The love affair started almost six years ago when Rosie Lovell went looking for somewhere to set up a cafe. “I got the bus to East Dulwich and got straight back on again. Prams,” she says, eyes wide, “A lot of prams.” She flew over to Brixton instead and stumbled upon an empty unit in the market. “…and I was like – it’s amazing – I love it!”

She set up Rosie’s Deli Café when she was just 23 after studying for a degree in history of art, and from that point on, Lovell and Brixton have had a love-love relationship. She’s a clear hit with traders and customers alike – she cultivates regulars quicker than her home-grown lettuces. As soon as you step into her small Brixton deli you feel invited to the party -tinny music over chatter, cheery hellos, tea in mugs with the spoon left in, loaves of bread piled on leopard print covered shelves and best of all you know you’re a guest in her kitchen – you’re going to get damn good food which is “European with a bit of Moroccan…kind of French, Spanish Italian and English,” And you’re just as likely to find yourself sharing a table with her mates as the next hot sound from the neighbouring music studios. It’s the place to pop in for a cheeky taleggio and toms stuffed ciabatta, huge artichokey, fennelly salads, or to pick up a jar of Mrs Darlington’s orange curd or El Navarrico lentils in brine which look as though they’ve been hankered for in a market on her travels. She tantalisingly tweets the pictures of her asparagus tarts for lunch on Twitter. Warm cinnamon bun and a pot of tea all for three quid? If I were you, I’d go hungry.

When I meet Lovell, now 29, for tea and cake in her Camberwell flat, I realise the deli is an extension of her homely, artily cluttered kitchen, which is also slightly country (she grew up in Suffolk before moving to London). She’s had a frightfully busy week having shoots with Marie Claire, giving up alcohol for the week (“I drink all the time. I would happily only drink coffee and wine, and never drink water. It’s a hard task for me but it’s definitely working… I think.”), and serving coffee to Andrew Marr in the deli.

“He had four double espressos in two double flat whites!” she tells me as she sucks on a cigarette, “He’s lovely. So so nice.”

And that’s how she seems to describe everyone she likes– superlatively amazing or lovely. Lovell is ridiculously likeable. She laughs heartily. A lot. And she’s naughtily charming – not cloyingly so, diminutive, pretty in a free-from–excessive-artifice way and talks emphatically and with an honesty you can only warm to. Not content with running a deli which has queues for miles, she’s written a hit cookbook Spooning with Rosie – a chronicle of youth, scouting for boys, hangovers and love through recipes. Selfridges has chosen her to blog for them and she seems to maintain an enviable social life making coffee for singer Róisín Murphy and Alexa Chung, hanging out with her notable DJ boyfriend Raf and the likes of bands Basement Jaxx and Hot Chip.

Though she may look effortlessly successful, it was only through hard work and graft that earned her the respect of the traders around her as she built up the blank space from just one deli counter to now seating up to 25.

“You gradually prove your mettle…but that’s better. It’s a really inclusive community. It’s also a reserved community. It takes a while to be included – but it means more.”

She tells me that in the market community, everyone knows everyone, and were anything bad to happen she’d be looked after by the likes of friends Esme, owner of the organic store opposite, or Blacker from Blacker Dread Records a “very brilliant famous proper Brixton person”.

“I think a lot of that is to do with…what Brixton is famous for which is drugs and crime…but what you have is a real sense of identity in the place that you live and work.

“You wouldn’t open a shop there if you didn’t want to be around that. Otherwise you’d go and open in Fulham so it’s about the kind of people who are drawn to the area – it’s a good thing.”

Walking round the market, one thing that strikes me is just how middle class the browsers have become and the kind of stores in the market that have popped up as a result. When I mention this to Lovell, she acknowledges the change.

