secure a stronger financial position in the longer term.

Thanks to a concerted and united effort by Labour Members – Cllr Sundip Meghani, Cllr Barbara Potter, Cllr Lynn Senior (City Members) and Cllr Max Hunt (County Member) – together with the strong support of City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, the Labour Party managed to achieve a good result for the people of Leicestershire.

All four Labour Members voted in favour of the 2.5% increase whereas two Tory Councillors and one Liberal Democrat Councillor from Leicestershire County Council voted for a 0% freeze. To their credit the Chair of the LPA and all of the independent Members present also voted for the rise.

The 2.5% precept rise means that the average Band D property will pay an extra £4.24 a year. However by securing a 2.5% precept increase Labour has strengthened the position of the Police Authority in the longer term, saved nearly 200 police jobs and safeguarded neighbourhood and frontline policing.

Labour has also listened to the overwhelming majority of people in Leicester and Leicestershire, 75% of whom favoured a rise in the police precept when consulted by the LPA.

The simple truth is that unlike Conservative and Liberal Democrat County Councillors who tried to cut services and police numbers still further, Labour Councillors have succeeded in protecting hundreds of police jobs, protecting neighbourhood policing and protecting the integrity of a truly local and responsive police force here in Leicestershire.

As this Tory-led Government seeks to cut 30,000 police jobs and risk increases in crime and anti-social behaviour, Labour will continue to listen to the concerns of ordinary people, and continue to fight hard to protect neighbourhood policing and officer numbers right across our country.

Diary of a delegate: my week at Labour Conference 2011

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SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER:

I arrived into Liverpool on Saturday afternoon and I was instantly impressed with the city. I was also pleasantly surprised with my accommodation; a spacious penthouse apartment with a balcony overlooking the docks and Conference venue. I spent the afternoon having drinks with my good friends and fellow Leicester Councillors Neil Clayton and Patrick Kitterick, as well as exploring the impressive Conference venue. Neil and I briefly gate-crashed the London reception, partly because there wasn’t really much else going on in the Conference venue, and partly because we wanted to hear Ken Livingstone speak. Just as we were leaving Harriet Harman entered the room and headed our way. We had a quick chat and I reminded her of her recent visit to the East Midlands Regional Conference, which I proudly explained had been held in Beaumont Leys, the very ward I represent on the Leicester City Council. We later headed over to the All Delegates reception where we were met by friends and colleagues from the East Midlands Labour Party regional office. It was great to meet up with fellow delegates and also spend some time getting to know our excellent East Midlands Labour team. We ended the night with more drinks and a bit of sightseeing around Liverpool. All-in-all a very warm and friendly welcome to Liverpool with a relaxed start to Conference 2011.

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SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER:

Sunday was the first full day at Conference. For me the day began at 12pm with the East Midlands delegates briefing lunch. We received a useful overview of processes and procedures, together with detailed information on the various votes that were due to take place. We also had a good talk from Vernon Coaker, Shadow Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice. The 2pm opening plenary session included a welcome from Liverpool City Council and various other speakers. A recommendation was made to Conference that the Refounding Labour report be accepted. Four CLPs spoke against it, on the basis that they wanted more time to consider it, but it was clear that the vast majority of CLPs were in favour. Both the outgoing General Secretary Ray Collins and the incoming General Secretary Ian McNicol gave excellent speeches. After the London Report, a vote on accepting the Refounding Labour report vote took place, which I’m proud to say that I supported on behalf of Leicester West CLP. After Conference was adjourned I headed over to the Progress Rally at 6pm. Douglas Alexander was a brilliant speaker and so was our own Leicester West MP Liz Kendall. Rachel Reeves was very impressive and clearly on top of her pensions brief. Ivan Lewis was a good speaker as well and gave a passionate rousing speech. Tessa Jowell also gave a lengthy speech in which she called herself a ‘veteran moderniser’. After the Progress Rally I headed over to the Movement for Change fringe event, which was extremely popular and very well attended with Stella Creasy, Chukka Umuna and David Miliband making up the panel. David was extraordinary. He was saying things that others still hadn’t said yet and his observations were insightful and accurate. David got a well deserved and lengthy standing ovation when the event ended. I later attended the East Midlands reception along with friends and colleagues from across the region. A few of us in the Leicester delegation ended the day with dinner in Liverpool’s famous Chinatown, which luckily for me, was just a short walk away from where I was staying.

