Great news – my colleague Ed Butcher has been in contact with Islington Council and they’ve agreed for the third year in a row to pay for Christmas lights on the Stroud Green Road. However, in worst scrooge tradition, Haringey Council is still refusing to pay its share of bringing Christmas cheer to the road (which is on the boundary of the two Boroughs).
Ed and I launched our campaign for Christmas lights in December 2006 (see picture), and every year we press Haringey to match Islington’s generosity (for example – see last year’s post). If Haringey joined in, I think we could get lights for the full length of the road, rather than just the Finsbury Park station end, which is what Islington usually provide.
This week, I even raised the issue with the Labour leader of Haringey at our Full Council meeting. I asked her if she would look into the issue and find out why Haringey wasn’t supporting cross-borough projects like the Christmas lights - but got a disdainful response. The Labour leadership really give the impression that they are not interested in projects like this – unless they are in their favoured areas.