“I think inevitably that’s what happens when people read things in the Guardian and then they …make a pilgrimage. But what I think Brixton needs is people who invest more than that – not just to come to places that are talked about, but to go to the Chinese supermarket , the Iraqi supermarket, go and buy some vegetables that scare them. Embrace the fishmongers – whole mad fish, you know. That’s why I’m there. And that’s what’s fun. And, you always feel like you’re on holiday.

“Your motivations in Brixton have to be very genuine.” She tells me firmly, “That’s the only way to do it.”

Though Lovell is busy promoting and writing, and fast gaining widespread recognition she is at pains to explain that she still works hard to make her business work.

“I wash up as much as anyone else behind the counter. Because that’s the only way you’re going to get people to work hard for you; it’s the only way to get customers to believe you.”

Her book is reflective of her student life, peppered with stories about her best friend Doctor Helen, dates with boyfriend Raf (“The most cooked recipes from my book are all his. That’s gutting.”), photos of past holidays that could have been nicked from the kitchen pin-board. Accessible and verbally delicious, it’s slightly hedonistic and a bit like Nigel Slater on space cakes.

And it’s unmistakeably Brixton. The characters like Esme are brought to life through a recipe for Hot Wings – food from Jamaica and Colombia sing from the pages. The food in the book is totally international as it is inspired by “what it’s all about – people, circumstance and occasion”.

So what’s next for Rosie Lovell? Another book?

“Definitely! I’ve been doing lots of bread recipes..”

And will it reflect how you’ve changed over the years?

“I’m not 23 anymore. You know – i’m going to be 30 this year. It’s not going to be the impromptu – twenty people around your table getting drunk. There probably won’t be so many hangover foods.”

TV?

“I’d love to be on TV. But..dunno. It’s so hard to be on TV…I think it’s almost like a separate art and if you’re good at it then it’s a bonus. So yeah, who knows.”

Feeling honoured to be working with Selfridges, she is currently in meetings with the possibility of conjuring something in-store for them. I have the distinct impression Rosie Lovell’s business head is standing her in very good stead. A glittering TV career and a library of books may well be on the cards, but whatever happens, it’s clear that Lovell’s heart lies in Brixton and in the deli.

“It’s only a book,” she says of her achievement. “ It’s a lovely book and I love it. But as soon as you start believing sound bites or believing that you should have a car to pick you up then you’ve f***ed it, really..”

She smiles widely.

“The deli is always me and I am the deli.”

Rosie’s Deli Café, 14e Market Row, SW9 8LD, Open Mon-Sat 9.30-17.30

Spooning with Rosie, £18.99 is published

Adam Byatt

Adam Byatt @ Trinity – a great chef and restaurant – and now a cook book!

Success again for Adam Byatt nearly a decade after he made Clapham North a gourmet destination. Jennifer Sharp charts his progress

Spring sunshine streams through the window and Adam Byatt is a happy man. His restaurant, Trinity on Clapham Common, has the low purr of contented lunchtime customers; his first cookbook, How to Eat In, is published today; he has just chaired the judging panel of the Annual Awards for Excellence organised by the influential Academy of Culinary Arts; and on the weekend, he will brush up his street cred with a return to BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen, cooking and sparring with presenter James Martin. Not bad for a 35-year old from Essex who left school at 16 without much to show for it and, by his own account, was ‘a bit of a yob, a troublemaker’.

Streatham Food Festival

Tuck in to Streatham

The Streatham Food  Festival, taking place from May 15 – 22nd,  is a celebration of the best food and foodie things to be found in the neighbourhood, with restaurants, pubs and bars, retailers, cooks and great events firmly at its heart.

Loads of residents enjoyed our first 2009 festival, and 2010 promises to be bigger and better — and sets the scene for the arts festival, also organised by the Streatham Festival Assocation,  which follows in early July.

It starts with a fantastic Food Fair in the Gracefield Gardens Centre on May 15th, with the ground floor taken over for the afternoon by local restaurants and producers to tempt you with free tasters. All this plus demonstrations on cake making, crafty ways with fruit, Fairtrade and much more. 

