I currently represent New Cross ward in Lewisham. This is disappearing due to recent changes determined by the Boundary Commission. Brenda Dacres, my co councillor for 8 years and I are seeking selection in the new Deptford ward. The process for selecting Labour candidates for Deptford begins today. My heart felt best wishes go to my friend Brenda who has been a tremendous support to me over the years and has recently taken up the role of Deputy Mayor. I also wish Samantha Latouche especially well. Sam is our other co councillor in New Cross and is seeking selection in the new, New Cross Gate ward. Although only being elected at a recent by election so has already made a big impact both locally and at the Town Hall. My best wishes go to all other candidates seeking selection in Lewisham.
ABOUT ME
My mum was always very proud to tell me that I was at least
the fourth generation of my family to ‘come out of Deptford’, as she used to
put it. She also took great delight in
telling people that the first job I ever wanted to do was to be a dustman. This is because when we lived in a prefab in
Berthon street, the dustmen used to wave to me as I swung on the gate when they
drove down the street on their way to their depot on Creekside. Some people are nostalgic about prefabs but
living in one nearly killed me as ours was so cold in the winter that I
contracted bronchial pneumonia and had to be rushed to hospital. This led my parents to nearly bankrupt themselves by buying a small house in Crofton Park with the help of a mortgage from
the Council. Those were the days.
Things have moved on a bit since then for me. I went to Stillness Road primary school, then
Brockley County on Hilly Fields in the building now occupied by Prendergast
school. Then an economics degree from
Cambridge, a year working for a mission organisation in Senegal, a couple of
years working in banking in the City, then leaving to set up a business in
Deptford High Street when I realised that that life and career wasn’t for me. I formed a business partnership with a friend
from our church and founded Revival Café and Hales Gallery in 1992, with the
help of a government grant. We wanted to
do something positive to regenerate the High Street and provide a facility that
would bring something good into the community.
Sadly, for us we had to relocate the business to Shoreditch in 2004
because despite out best efforts and commitment, we couldn’t make the gallery
work commercially. Some forces are
bigger than you and you have to ride them or you risk being swept away.
As well as there being a Hales Gallery in Shoreditch there
is also one in New York and has been for 6 years. We have worked with artists from poorer
backgrounds, BAME artists and artists from the LGBTQ+ community for many years. The two artists that we have recently agreed
to work with are transgender people.
I have been fortunate in my life due in large part to the
support of my family, the existence of the NHS, the opportunity of a state
education and the chance to take advantage of Government support for
business. This together with a vision
for what was possible, an optimism about the chances to making things happen
and a willingness to work to achieve shared goals has helped me to succeed and
to be able to help others
BEING A COUNCILLOR
Having an interesting back story and a credible record of
activism and campaigning are insufficient preparation for running a billion
pound organisation for the benefit of the public. If you are privileged enough to be elected to
the Council, the first thing you do is not hand your manifesto to the Officers
and give them instructions on what you want them to do. The first thing that you will be required to
do is to sign a declaration that you will act, at all times and in all
circumstances, in the best interests of the Council. In other words, you are taking on an
obligation to run an organisation that has a myriad of responsibilities and
commitments that it is legally bound to meet.
You are not a free agent.
Moreover, giving the impression that anyone can be a
politician belittles the office. Being a
politician is a profession like any other.
To be effective you need experience and training. When I first was elected to Lewisham Council
in 1998 it was a very new and bewildering experience. I said very little during
the four years of my first term.
Instead, I watched, listened and learnt the ropes. I was fortunate enough to serve my
apprenticeship under some extremely gifted, dedicated and experienced
Councillors who took time to train me. Local
people rely on the Council to be well run and to deliver the services they rely
on. Thus, every Council needs a balance
of Councillors. They need a mixture of
the new and the experienced.