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MONDAY 26 SEPTEMBER:

I arrived at the main Conference venue and was briefed on attending a ‘compositing meeting’ that was due to take place later that morning. Essentially various motions had been submitted by CLPs around the country, and the most popular motions that had been chosen by the delegates, had to be amalgamated. Leicester West CLP was one such successful CLP and our motion on public sector pensions had to be amalgamated with those of several other CLPs with similar motions. After successfully compositing the Leicester West motion, and voting for Kevin Hepworth and Rose Burley for the National Constitutional Committee, I spent some time visiting the various exhibition stands. I spoke with a number of different organisations, including a representative from Women’s Aid, with whom I discussed domestic violence issues in and around Leicester. I made it in to Conference hall to watch Ed Balls deliver his speech, before traipsing up to the Novotel hotel for a fringe event on police and crime commissioners, organised by Policy Exchange. Hazel Blears and Vernon Coaker were on the panel and the event was standing room only. I asked questions on diversity and timetables, to which the panel made clear they thought there wouldn’t be many women or BAME police and crime commissioners, but that we did need to move fast in order to start selecting solid Labour candidates. I headed back to Conference venue for the prosperity and work debate and I was pleased to see that the Leicester West composited motion on pensions was accepted by Conference. I later visited Hill Dickinson LLP for The Law Society reception. I met up with a number of good friends, including Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, the next President of The Law Society, Carol Storer, Director of the Legal Aid Practioners Group, and Lord Willy Bach, Shadow Legal Aid Minister. I had a number of very useful discussions about legal aid cuts. Heading back to Conference venue I struck up a conversation with a diplomat from the US Embassy. We discussed British and American politics, foreign policy, and Labour Party politics, and she also kindly invited me to visit the US Embassy in the future. I later attended a law and order fringe hosted by the New Statesman, where Mehdi Hassan interviewed Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. To end the evening a group of us headed over to the Diversity Nite dinner, hosted by Leicester’s own Keith Vaz, where hundreds of guests were entertained by an array of interesting speakers.

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TUESDAY 27 SEPTEMBER:

The third full day of Conference essentially revolved around the Leader’s speech. Prior to that however, I attended the sustainable communities debate in the Conference hall, where Tom Watson and Chris Bryant both spoke brilliantly in relation to phone hacking. There were major queues to get in to the Conference hall for Ed Miliband’s speech, although the queues did add a certain air of excitement to the whole thing. Ed Miliband spoke extremely well and got a very lengthy standing ovation. His key message of a ‘new bargain’ ought to resonate well with the British public if they get to hear about it. Throughout the week I did find myself in a ‘Conference bubble’, relying primarily on Twitter for up-to-date information, and the BBC News mobile website. Watching television or reading newspapers felt quite slow and laborious in comparison to the fast non-stop pace of Conference. After the Leader’s speech I drafted my own speech on the issue of policing cuts. Colleagues from Regional Office had convinced me to give it a go and to see if I could get called to speak at the following day’s crime and justice debate. I also managed to catch up my good friend Neena Gill, former West Midlands MEP, who was around for the day before having to catch a flight the following morning. In the evening a few of us headed over to the Liberty fringe event chaired by Shami Chakrabarti. It was great to see Leicester’s Keith Vaz on the panel and he spoke brilliantly on the issue of  legal aid cuts; he clearly knew the subject area very well. Shadow Solicitor General Catherine McKinnel was also very clued up and spoke brilliantly. I spoke with her briefly afterwards and invited her along to address the Junior Lawyers Division at some point in the future. After dinner with my good friends Vijay Riyait and Anne Glover, I attended the Co-operative Party reception. It was good to see so many Leicester friends, including Leicester South MP Jon Ashworth and fellow Leicester Councillor Rory Palmer. I spent the best part of the night partying with friends and it ended with another late 3am finish.

