The new term has got off too a busy and exciting start – with five year-round Jellicoe Interns in East London:
Josh Harris completed a summer internship at St Paul’s Shadwell, and is now back for a year-round placement
Liliana Worth has likewise chosen to come back to work at nearby SS Mary and Michael Catholic Church
Katy Theobald joins us from Balliol College, Oxford to work with Stepney Salvation Army on the Ocean Estate
Amma Asante continues a placement at the University of East London, where the Living Wage and CitySafe Campaigns are gaining momentum
Nitasha Kadam joins us from the University of Notre Dame, and will be helping to build Hindu engagement in community organising
On Wednesday, we had our first public action – TELCO’s Accountability Assembly for the candidates for Mayor of Tower Hamlets. It is a controversial race, with Cllr Lutfur Rahman initially barred from the Labour shortlist, then topping the poll, then removed by the Party’s National Executive and replaced by Cllr Helal abbas. Cllr Rahman is now standing as an Independent. These two men were held to account (along with the Conservative, Green and LibDem candidates)on TELCO’s agenda for a Living Wage, Community Land Trusts, CitySafe Havens and summer placements for young people. Dave Hill blogged on the eve of the event, and Ted Jeory offers this verdict on proceedings:
In answer to [the Assembly’s] five questions (will you as mayor meet with Telco twice a year; will you encourage employers to adopt the living wage; will you support subsidising criminal record checks [for CitySafe Havens]; will you deliver 1,000 work experience placements in the council and other public organisations; and will you support the development of community land trusts as a way of boosting social housing), not one candidate uttered the word ‘no’.
His verdict?
As a way of strong-arming candidates into commitments, it was fabulous; as a spectacle for those of us who have grown use to Tower Hamlets tub-thumping, it was a touch too grown up.