Sunday 16th is all about making it yourself! Check out the cookery masterclass with reknown Italian chef Valentina Harris at 11.30am in Lifestyle Interiors,  the samosa-making session for kids at Chilli Chutney or take up the invitation to a  vegan lunch. Make at fabulous cake and enter the baking competition in the Rookery Cafe at 2pm.

Of course, many  restaurants, cafés,  pubs and bars across SW16 have joined in the Taste Trail, running for the whole week,  with special events and menus including a delectable belly dancing evening at Moorish Lounge, Pizza specials at the Waterfront and a very tasty food quiz in the Earl Ferrers pub on Wednesday May 19th.

There’s loads more to come, check out the full programme on www.streathamfoodfestival.com

So for a truly tasty 2010, tuck in to the Streatham Food Festival

New Deal of the Mind — A Call To Action

Just over a year ago around 60 prominent figures from Britain’s cultural institutions and the entertainment industry gathered at No. 11 Downing to discuss the implications of the economic crisis. They were there at the invitation of Maggie Darling, the Chancellor of the
Exchequer’s wife and Cabinet ministers James Purnell and Andy Burnham.
This was the birth of New Deal of the Mind, an organisation that grew
out of an article I wrote for the New Statesman in January 2009
arguing that Britain could learn from the cultural projects of
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1930s America. This work
creation scheme spawned artists Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock as
well as writers Saul Bellow and John Cheever.

To their huge credit, the representatives of the state-subsidised arts
sector did not discuss funding for their organisations and film and
music industry executives chose not to use the occasion to lobby for
their interests. They were there to discuss how they could help create
work during the downturn and they stuck to their brief.

As a direct result of meetings convened by Jude Kelly, creative
director of the Southbank Centre, and others present that day, arts
organisations across the country committed themselves to generating
jobs during the recession wherever they could. This, in turn, led to a
commitment from the government to provide the money for 5,000
subsidised jobs in the creative sector through the Future Jobs Fund.
The scheme targets young people who have been out of work for six
months, many of whom would never have considered a career in the arts.
The first 30 of these jobs started at the end of last month at the
Southbank Centre, which has been a real pioneer in this area. Since
then, the Royal Opera House, Somerset House and the National Portrait
Gallery have joined forces to create more jobs in central London. At
New Deal of the Mind, we have partnered up with Newham sixth form
college (New Vic) and Stratford Circus arts centre to create jobs in
east London and Theatre Resource, an arts organisation for the
disabled to provide work in Essex. This month we will be announcing
plans for over 160 jobs across London and a series of digital projects
across the country.

When I first proposed a New Deal of the Mind I wanted to spur
politicians into action. James Purnell and Andy Burnham challenged me
to get involved myself but it was never my original intention to set
up my own organisation. Since then, New Deal of the Mind has taken on
a life of its own. We have produced two reports for the Arts Council
about the future of the creative economy and lobbied for an end to the
intern culture and the return of the Thatcher-era Enterprise Allowance
Scheme. Ultimately we aim to set up a network of creative incubation
hubs across the country, but the core of our business has to be
getting people back to work.

More information about New Deal of the Mind can be found at
www.newdealofthemind.com

If you are interested in a New Deal of the Mind creative job please
contact your Jobcentre Plus or write to us at
info@newdealofthemind.com

Now Showing… by Nathan Fidler

Repo Men April 16th

Jude Law stars in futuristic action thriller where organs are readily available but come at a high price. If you can’t afford the price then the Repo Men are sent in to take back the organ. Jude Law is a Repo Man who finds himself on the other side of the system after needing a new heart and not keeping up with the payments.

Dogtooth April 23rd

With a clutch of awards, Greek film Dogtooth is a drama about a couple who keep their children sheltered from the outside world by keeping them inside a perimeter fence and educating them at home. The only visitor is family employee who develops disturbing relationships with the children as the film progresses.

