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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Mr Lammy MP and our Constituency name

Hello Harringay onliners.

A while ago I opened a discussion about our constituency name of "Tottenham" not reflecting our area and proposed it's renamed "Haringey and Edmonton".

I wrote to Mr Lammy about it, and after a follow up email got an answer from his office. Here is the email trail as I think is it of interest to us all.

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BME's email to Mr Lammy's website. 17th Nov 2011

... I emailed asking  Mr Lammy to consider asking the Boundary Commission of England who are presently in consultation regarding boundary changes, to rename his constituency "Haringey and Edmonton" to better reflect the area and people he represents. ...with now only 18 days of the consultation left, I would like to press to matter and receive a reponse. Kind regards,

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Mr Lammy's Parliament office. 18th Nov 2011

.. thank you for your email to David about the boundary review. He is totally opposed to the coalition government’s decision to limit the number of seats to 600 and to force this change on the country. That is why he voted against the Bill at its first reading.  
 
He is pleased that the Boundary Commission’s initial proposals retain the broad shape and integrity of his constituency, particularly given the recent riots and the need to rebuild Tottenham. David’s view is that Tottenham needs coherent leadership, and that this makes having an MP who doesn’t cover the whole of Tottenham problematic.
 
Best wishes

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BME's reply 18th Nov 11

Thank you for you speedy reply.

I am not questioning the area in which Mr Lammy covers, I am questioning the name of it. It does not reflect the constituency as a whole and even though Tottenham has been through a lot, that still doesn't justify why the rest of the constituency can't have a more representative and collective name.
Mr Lammy's constituency covers a large area of North London, and not just Tottenham. Under the new proposed boundaries, he will cover even more taking in the area of Stroud Green which like most areas Mr Lammy represents, is not in Tottenham. Tottenham will remain within the constituency as a whole regardless of the Commission's decision, and will continue to be represented by one MP.
I understand the argument that Tottenham needs strong identity and representation more than ever in Parliament - and I certainly don't dispute that - but so does everyone else in Mr Lammy's constituency. It only makes sense that the constitency name reflects the whole area Mr Lammy represents and not just a small part of it. It is not just Tottenham that Mr Lammy represents, and it wasn't just the people of Tottenham that voted and campaigned for him to return to Parliament in the last General election. 
I would therefore ask again that Mr Lammy speaks to the Boundary Commission to change the name - not the boundary (and thereby not affecting Tottenham as a whole) - to Haringey and Edmonton. I feel the present name does not represent my area nor my neighbouring areas, and I would like to feel that my MP - Mr Lammy - is in fact representing myself and my neighbours' interests and not just a small part of his constituency that I and thousands of others have no direct connection with.
Please can you brief him again on my suggestion as there are only 17 days left now in the Boundary Commission's consultation, and I feel I have raised a very important point that will affect thousands of people living in Mr Lammy's constituency.
Kind regards
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If I get a reply I will post it.
You may feel this doesn't matter, but I say it does. We don't live in Tottenham no more than we live in Liverpool or Manchester or Bristol. It is not a case of disassociation, it's a matter of identity and representation.
What do you think?

Tags for Forum Posts: boundary commission, boundary review, parliamentary constituency boundary rewview

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by John McMullan on November 18, 2011 at 20:39

I like the name Tottenham and I think it fits better than the recent borough of Haringey's name.

Permalink Reply by B on November 19, 2011 at 14:24

Thank John. I like the name Kensington and Chelsea, but we don't live there either. I'd like our constituency name to reflect the area we live in. "Haringey and Edmonton" covers it all.

BME

Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on November 18, 2011 at 20:43

But then David Lammy doesn't live in any part of his constituency - but if it were extended to include Stroud Green he just might, if he could move his home a little to the East.

Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on November 18, 2011 at 20:51

I mean if Tottenham had moved to Stratford it would have been a more serious dislocation for David - moving the Lammy residence into the heart of Stroud Green should present fewer problems.

Permalink Reply by John McMullan on November 18, 2011 at 20:57

Oh leave him alone. He's not the only person living in that house and I think you're showing your age assuming that he gets to make all those decisions alone.

Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on November 18, 2011 at 23:10

John, I think we've been here before. Even at my advanced age I'm subject to the whims of others, but I manfully resist when I can. Anyway I'm just trying to help the man out.

Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on November 19, 2011 at 9:41

If the logic about MPs living in their constituencies were followed through ad absurdum, the ideal place for an MP to live would be in the exact centre of their parliamentary constituency. That would be the best way to represent constituents. By this reasoning, living just inside the constituency border would be only marginally less wicked than living a few hundred metres beyond the "border".

The suggestion that MPs should necessarily live in their constituencies is petty, small-minded and unrealistic. The merits of an MP are based on factors other than where they happen to live. It seems that for some folk, Stroud Green might as well be as far away as Cornwall. If Mr Lammy chooses to live in the Ward of Stroud Green, good luck to him.

Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on November 19, 2011 at 9:57

The pulses and reflexes on this website are so predictable. I posted the above light remark about my friend David's living arrangements, thinking 'How long before John and Clive's reflexes respond ?' ...et voila!

Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on November 19, 2011 at 10:44

OAE, consistency is normally a good thing! I will now quote in its entirety, the initial proposals of the Boundary Commission for Stroud Green Ward that also demonstrate the care that's gone in (emphasis added): 

...

38. In Haringey, we noted that the Hornsey

and Wood Green constituency could be left

unchanged, but in order to accommodate

changes elsewhere, we propose to include

one ward (Stroud Green) in the Tottenham

constituency. We also propose to include

one Enfield ward (Bowes) from the existing

Enfield, Southgate constituency in the

Hornsey and Wood Green constituency.

...

 

.

Permalink Reply by B on November 19, 2011 at 14:28

All very interesting guys but what about constituents living in an area where their Parliamentary name has no reflection of that place? Hornsey is not in Wood Green as Wood Green is not in Hornsey, yet someone had the sense to call that constituency "Wood Green and Hornsey". Why can't we then be called "Haringey and Edmonton" to cover the whole area this constituency covers?

BME

Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on November 19, 2011 at 16:27

Ever since 1801 I have been campaigning against Westminster's use of constituency names such as "Londonderry" (or "LÓNdondre' " as Ted Heath used pronounce it) and "East Londonderry", neither of which is in or near Greater London, or even in the country of which London is capital. 210 years later, no response.

BME, there may be a problem in combining two names one of which is a current Borough name while the other isn't ?? 

Permalink Reply by Maddy on November 24, 2011 at 8:57

One of the first general elections I ever voted in was Edge Hill,Liverpool. The local Conservative candidate lived in posh Chester, 50 miles away. His campaign poster showed him proudly standing in front of a map of Edge Hill, to which graffiti speech bubbles were quickly added saying "Yes, where exactly is it?".

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