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WEDNESDAY 28 SEPTEMBER:

Wednesday was by far my favourite day of Conference as I had the most extraordinary honour and high privilege of being called to address delegates. I delivered my speech on policing cuts during the crime and justice debate in the morning session. I was called to speak by Angela Eagle, after I managed to catch her attention on my third attempt, using a blue flashing lighter that had been given to me by a constituent. It went down well and I felt that I managed to do my bit to contribute to the debate and underline the importance of the policing cuts issue. I subsequently received numerous calls from media outlets and agreed to do several interviews. Paul McKeever, Chair of the Police Federation also addressed Conference, giving an excellent speech for which he received a standing ovation. I managed to catch up with Paul afterwards and I had a fruitful discussion with him about how passionately the Labour Party is on board with this incredibly important issue, and how we recognise its significance for our country, and for all our police officers. After lunch I sat in on the health and education debates, and I really enjoyed listening to excellent speeches from one Liverpool head teacher in particular, and the head of Norwegian Labour Youth movement. Both speakers received standing ovations as did John Healey and Andy Burnham. Afterwards I attended the Electoral Reform Society fringe with friends, where John Denham for Labour, Andrew Boff for the Tories and Chris Huhne for the Liberal Democrats debated electoral reform. We later headed over to the #Lab11Tweetup organised by our very own Twitter queen Kerry McCarthy. It was brilliant to see so many friends and fellow tweeters and it was a really great event. Coupled with a relaxed dinner this was really a perfect end to a perfect day.

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THURSDAY 29 SEPTEMBER:

I had a very early start to my final day at Conference waking up at 7.30am after less than 4 hours sleep. I was really struggling to get my voice back following after the previous few days. Luckily I managed to find my voice in time for a BBC Leicester radio interview just after 8am. It was a tough interview but I felt that I managed to make clear that the previous day’s speeches on policing cuts were about highlighting an important issue that the public have a right to know, and that the loss of 16,000 police officers across the country may well impact on crime in the future. I finished packing and arrived at the Conference hall in time for some excellent speeches by Caroline Flint, Hilary Benn and Harriet Harman. After singing The Red Flag and Jerusalem, Labour Conference 2011 officially came to an end. We made our way back to Leicester feeling positive and optimistic, inspired to carry on fighting for Labour values, and for the values that matter to the British people.

Speech to Labour Conference on policing cuts

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Speech delivered to Labour Party Conference on Wednesday 28 September 2011

Conference. I’m Sundip Meghani from Leicester West CLP.

I’m a solicitor, a newly elected Labour and Co-operative Councillor in Leicester, and a member of the Leicestershire Police Authority.

Yesterday our Leader Ed Miliband began the substantive part of his speech by saying “this is a dangerous time – a dangerous time for Britain”. And he’s absolutely right.

“By slashing police numbers the Tories are putting peoples’ lives at risk.” Not my words Conference – the words of a Merseyside police officer, a father of two, whom I spoke with right outside this venue.

Relying on the police is part of British society. We take them for granted. If our cars gets smashed or our homes gets burgled, the first thing we do is dial 999 – safe in the knowledge that police officers will arrive on the scene and be there to help us, protect us, and secure our property.

Now don’t get me wrong, the loss of up to 30,000 police jobs right across Britain will be a godsend. A godsend for those rioters and looters who were never caught and will probably commit crimes again, a godsend for serious and organised crime gangs for whom breaking the law is a way of life, and a godsend for those extremists in our midst, silently plotting to again bring terror to our streets.