Iron Man 2 April 30th

The first Iron Man was hailed as the best Marvel Comic Book adaptation to date. In this much anticipated sequel billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has to deal with the pressure of being the titular superhero now in the media’s spotlight. Mickey Rourke stars as the disgruntled villain Whiplash.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed April 30th

In this home-grown British thriller Casino Royale and Clash of the Titans star, Gemma Arterton, is Alice Creed, daughter of a rich businessman. She is kidnapped by two ex-cons who have prepared long term for a ransom deal. However, as the film progresses it twists endlessly, shifting the dynamic and maintaining the suspense throughout.

Valhalla Rising April 30th

Valhalla Rising is set in 1000 AD with a supernatural Norse warrior One-Eye and his young companion. After the pair escape from their captors they travel with a Viking troupe following a crusade but new land holds a deadly end.

Gentlemen Broncos April 30th

This highly original film focuses on a teen geek who writes fantasy and dreams of becoming an acclaimed author. However, when he turns up to a fantasy convention he finds a well established author has stolen his idea due to the impending threat of being dropped by his publisher. A sure fire hit for Napoleon Dynamite fans.

Four Lions May 7th

A satire on terror, Four Lions follows four young Muslim men of varying background as they plot a terrorist attack. Some travel abroad for training while others strap bombs to crows. The British film shows a funny side to the misguided stupidity of terrorism culminating in the men taking part in the marathon.

Hot Tub Time Machine May 7th

John Cusack stars in this manly buddy comedy about four friends, all losers in some fashion or other, who travel back in time in a hot tub to the 80’s. There they set about changing their misfortunes in order to return to successful lives. A gross out guy-comedy which just about manages the laughs in Hangover-like manic fashion.

A Nightmare on Elm Street May 7th

Yes, that’s right: a horror remake. As if Hollywood has run out of ideas they resurrect the eternal child tormentor Freddy Krueger. The plot follows a similar line to the original whereby a group of young teens are murdered in their dreams by the slash-happy monster. Why again? Who knows.

Robin Hood May 14th

Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe team up once again to take on the legendary Robin Hood of Nottinghamshire. As always, Hood finds his hometown under the rule of a tyrannous Sheriff whom only he can overthrow. The romantic source of Lady Marian is played by Cate Blanchett in fairly medieval version of Gladiator.

Prince of Persia May 21st

Jake Gyllnehaal takes a break from the serious drama in this Disney video game adaptation. Dastan (Gyllenhaal) is adopted by a king to stop his feuding sons and, with the aid of Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton), sets off to retrieve a time altering, god-like device from some nasty noblemen.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans May 21st

Nicholas Cage roughs people up yet again in a film loosely borrowing from the 1992 classic. Tentatively scheduled for release this month, it shows a drug addicted sergeant throwing out the rule book in order to tackle crime and deal with his demons.

Letters to Juliet May 21st

Hot property, Amanda Seyfried, stars as a young American girl taking a holiday in Verona (setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet). There she finds love letters which move her to push one author into pursuing her lost love bringing a happiness and fulfilment to both women in a feel-good romantic drama.

Black Death May 28th

In a village free from the Black Death a monk has to task a band of knights and mercenaries to a village said to hold the key to reviving the dead. Sean Bean is the swashbuckling knight in another medieval action film this month though this film is decidedly more gritty and grim than Robin Hood.

Sex and the City 2 May 28th

There are some chick-flicks men can withstand but not this franchise. The television based show gets a second film in which the girls return. This time they appear more settled in life with steady jobs and family life taking a role. No doubt the film will be stuffed to the hilt with fashion and “hunky” men which is where the real draw lies.

A new incarnation of Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical “rock monologue” Tick….tick….BOOM! kicks off the Union Theatre’s Summer series.  The winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best off-Broadway musical in 2001 follows the playwright treading that fine line between 29 and 30 while still waiting for the curtain to go up on his life.  Long before the X factor stole the monopoly on dreams, Jonathan makes the climb from waiter to Broadway blockbuster amongst a fusion of pop and musical theatre styles.

