Andrew Dismore

I again pressed Mayor Boris Johnson on the need for  action over the panned far right Golders Green demonstration.

I asked the Mayor to ensure that the rally would not be held on the tube station, its forecourt  or the bus park and station outside, which are TfL land; and asked the Mayor  to urge the police to impose conditions on the extremist rally, to ensure serious disorder and disruption  to the local  community are prevented.

I also asked the Mayor if he would support the local community in their counter protest, which includes temporarily blanketing the area in gold and green material to show their mutual solidarity. Will you allow this in principle on TfL road furniture  and installations  near Golders Green tube and bus station.

The Mayor’s response was somewhat underwhelming. He has expressed fine words of condemnation of the extremists  and it appears that he will not allow TfL land to be used for the far right rally, both of which are welcome.

However, he seems to see an equivalence between the far right and the local community, in that he indicated that we would not be permitted to put green and gold ribbons on TfL street furniture as part of the community response, which is very disappointing. I am  not optimistic as I await TfL’s formal response to this request. The  Mayor was also not prepared to say that he would urge the police to take the action they can, to impose conditions on the rally.