When the riots took place in mid-August we also had disturbances in Leicester. Our directly elected Labour Mayor Peter Soulsby was himself out on the streets late into the night with the police, as gangs of youths attacked bars and local businesses. Conference, our Mayor Peter was forced to stand by and watch, as his own daughter’s bar in central Leicester was also smashed up.

In Leicestershire we’re losing more than 200 police officers and more than 200 support staff. So not only will we have fewer police officers on the streets, but when there aren’t enough support staff to do the admin, more police officers may end up in the back office.

The simple truth Conference is that this Tory-led government has lost the plot on law and order. They’re hell bent on making our Thin Blue Line even thinner. For those 20 millionaires who sit on the Cabinet, crime and anti-social behaviour is something that happens to other people, and police officers are just another casualty of Thatcherite economics.

Well we won’t stand for it Conference, and our party – the Labour Party – will stand by our police heroes, and fight to protect the safety and security of the British people.

Maiden speech to Council: cuts to policing in Leicestershire

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Thank you my Lord Mayor. This is my first time speaking in full Council, and I am proud to associate myself fully in support of this motion. My Lord Mayor, the cuts to police numbers being imposed by this Tory-led government is of grave concern to residents in Beaumont Leys, and to residents right across Leicester. And the public are right to be concerned.

In Leicestershire alone we’re going to be worse off to the tune of some 200 officers before the end of this financial year. Not only that, but the forces’ 1,000 civilian support staff will be cut by nearly a quarter by March of next year.

In terms of policing, this Tory-led government is letting down not only the people of Leicester and Leicestershire, but letting people down right across our country. This government likes to talk tough on crime, but when it comes to taking action on matters of law and order, they have behaved disgracefully – and the facts speak for themselves:

We’ve got a Justice Secretary, a former barrister, who doesn’t understand the meaning of the word rape. We’ve got the Ministry of Justice, a government department that up until last week was proposing to give shorter sentences to criminals. We’ve got proposed cuts of some £350million to Legal Aid, making it even harder for the poorest in society to get justice. And then to top it all off, we’ve got the icing on the cake – national cuts to policing on an unprecedented scale, with the loss of anything up to 30,000 jobs.

Some of my wiser colleagues will recall that the last time we had anything close to this level of upheaval in policing was at the time of 1962 Royal commission. But since then, the remit of the police service has expanded dramatically to include dealing with serious and organised crime, cyber offences, increasing local concerns such as antisocial behaviour, and then of course in more recent times, the threat of international terrorism.

What an utterly ridiculous situation we find ourselves in My Lord Mayor, when on the one hand government agencies are proposing to give us a bit of money as part of the Prevent Strategy to tackle home grown extremism leading to terrorism, whilst on the other hand the Tories and Liberal Democrats pull the rug from under our feet, slashing funding, slashing police numbers right across the country.

When the Tories and the Liberal Democrats pledged in their manifestos for the 2010 General Election, to cut the amount of paperwork that the police have to fill in, we all thought they’d rid of the paperwork. Instead, they’re getting rid of the police officers themselves.

The police service is just that – a service, a public service that deserves public support. And I for one am glad that here in Leicester, City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has already begun to lead on this subject, with the support of his Cabinet, as well as local Labour MPs, and that action is being taken to try and defend our police service from the impending coalition cuts.

As members of the Police Authority, myself, Councillor Potter and Councillor Senior will also work hard to try and protect policing in Leicester.

My Lord Mayor I hope that this motion receives the unanimous support of this Council and our two Opposition Councillors. And should they, in their infinite wisdom be in two minds about supporting this motion, let me just read this quote from Barrie Roper, who as the Chair of the Leicestershire Police Authority, is on record as saying and I quote:

“There is no doubt that the next four years are going to be extremely challenging as we grapple with major reform, and a shortage of funding to deliver services to the high standards, that our residents deserve.” My Lord Mayor Barry Roper is also, as I’m sure you’re aware, a Tory County Councillor from Rutland. Thank you my Lord Mayor.