The one man show described as “a triumph”, “sharp” and “compulsively watchable” descends on the Finborough Theatre.  Written and performed by Jack Klaff, Nagging Doubt takes us back to Sharpeville, when police opened fire on black demonstrators, killing 70 people and wounding 200.  Through minimal costumes, Klaff evokes 20 characters caught up in the event that sent apartheid South Africa to the brink of a racial bloodbath.

The Southwark Playhouse sees the return of the Ugly Sisters Productions, following the success of The Story Project last year.  Its successor, The Story Project 2: Love, Lies and London, will showcase 10 writers, 10 directors, 10 teams of actors and 10 short plays in an underground evening festival.

Critically acclaimed Brute Farce are back at the Jack Brockley theatre with their adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days.  Suitcases, steamships, trains and elephants help transport Phileas Fogg from 19^th century London to a Bollywood vision of the tropics, in the company’s inventive and physical style.

Another award-winner making its South London debut is Madagascar.  The American Theatre Critics’ Association Osborne Award winner by JT Rogers, opens at Theatre 503 this May with Sorcha Cussack leading the pack to uncover the truth and betrayal behind a disappearance.

The Blue Elephant Theatre is keeping to its cross-art programming with Naughty!  The double-bill of contemporary dance and new writing by Sebastian Rex examines the process of individualisation over the last decade, and tackles the tabloids’ favourite question, if celebrities sell themselves to the public then who owns them?

There is a world premier at The National theatre, with a provocative offering from Drew Pautz.  New work Love the Sinner is also asking questions.  Set in an African hotel room, a group of church leaders are discussing the need for Christian doctrine to change with the times, while an encounter between two men occur next door.  What would you sacrifice personally and publicly for what you believe to be right?

The father of the modern spy novel, Erskine Childers, makes his HQ the Jermyn Street Theatre.  Riddle of the Sands, adapted by Phillip Dart, has its tongue firmly in cheek (when not keeping that British stiff upper lip) in this cleverly staged production.  Set before the outbreak of the First World War, Foreign Office high flyer Carruthers sets sail with an old friend, for an adventure that neither of them had banked on. So sit back with a dry Martini, shaken not stirred, and enjoy.

When Shakespeare described the month of May as being ‘full of spirit’ he must have been looking South of the River where it’s the season for some big returns.  Martin Sherman’s Bent, first performed in 1979, makes its comeback at The Landor with 24-year-old director Andrew Keates at the helm.  This thought-provoking and justly famous portrayal of the courage shown by Berlin’s gay community during the Holocaust still has resonance today.

A new incarnation of Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical “rock monologue” Tick….tick….BOOM! kicks off the Union Theatre’s Summer series.  The winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best off-Broadway musical in 2001 follows the playwright treading that fine line between 29 and 30 while still waiting for the curtain to go up on his life.  Long before the X factor stole the monopoly on dreams, Jonathan makes the climb from waiter to Broadway blockbuster amongst a fusion of pop and musical theatre styles.

The one man show described as “a triumph”, “sharp” and “compulsively watchable” descends on the Finborough Theatre.  Written and performed by Jack Klaff, Nagging Doubt takes us back to Sharpeville, when police opened fire on black demonstrators, killing 70 people and wounding 200.  Through minimal costumes, Klaff evokes 20 characters caught up in the event that sent apartheid South Africa to the brink of a racial bloodbath.

The Southwark Playhouse sees the return of the Ugly Sisters Productions, following the success of The Story Project last year.  Its successor, The Story Project 2: Love, Lies and London, will showcase 10 writers, 10 directors, 10 teams of actors and 10 short plays in an underground evening festival.

Critically acclaimed Brute Farce are back at the Jack Brockley theatre with their adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days.  Suitcases, steamships, trains and elephants help transport Phileas Fogg from 19^th century London to a Bollywood vision of the tropics, in the company’s inventive and physical style.

