Transforming Our Futures

In this Podcast we talk to Alyson McGregor of Altogether Better.

Altogether Better works with people in health and social care across the UK and beyond to develop Collaborative Practice, a new way of organising that makes life better for everybody.

Altogether Better is an NHS national network organisation, supporting health and care services across the UK to introduce their model of Collaborative Practice. Their network approach is used in over 130 GP practices and has also been tested in other health and care settings, including acute hospital trusts, mental health, young people’s services and care homes.

Collaborative Practice invites local people to gift their time to a local GP practice or health service, working alongside people who deliver health services in a new, collaborative relationship. As a result, the practice and how it works changes.

In this Podcast we talk to Ade Adeshina from the O”-Bay Community Trust

The last two weeks have been traumatic experiences for many as the death of George Floyd has made many of us rethink our attitudes to discrimination. . Here we talk to Ade Adeshina about how it has affected him and his community here in Enfield. Has the protests and demonstrations given hope or yet more despair?

We will also talk about how he views the performance of the London Borough of Enfield in creating an inclusive community. Ade feels that Enfield has much work to do to become inclusive to the Black and African and Caribbean Community.

O”-Bay Community Trust is a voluntary organisation with

In this Podcast we discuss with Elaine Graham Leigh a Marxist view on the climate crisis

From the youth climate strikes to the Green New Deal, climate change has moved up the political agenda. Elaine Graham Leigh a local author has just published a book on “Marx And The Climate Crisis.”

For many that may sound a strange title to relate a 19th century writer of the industrial era to a post industrial world we live in but Elaine says,

“Marx’s analysis of capitalism provides the basis for understanding how the system’s destructiveness is driving the climate crisis. Elaine Graham-Leigh shows how Marx’s ideas explain the climate breakdown and how we can create a society that protects both people and planet. This is a manifesto for system change as well as an account of why humanity faces its greatest crisis.” 

Well is this webinar we discuss this with her and find her reasons behind the argument of her book

In this Podcast we talk to Feryal Clark MP about how the pandemic of Covid 19 has affected her work both as a case worker for her constituents and as a scrutiniser of Government.

Over time the role of an MP has changed . The traditional role of an MP is to represent their constituents in the House of Commons and hold the government to account – participating in debates, asking questions, and voting on legislation. If we look back to even a couple of decades ago, MPs were not expected to engage much with their constituents. Many felt they didn’t have to answer letters, hold surgeries, or assist with complex issues – they just had to turn up at the Commons when it was sitting, make sure they kept their whips happy, and return to their constituencies when there was an election.

Nowadays, the role of an MP has expanded dramatically. Every MP is now expected to do casework – answering queries from constituents and helping to fix their problems. Not doing so is not only viewed as electorally damaging – people are less likely to vote for an MP who doesn’t help them – but also as undermining the ethos of public service that forms the basis of the job. Those who run to become an MP know that they are expected to help people as well as perform their democratic duties, and a great many of those who are elected have a true commitment to doing so.

In this period of the corona pandemic the role of the MP has changed yet again with problems arising that they rarely faced before and having to respond to these problems from home. At the same time they have not been in the House of Commons to hold the Government to account and their traditional role initially began to slip considerably.

How has this changed the role of the MP and will some of these changes have lasting effects?

In this Podcast we talk to Charlotte Gath about public health and whether the Covid 19 epidemic has highlighted a deeper crisis in public health in the UK

Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. This work is achieved by promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease and injury prevention, and detecting, preventing and responding to infectious diseases.

Overall, public health is concerned with protecting the health of entire populations. These populations can be as small as a local neighbourhood, or as big as an entire country or region of the world.

Coronavirus is the biggest public health crisis in a generation, but it is also highlighting the crisis in our working culture, our social care system and the NHS.

Charlotte Gath worked as a GP in Rugby for nearly ten years, as a tutor at Warwick Medical School and latterly as a Consultant in Public Health for Warwickshire County Council for four years.

In this Podcast we interview Samara Croci who is a Brand and Communication Manager for Aquafil USA. Aquafil is a company that has placed the circular economy and sustainability at the heart of the company’s mission which is to save resources, give new life to otherwise lost materials and increase efficiency along the value chain.

