LONDON PARISH BACKS BID TO BECOME 'PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF QUEEN'S PARK'

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: THE GUARDIAN 

THE CREATION OF LONDON'S FIRST PARISH COUNCIL IN 50 YEARS WINS SUPPORT OF 68% OF VOTERS

The Queen's Park parish council campaign was backed by Westminster North Labour MP Karen Buck. Just days after the launch of the campaign to persuade Scots to vote for independence, the residents of a patch of north London have said "yes" to some autonomy of their own. 

Following a referendum campaign which was little noticed outside of the neighbourhood it concerned, the wheels have been set in motion for the creation of London's first parish council in 50 years – or what may yet come to be known with tongue in cheek as the People's Republic of Queen's Park.

While Conservative-controlled Westminster council was quick to claim the result on Monday was a seal of approval for the government's localism agenda, the campaign in the Queen's Park ward in fact drew support from across the political spectrum, including from the constituency's Labour MP, Karen Buck. The result, announced at Marylebone town hall, revealed that 1,100 residents (68%) backed the creation of a governing entity that will be funded by a precept added to Council Tax bills.

Members of a group of locals who waged a two-year campaign for London's first parish council since 1963 – the bodies were abolished to make way for the Greater London Council – say they want the authority to run community events, look after an allotment, produce a newsletter, support vulnerable locals and engage with other service providers including Westminster council. The first councillors will be elected in May 2014 on the same date as other local elections. Most residents in the area, bordered by Kilburn Lane in the north and Harrow Road in the south, live in social housing. There are high levels of unemployment and significant deprivation.

Angela Singhate, who chaired the yes campaign, said: "The group has been confident all along that a community council is the way forward for Queen's Park and this result demonstrates that we have the backing of the wider community." Buck said: "Something very exciting is happening in Queen's Park. I am incredibly proud of the community and of those who have thrown themselves with such enthusiasm into preparing for community self-government. "I am looking forward to working with them for a safer, healthier and happier Queen's Park."

Philippa Roe, the leader of Westminster council, has said the council held the referendum because it saw opportunities created through "greater civic involvement and participation". Her deputy leader, Robert Davis, said the referendum result amounted to "a fitting endorsement of the government's ambitions for localism and neighbourhood engagement".

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