Another award-winner making its South London debut is Madagascar.  The American Theatre Critics’ Association Osborne Award winner by JT Rogers, opens at Theatre 503 this May with Sorcha Cussack leading the pack to uncover the truth and betrayal behind a disappearance.

The Blue Elephant Theatre is keeping to its cross-art programming with Naughty!  The double-bill of contemporary dance and new writing by Sebastian Rex examines the process of individualisation over the last decade, and tackles the tabloids’ favourite question, if celebrities sell themselves to the public then who owns them?

There is a world premier at The National theatre, with a provocative offering from Drew Pautz.  New work Love the Sinner is also asking questions.  Set in an African hotel room, a group of church leaders are discussing the need for Christian doctrine to change with the times, while an encounter between two men occur next door.  What would you sacrifice personally and publicly for what you believe to be right?

The father of the modern spy novel, Erskine Childers, makes his HQ the Jermyn Street Theatre.  Riddle of the Sands, adapted by Phillip Dart, has its tongue firmly in cheek (when not keeping that British stiff upper lip) in this cleverly staged production.  Set before the outbreak of the First World War, Foreign Office high flyer Carruthers sets sail with an old friend, for an adventure that neither of them had banked on. So sit back with a dry Martini, shaken not stirred, and enjoy.

LOCAL HEROES by Dominic Wells

Congratulations to Picturehouse Cinemas, owners of the Clapham Picturehouse and the Brixton Ritzy, for keeping the repertory spirit alive. They are exclusively screening two very special musical events. First, New York’s Metropolitan Opera continues its series of live broadcasts to the world with Rossini’s Armida on May 1 at 6pm (GMT). It is scheduled to run for four hours, and stars the exceptional lyric soprano Renée Fleming as the sorceress who enthralls half a dozen tenors in her island prison. And on May 3, the influential and absurdly knowledgeable guitarist Duck Baker leads a one-off journey through The Roots and Branches of American Music.

Meanwhile, on the South Bank, the redoubtable National Film Theatre continues to fly the flag of cinema, as opposed to mere movies. Seasons for May include a spotlight on South Africa and tributes to director Albert Lewin and to Agnès Varda, godmother of the nouvelle vague.

But the NFT’s most crowd-pleasing tribute is likely to be to Jack Cardiff, who dies last year. If you don’t know his name, you will likely know his work: he was Britain’s greatest cinematographer, and a master of Technicolor. Lushly coloured slices of delirious fancy include Powell/Pressburger’s A Matter of Life and Death and The Red Shoes, and Ava Gardner and James Mason in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. Otherwise, the NFT’s daily changing programme highlights are too numerous to mention: get a full list at www.bfi.org.uk.

Still on the South Bank, the BFI Imax’s gigantic screen provides an immersive cinema experience like no other. It may cost a few quid more, and if you sit too close you’ll get tennis neck from swinging your head back and forth. But for blockbusters – in May it’s screening Iron Man 2 and Prince of Persia – it can’t be beat.

FRINGE BENEFITS by Anna Berrill

Fringe theatre has been storming its way onto the West End stage and the mainstream theatres have been packed.  So, no recession there.  But now the election has been called, arts and cultural leaders have been quick to warn that Britain’s economic strength could be “shattered” if funding for the sector is cut.

In South London, Theatre 503 hit the headlines after American writer Katori Hall was the surprise winner of ‘Best New Play’ at the Olivier Awards for The Mountaintop, putting fringe theatre front-of-stage.  And Madagascar by J. T. Rogers, whose previous productions have been described as “brilliant” by the UK’s longest-standing theatre critic Michael Billington, is hot on its heels.  Neighbour, The Landor, is looking forward to success with Visionary Revolutionaries, combining the story of Madame Tussaud with William Blake, and the return of Martin Sherman’s Bent.

