Green Irishman stands in Brent

Gary Kent talks to the Green Party candidate and Limerick man Noel Lynch in today’s by election in Brent East, that also sees Kelly McBride from North Belfast standing to highlight the case of her brother’s killers being allowed back into the British Army. See also Peter Kelly’s interview with Belfast Mayor Martin Morgan.

By Gary Kent

Irish issues are prominent in this week’s by-election in Brent East. Seven per cent of the voters are Irish and the constituency contains “County Kilburn” – the “Irish Triangle” of Kilburn, Cricklewood and Willesden.

This could benefit the only Irish-born mainstream candidate, Noel Lynch who represents the Green Party in the London Assembly. Lynch wants a two-way traffic of ideas and policies between Ireland and Britain.

The softly spoken Limerick man wants to import key policies from his native land. He jokingly concedes that this is a sort of reverse “Irish Imperialism.” Lynch waxes lyrical over the environmental success of Ireland’s new tax on plastic bags.

“In Ireland we got rid of plastic bags almost overnight by simply putting a 10p tax on them. 90% of plastic bags went within weeks. The good old string bag has returned.” Lynch wants Britain to follow Ireland’s example.

“80 million plastic bags are used every week here. A couple of week’s worth would cover London. Most are imported so taxing them would also help the balance of payments. I wouldn’t want to be seen to be helping the big supermarkets but it would also save them money too.”

“It’s a typical Green idea. It doesn’t cost much money. It saves the country quite a lot of money and helps the environment.”

But he is not as keen on importing Dublin’s proposed ban on smoking in bars and restaurants. “To be honest, I’m not as strong on the issue as the Green Party as a whole. I feel that non-smokers like myself shouldn’t have to inhale other people’s pollution but drivers push out far more and far more dangerous pollution into our faces than a few cigarettes.”

Lynch also believes that Ireland treats its elderly citizens in a kinder and gentler way. “The treatment of the elderly in Britain is a disgrace compared to what they get in Ireland. They’re much better looked after. There’s free travel, phone rentals, coal and banking.”

And he thinks that the widespread use of credit unions in Ireland should be imitated here. But he also wants Ireland to benefit from the experience of Irish emigrants in Britain and more widely. He is using the Brent by-election to persuade the Irish Government to give a voice to Irish emigrants in the Dublin parliament.

“I’ve campaigned for emigrant rights since the 1960s, when money from emigrants practically kept the country going. But emigrants are out of sight and therefore out of mind. They tend to be more radical and would bring fresh views to Irish politics. Some representation would symbolise to emigrants abroad that they’re not totally forgotten about.”

And the problems of the Irish community here aren’t forgotten about either.
Lynch highlights the case of the Irishman who was refused treatment by Westminster Council and told to go home to Ireland.

Lynch is organising a conference on the issue with the London Mayor Ken Livingstone’s adviser on ethnic issues. He recognises that parts of Brent East are fairly affluent but is particularly concerned about the plight of the underclass, not least “the middle aged to elderly single Irishman who is often invisible to society and in very inferior accommodation.”

Northern Ireland issues also feature in the contest. The sister of Peter McBride, the Belfast teenager shot by British soldiers is standing to highlight the campaign for his killers being discharged from the British Army.

Lynch sympathises with the campaigners. “It’s a scandalous miscarriage of justice and illustrative of the Government and the British Army’s whole attitude towards law and order in the North of Ireland.”

Lynch also argues that the suspended elections to the Assembly should go ahead. He criticises moves to allow people in the North to join the Labour Party.
“I agree with Kevin McNamara that this could happen without proper thought being given to it. An ordinary English person wouldn’t see the problem but an Irish person would immediately see it as a form of imperialism. Symbols are very important in Northern Ireland.”

Brent East has the second highest non-white population in the country and Lynch argues that the Northern Ireland experience is relevant to Muslims in Brent.

“The present war on terrorism is criminalizing a whole community just like the Irish community in the 70s and 80s through the Prevention of Terrorism Act. If you were Irish you just kept your head down and moderate Muslims feel threatened in much the same way now.”

Lynch will also fly the Green flag for a variety of concerns. He vigorously opposes the “mass medication” of enforced fluoridation, wants more allotments and school playing fields and backs small pubs and local shops against the big supermarkets.

Mick Fealty

Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty