New Speaker of Hackney
Love thy Neighbour
Community spirit is what it’s all about for Cllr Ian Rathbone, the new Speaker of Hackney.
During his year in office, he will be working to encourage more residents to get involved in schemes that benefit their local area.
Cllr Rathbone said: “We need to find out who our neighbours are in a society which is heading down the road of individualism and isolation in front of a TV or computer screen, mistaking information exchange for real relationships.
“We need to find, nurture and highlight more of those people who show a lead in the community, role models for others to follow, including as many people as possible in the political process, helping to emphasise participation, and tackle the alienation which some people feel about the way things happen in society.”
Cllr Rathbone was born in Hackney, and has been a Leabridge ward councillor since winning a by-election in 2002. He helped found the Council’s Street Leaders scheme during the 1990s, which encourages local residents to report nuisances such as flytipping, and has recently coordinated efforts to make Hackney a Fairtrade borough.
The new Speaker – and Deputy Speaker, Cllr Muttalip Unluer – were elected to their posts during the Council’s Annual General Meeting, held on 14 May. In his acceptance speech, he praised the efforts of young people in De Beauvoir, who refurbished the clubhouse of Benyon Court-based The Crib, a social inclusion project for young people aged between nine and 25.
Over the coming year in office, the Speaker will be working closely with Hackney Voluntary Action, an organisation that helps residents to find out more about volunteering opportunities. Cllr Rathbone said: “There are some wonderful people you meet as a volunteer, people very committed to improving life for others, and often unrecognised.”
He added that he was looking forward to visiting more of the borough’s schools, continuing from his stint during the past 12 months as Deputy Speaker, and emphasised the importance of explaining to young people how democracy, choice and participation work.
Part of the Speaker’s role is also to raise money for local charities and this year Cllr Rathbone has chosen: Laburnum Boat Club, which provides activities for children, young people and their families on the Regents Canal and beyond; the Hackney Society, which involves and supports local people in the conservation of the borough’s built environment; and Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities, a group which gives parenting skills classes.
More information
To make a donation to the Speaker’s charities, or if you want him to attend an event, call: 020 8356 3350; email: speaker@hackney.gov.uk; or write to:
The Speaker
c/o the Speaker’s Office
Room 118b, Town Hall
Mare Street, E8 1EA
Page updated: 30 May 2008