The inventive Faction Theatre Company is also making a comeback, with a new production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Brockley Jack Theatre.  However, fringe theatres are being overlooked despite the lack of new productions opening on the big stage and, according to The Guardian’s Lyn Gardner, it is the critics who are to blame.  ‘They forget that what is happening at the National begins outside of the mainstream,’ she explains, ‘you can only do your job properly if you are seeing some of that work because otherwise you never learn its vocabulary.’

For Samuel West, currently starring in Lucy Prebble’s West End hit Enron, funding is a “no-brainer”.  And Enron, which started with the subsidised theatre company Headlong before transferring to the Noel Coward Theatre in London’s Covent Garden and across the pond to Broadway, proves his point.  If push comes to shove and there are savage cuts, let’s hope that the arts council and big institutions will remember that there can be no Donmar, National or Old Vic without the fringe.

As well as the website, we publish a monthly magazine… see May’s issue for our line-up of star columnists including Toby Young, Martin Bright & James Purnell writing about all things eduction, the arts and community organising. We also cover the best of May’s movies and theatre south of the river. And check out our interviews with Adam Byatt and Rosie Lovell – two of our very own gastro stars, both with book launches and growing fan bases throughout London.

We are all about informing and entertaining and promoting our communities – we hope you like it!

 info@newlondonreview.com

May 1st 2010

The local elections on May 6th are being used by the national Labour party to gauge the public reaction to the much-mooted John Lewis style model of local government. The right of centre Labour-led Lambeth Council decided to announce the mutualisation of local politics just two months ahead of the local elections, gaining a Guardian front-page piece in the process.

This is a key election issue, both on the ground in Lambeth, as well as within wider political discourse. Essentially it allows local people to run local services, taking away the financial burden from Council Tax payers. Critics argue that it also removes the democratic accountability we entrust our politicians with via the ballot box.

Lambeth Labour promised a consultation with residents throughout March. Come April, and there is still no sign within the borough that this has been rolled out. A Freedom of Information request asking what the savings have been to the public purse in a John Lewis style managed housing block, revealed that no savings have been made.

Housing is also a key issue in Lambeth for campaigning local politicians. The revelation that out of the entire count of empty homes in London, one in five is located in Lambeth, has shocked many locals who are stuck on the housing waiting list. The incoming head of Lambeth Living, the ultra-Blairite Keith Hill MP, will be a busy man when he steps into his new role on May 7th.

The housing policy in Lambeth has been masked, however, by the complete meltdown of Leisure. Streatham Leisure Centre was closed because the Council couldn’t afford to pay for essential repairs. A private developer closed Clapham a few months later. The only other pool in the borough, Brixton Rec, introduced a 7-9am only public swimming session, whilst a refurbishment to the changing rooms took place, less than two years after a £2.7m similar project.

But it’s all about events dear boy, events. The Labour group finally managed to seal a deal with Tesco in Streatham after almost a decade of political and corporate dithering. Just weeks ahead of the local elections, Tesco has been give planning permission for a new superstore, in return for re-building the leisure facilities.

Likewise in Clapham, the bulldozers have moved in this month to build a (reduced size) pool plus, of course, the private residential property on council land as the corporate paymaster payback.

Housing, leisure and Petri-dish politics aside, the Labour group in Lambeth have managed to freeze Council Tax for the past two years. This compares to the massive 40% hike by the LibDems when they held power four years ago. Not surprisingly, Lambeth Labour leads heavily with this in its election manifesto. One would imagine that the other twenty-four local authorities who have also frozen Council Tax ahead of May 6th are also keen to talk about this on the doorsteps.

The high-profile twittering @mayoroflambeth has been a genuine success story in the past twelve months. Taking a sabbatical from his Labour party duties in the Clapham Town ward, Councillor Wellbelove has worked wonders in trying to unite the borough. The introduction of a Youth Mayor of Lambeth is also to be applauded. Over 10,000 Lambeth youngsters took part in the democratic process to elect Darren Tenkorang last month.