Samara has 15 years of experience in communications for advertising, media production, social media, and branding.

In this webinar Samara will discuss the fascinating challenge - communicating the environmental problems we face today. It is an excellent school for a communications professional as it deals with something that you cannot always see, that is technical and complicated, and that we tend to avoid.

How can a company respect the environment go green and communicate its values to both its customers and to other businesses as well.

Samara is particularly interested in digital resources, and meaningful social media communication as well as video story telling to get her message about sustainability across.

This will be streamed live on Facebook where you can ask questions and make comments

This Podcast is the next episode in the Conversations Across Borders” series. It is about the journey of Ragnhild Larsson a journalist who made the journey to become a climate change activist

This was a knowledge journey through the different aspect of this issue - a journey in the forefront of the climate change movement. A personal transformation, from a journalist to an activist.

In September 2015 Ragnhild Larsson . a Swedish journalist, based in Gothenburg started the podcast "The klimatpodden" about climate change. In her statement she told us

"I am worried and upset. The climate crisis changes everything. Why is this not the top priority in the media? How come our politicians don't address the climate crises we are in in a proper way." In Klimatpodden, the Swedish podcast about climate change you will meet researchers activists and entrepreneurs who act to handle the climate crises we are in the midst of."

This will be streamed live on Facebook where you can add your questions and comments

In this Podcast we explore what it means to be a writer and to guide others, particularly students, to a love of reading and creativity. Allan believes everyone has a novel in them. Allan is also passionate about climate change, the beauty of the world and nurturing the planet.

A key figure in Extinction Rebellion, Allan is no stranger to literally standing up for what he believes in, blowing the whistle, having brought the Enfield Full Council Meeting to a halt in January 2020 Scribblings on a packed tube train, nestled in between pinstriped suits and sharp elbows, Allan Boroughs had a dream of swapping sweaty commutes for writing full time, visiting schools as an author to inspire young people, spending more time with family and living part of the time in the countryside.

The stars aligned for Allan Boroughs in 2014 when his debut novel “Ironheart” was published by Panmacmillan, swiftly followed by his second novel in 2016.

Fast forward to 2020 and Allan is about to embark on an exciting literary adventure. On 1st June 2920, he will release the first of a series of 6 adventure books.

In this Podcast we discuss with Cllr Derek Levy ( a former Labour Party member) if the scrutiny and overview of Enfield Council is working properly and whether it is independent and robust.

Derek is in a strong position to discuss this as he is a previous chair of the Overview and Scrutiny committee. In 2018 the Leader of Enfield Council Nesil Caliskan was found to have breached the Council code of conduct after suggesting that Cllr Levy. should meet with her regularly to ensure he was “more closely aligned to key decisions” on Labour Group priorities.

The overview and scrutiny committee’s role is to hold the council’s decision-makers to account. It is supposed to remain independent of the cabinet and it was felt that this was an attempt to compromise that independence

Derek will discuss with us whether that situation has improved or whether Enfield Council is lacking in the proper scrutiny of its affairs - a scrutiny especially needed in times of crisis.

When we see nationally that Select Committees and Prime Minister’s Questions can be held online digitally then we need to ask what is happening in Enfield and to our local democracy

In this Podcast we discuss if there is a deficit of democracy on Enfield Council.

Democratic discussion, scrutiny and accountability of Government both national and local, are important at all times and especially at times of crisis. During the War, Winston Churchill always respected the House of Commons and made himself available for criticism through the darkest hours.

But there are some who believe that this is not happening in Enfield. The Leader of the Council is not following the Churchillian model of holding herself to account. The Cabinet has not met and no attempt has been made to have online digital sessions where accountability can take place - and at a time when there have been questions that need answering.

This is a feeling held by a large section of the Labour Party, the Greens, the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. So we have invited representatives of those Parties to discuss this on a Webinar and Joanne Laban for the Conservatives, Rob Wilson for the Lib Dems and David Flint of the Greens have all accepted. We have also written to the Labour Group but have had no answer..

The digital world offers great opportunities to engage and answer questions in depth and we thank all those who have agreed to engage this way and hope the Council Leadership will follow suit.