📰 Camden New Journal: New Tory contender backs PM’s review of London’s road closures

Conservatives pick candidate for Barnet and Camden constituency at next year's London Assembly elections.

THE new Conservative candidate who has set her sights on City Hall says she backs Rishi Sunak’s call for a review of the raft of traffic measures introduced over the last three years.

Julie Redmond has been selected as the Tory contender for the twin-borough Barnet and Camden constituency at next year’s London elections – a polls battle where candidates will have to make clear where they stand on road closures and pollution.

She said: “I think managing traffic in some residential areas, around schools and shops, is a no brainer. It saves lives. However, many LTNs [Low Traffic Neighbourhoods] are popping up in areas that make no sense.

“In the wrong place, I think they can increase safety concerns and congestion and pollution, and divert traffic through other residential areas not designed to handle high volumes. I am finding LTNs on dual carriageways rather than in quiet residential streets.”

Her party once held the Barnet and Camden constituency with Brian Coleman, but Labour has now won three times in a row and Anne Clarke currently holds the seat at City Hall.

The debate over Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ [Ultra Low Emissions Zone] expansion – notably opposed by Camden’s regeneration chief Labour councillor Danny Beales – has possibly set the tone for the months of campaigning ahead, after dominating the response to the Conservative victory in the recent Uxbridge and South Ruislip parliamentary by-election.

Mr Khan has held firm over the pollution policy which sees drivers using high-polluting cars facing a daily charge.  There have been demands to halt it from the Tories and calls for the Mayor to reflect on the scheme by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. A legal case against the expansion was lost in the courts last week.

Ms Redmond said: “ULEZ is a tricky one. I have a young son, I have asthma, I am as concerned as anyone about the linkage between pollution and health. “I support a cleaner, greener environment. However, change needs to be managed. London is in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and that is also having a huge impact on normal peoples’ lives and health. We need to get London working again and people back on their feet.

“Adding the burden of this additional cost on normal people is just not fair right now.”

One of the criticisms of the City Hall set-up is that the mayor holds an almost presidential power and often people are not aware who their local London Assembly member is – regardless of which party they are from or which area of London they live in. Asked why the role, in such circumstances, attracted her,

Ms Redmond said: “I didn’t know what an Assembly member did or who mine was until I started in politics. When I got to know the team, I realised where I could fit in, it seemed like a perfect role.

“Firstly, I love London: The good, the bad and the ugly. I want to hold the mayor to account as he is responsible for a huge budget and I feel the people need now more than ever someone who understands communities and what people really care about but also influence change and find things that can make a real difference to people living in Barnet and Camden.”

‘We need approach to tackling drug problem’

JULIE Redmond said a drug crisis needs tackling with a new approach as she began her quest for a seat on the London Assembly.

“This is a major problem across all of London. Twenty years ago, you could walk through Camden market and smell weed being smoked but people turned a blind eye as everyone was getting along and happy,” she said this week.

“Now harder drugs are everywhere, serious crime is increasing and people are scared. When I visited a block of flats in Camden recently, I spoke to one of the residents who told me every day at a certain time a long line of drug users line up outside the entrance of their block waiting for the dealers.”

The candidate for Barnet and Camden said police, nurses, drug teams and mental health teams had a huge task.

“These are really complex issues where crime, homelessness, addiction and mental health problems combine,” Ms Redmomd said. “We need to be doing more to tackle the root causes. We need more treatment walk in centres and hubs, more nurses and pharmacists trained to identify problems early, more homes for people and more support in communities. In the meantime, we need a more visible police presence.

“We need better co-production and care planning and looking at Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole we can learn a lot! We need a more modern and sophisticated approach.”

Friday, 4th August 2023 — By Richard Osley

Read article directly: https://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/new-tory-contender-backs-pms…