The challenge for the LibDems in Lambeth is to not only come up with a credible alternative to the John Lewis form of government, but also to actually get their message heard. Cuts in the public sector are the driving force for the Petri dish experiment in Lambeth. Whoever takes control of the borough will need to make massive savings.

It is unclear if the LibDems have any grand plans to manage the ‘financial tsunami’ that has been spoken of, or simply if they are poor at communicating their ideas to the public. The slogan of ‘only the LibDems can beat Labour’ is still rolled out, conveniently overlooking the fact that the LibDems in Lambeth will actually need the support of the Tories to take back power in the borough.

Which brings up nicely to the Lambeth Conservatives. It is very difficult to have any feelings either way to the blue rinse mob in the borough. The Bullingdon toffs of Dave and his Notting Hill set are a far cry from the leafy Lambeth Tory stronghold of Norwood and West Dulwich.

Lambeth Conservatives are equally as nice as they are wet. They are almost universally liked, probably safe in the knowledge that they will never gain any real political power in the borough.

The Greens in Lambeth are defending their current seat held in the Herne Hill ward, as well as targeting Brixton Hill as a possible coup. Toppling council leader Steve Reed in his own backyard would be a significant scalp.

Elsewhere in the borough and The Oval ward looks like being a key battleground. Labour have set their sights on the current three LibDem seats. The policy of putting forward a candidate who lives outside of the ward, not to mention simultaneously having serious Westminster ambitions down in the East Hampshire constituency, is sending out a confused message to locals at The Oval.

Campaigning by all parties is now in full flow. Labour is dominating the agenda, thanks to high profile online activities, using twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Lambeth Labour has posted some incredibly vile and vulgar videos to the latter, leading many sympathetic voters to look elsewhere come Election Day.

Lambeth Life, the council funded newspaper, is seen by many in the borough as simply being the mouthpiece of the ruling Labour Group. The continuation of the council newspaper has also become a major election issue in itself. The Labour group is currently involved in a stand off with the South London Press. This has become highly personal, with the chief SLP reporter for Lambeth having been cautioned by police for the common assault of the Lambeth cabinet member for Community and Safety.

The council has pulled all statutory local authority advertising from the local paper, conveniently placing it in Lambeth Life instead. The justification is that the SLP carries ‘escort ads,’ something that doesn’t sit too well with a local authority that has put in place a prostitution strategy. The end result is a local newspaper hostile to council reporting, and the Chief Reporter now banned from entering Lambeth Town Hall. Democracy and accountability have been lost somewhere inbetween.

The national picture in Lambeth is not nearly as exciting as the local picture. Kate Tally Hoey is a shoe-in for Vauxhall, despite a risible 46% turn out by the electorate back in 2005. Streatham is slightly more interesting. The youthful Chuka Umunna is taking over from Keith Hill as the Labour PPC. With some truly preposterous expectations placed upon Chuka (’A Barack Obama for Britain’), the Streatham boy is up against Chris Nicholson for the LibDems.

The departing Streatham MP, Keith Hill, cowardly used his Parliamentary privilege to make allegations about the funding of Nicholson’s campaign. The LibDem has been transparent in his funding; yet still the local Labour group continue to repeat the allegations.

To his credit, Umunna has not made any political capital out of the issue. He has actually made efforts to distance himself from the right wing members of his own local Labour party. Despite the clean-cut, vibrant youthful image, Umunna is actually a left of centre Labour candidate – something of a rarity in Lambeth.

And so the choice for Lambeth voters on May 6th is to sign up for participation in a Petri dish style of local government under an ultra-right-wing Labour administration, or leave it to chance with the unknown policies of the LibDems.

Tally Hoey will be returned to Westminster via Vauxhall, whilst Streatham voters have the choice of a high profile left wing rising star, or a credible LibDem who is not afraid to fight back.

Battle lines have been drawn, let the voters decide…

Jason Cobb blogs at onionbagblog.com

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