I have been on the Council for almost 24 years. In that time I have been:
The Chair of the Pensions Investment Committee
The Chair of the Governance Select Committee
The Chair of the Public Account Select Committee
The Chair of the Audit Panel
The Chair of the Elections Committee
The Labour Group Secretary
The Cabinet Member for Resources
The Cabinet Member for Children & Young People
I am currently the Chair of the Overview & Scrutiny
Committee and the Labour Group Treasurer.
This experience places me in a unique position as far as
ensuring that the Council serves our people well. It also means that I can provide invaluable
support to both the new and the relatively inexperienced elected members of the
Council. Working hard to help others
achieve their potential as servants of the public who elect them is a wonderful
privilege.
MY ACHIEVEMENTS
Having set up my business in Deptford I was involved in
several initiatives to try and improve the community. I was a member of the Deptford High Street
Association and then became a Board Member of Deptford City Challenge. I concentrated on improving support for
business and improving the fabric of the High Street. I helped set up the Deptford Business
Development Association which then expanded to become the Lewisham Business
Association. I came to the notice of the
local Labour Party and I was approached to stand in the 1998 local elections.
1998 to 2010 was a tremendous time to be on the
Council. We had a Labour Government in
Westminster and it provided money to invest.
Basic things like roads and pavements that had crumbled after 18 years
of Tory rule that had starved Labour Councils of resources, were repaired and
renewed. Parks were refurbished, schools
improved or rebuilt entirely. New
libraries and leisure centres were built.
Innovative approaches were pursued to improve our social housing stock.
2010 saw the end of the Labour government and ushered in the
age of Austerity that continues to this day.
In 2014 I was Cabinet Member for Children & Young People. At that time relations between the Council
and the Heads of our secondary schools were at a very low ebb. The Council was frustrated with the Heads because
Lewisham had the lowest performing secondary schools in London. The Heads were frustrated because they felt
that they were being unfairly blamed and insufficiently supported. I saw it as my primary role to rebuild
trust. I instigated an independent
review of our schools that brought the Council and schools together. It led to the establishment of the Lewisham
Learning Partnership that created a platform for delivering sustained school
improvement.
Although I have emphasised the need for experience to be a
really effective Councillor, there are things which I managed to do as a
backbencher which shows that there are always opportunities for Councillors to
use such life experience and relationships that they have to make a
difference. One example is when one of
my friends who is from Catford got in touch with me when he became the
Admissions Tutor for a Cambridge College, in the early 2000s. He wanted to try a get more pupils from
comprehensive schools into Cambridge. Through a meeting I was able to arrange
at the Council he made contact with Lewisham College. They had a very able black female student who
had come to the UK as a child. She was
encouraged to apply to his college. When
the tutors were meeting to award places they came to discuss the last available
place. The choice was between this
student from Lewisham College and a pupil from Eton. They chose the student from Lewisham College
who, I understand, went on to do very well.
I also took a motion through Council with Cllr Stephen Penfold from
Brockley which committed the Council to look at introducing a community skip
scheme to try and address the epidemic of fly tipping that we have across the
borough.
IN CONCLUSION
After 24 years on the Council my commitment to improve the
lives and life chances of the people of Lewisham is stronger than it ever
was. Indeed, my recent election as Chair
of the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee has energised me as it
demonstrated that my colleagues have trust and confidence in me. We must all come together to work for our
common goals and purpose. We owe it to
our residents to give them a message of hope and optimism about the
future. Together we can make Lewisham
the best place to live, work and learn.
We must show every resident that whatever their aspirations, whatever
their needs, whatever challenges they face, Labour is on their side. This is why I am seeking your support to
continue my work as a Labour councillor, this time for Deptford ward, my
birthplace.
We can make a difference. We
can make a change.
My very best wishes to you all.
Paul Maslin
Further reading
If people do not know my
biography, then they can read my pitch for the Mayoralty on my somewhat dormant
blog:
http://themaslinmemo.blogspot.com/2017/08/update-my-story-why-i-am-running-to-be.html
If people are genuinely interested in my views and politics,
you can find out a lot by looking through the other posts, most of which I
wrote when I was in the Cabinet.
