Boris Johnson, Barnet Conservatives and violence against women

Nothing is more revolting than the sight of politicians jumping on bandwagons to garner popularity, when they've had ample opportunity to do something and just couldn't be bothered. Before I give you the latest example of a Barnet Conservative jumping a bandwagon, let me just explain to you why I passionately care about this issue.

One of my dearest friends father died when she was 2 years old. Her mother remarried an extremely violent man. My friend immeresed herself in competetive swimming to try and blot out the carnage being inflicted on her mother at home. She did well and as a teenager was selected to represent Team GB in a tournament in Isreal. She was part of the medley team which set the British record for 4 X 100 meters. A young Sharon Davies was also part of the team. On returning a terrible scene awaited. Her mother had been six months pregnant at the time. My friends sister had arrived home to find the stepfather smashing her mums head on the bath. The police and an ambulance were called and the mum went into premature labour giving birth at six months. No police action was taken against the stepfather, although shortly after he was sent to prison on another (unrelated) charge and the mum divorced him. My friend never set foot in a swimming pool for years after that. I was made acutely aware of how the police didn't want to get involved in "domestics". This was just one of many incident that happened over many years. The police were fully aware, but didn't want to know.

Thankfully this was in the early 1980's and things have improved to a degree (but not nearly enough). You are still more likely to get arrested for beating your dog than your wife. There is a campaign to end this violence called the White Ribbon campaign. The opposition parties in Barnet submitted a resolution urging the council to support this campaign. Barnet Councils ruling Conservatives voted this down. I thought that this was disgusting. Now, to add insult to injury, the Hendon Conservatives had posted a story to say that ending violence against women is a priority.

The Hendon Conservatives story contains the following quote (including spelling mistake) :-

To stop this violence, political representatives have a responsibility to take real action and not just take the easy route of publically signing up to campaigns.

 The particular Conservative who made this quote held the Barnet Cabinet brief for Public Safety. In other words, until very recently he was in a position to do something. Did he? What do you think? In the Hendon Conservatives website story, our esteemed former chief of Public Safety is pictured visiting a "rape and sexual abuse support centre". Most laudable you might think? Well he had to go to the other end of London, to Croydon to visit one. If he went any further south, he'd not be in London at all. There is another revealing quote in the piece.

I am actively working to ensure that the pledge by Boris Johnson to open three new rape crisis centres in London happens to ensure that adequate provision exists for the women of Hendon

So there is the saddest fact of the lot. Boris Johnson, the Conservative Mayor, promised three new rape crisis centres. nearly two years into his Mayoralty, his own Conservative backers are having to pressure him into fulfilling his campaign pledges. But it's worse than that isn't it. In the words of the man responsible for Public safety in Barnet, THERE IS NOT ADEQUATE PROVISION OF SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF RAPE AND SEXUAL ABUSE IN BARNET. This is after nearly eight years of a Conservative administration. The whole thing makes me feel physically sick. It is clear that Boris Johnson, Lynne Hillan and all of the rest of the Conservatives have failed us.