What should I prune?

What time of year should I prune?

What should I avoid when pruning?

How can I tell if a plant needs pruning?

Festus Akinbusoye is former Police and Crime Commissioner, and local election candidate for Abbey Road Ward on Westminster Council.

We are talking about our cities in the wrong way — and it is beginning to show.

In policy papers, committee rooms and television studios, London is usually described as an engine of economic growth, a hub of innovation or a centre of global finance. All of this is true. But it is not the whole truth; and when we mistake the part for the whole, we end up shaping a city that serves the Treasury’s balance sheet, but not the lives of the people who call it home.

Long before we fix our housing crisis, restore public safety or build a transport system fit for modern life, we need to step back and ask a more fundamental question: what is a city actually for?

Aristotle once argued that the purpose of the ‘polis’, the ancient Greek city-state which served as the centre of political, social, and civic activity, was not merely to enable life; but to enable the good life.

Too often, policymakers treat London as something to be managed rather than somewhere to be lived in. We optimise for output, movement, and efficiency, but neglect belonging, stability, and the simple human need for somewhere to call home.

A successful city cannot just be a hub of economic activity. It is where people begin their lives, form relationships, raise families and try to build something lasting. It is, first and foremost, home.

That may sound obvious. But our policies increasingly suggest otherwise.

At 23, I found myself leaving London not because I wanted to, but because I had to. I had grown up in the East End. My family was there. My friends were there. I had even started a business there with help from the Prince’s Trust. Yet I could not afford to live anywhere near the community that had shaped me. Like so many others, I was pushed out.

I will never forget my first week away, sleeping on the floor of a YMCA in Milton Keynes, more than 70 miles from my family home in Canning Town.

That experience, sadly, is no longer unusual. If anything, it has become more common and more severe. For many, London is now a place to pass through rather than somewhere to put down roots.

And when a city becomes transient, something deeper is lost. It is not just about the cost of rent. It is about the quiet erosion of community. The neighbour who knows your name. The familiar face at the corner shop. The sense that you belong somewhere and are known there. These things rarely feature in policy debates, yet they are what make a place feel settled, human, and worth investing in.

This is not simply a housing problem. It is a failure to be clear about what a city is.

A city must work, first and foremost, as a home.

This becomes even clearer when we consider public safety. It has become an accepted refrain in some quarters that if you want a quieter, safer life, you should simply move out of the city. To me, that is not a serious answer. It is a failure of ambition.

There is no reason why raising a family in London should be seen as inherently less safe than doing so in a rural village. Safety should not be a luxury. It is a basic condition for strong communities, a functioning economy and a place that feels like home. If we accept lower standards of safety in our cities, we are not simply tolerating crime. We are redefining what urban life is allowed to be – and that is a policy choice.

The same applies to the design of our neighbourhoods. Access to much more green space, the availability of well-planned and genuinely affordable family homes, and the sense that even a large metropolis can have continuity, character, and care — these are not secondary concerns to be balanced against growth. They are the very things that determine whether people stay.

We are at risk of creating a city that people pass through, but do not truly feel part of or rooted in – with serious implications such as schools closing due to plummeting pupil numbers to streets of strangers as standard because of a high transient population.

So, if we are serious about the future of the capital, we need to return to first principles. A city exists to provide the conditions in which ordinary people can live well. That means being able to afford a home, feeling safe on your street, and raising children in an environment that supports family life.

Until we are clear about this and articulate it more confidently, we will continue to produce policies that treat cities as systems, not as places. The question is not whether London should be a global city. It already is, and a great one too.

The question is whether it can also remain something more grounded: a place where people can build a life and stay.

In my next article, I will explore what happens when we lose sight of this purpose — and how it has shaped the housing, crime, and transport challenges we now face.

What’s positive parenting?

What happened when I tried it

FIFA’s handling of the complaint submitted by the Palestinian Football Association against the Israeli Football Association (IFA) raises serious concerns. Specifically, these concerns focus on its objectivity and its commitment to root out racism in football.

Turning a blind eye to Israeli racism

Despite the gravity of the allegations—discrimination, racist fan behaviour, and Israeli clubs competing in illegal West Bank settlements—the penalties imposed are shockingly light.

On the contentious issue of Israeli clubs operating in illegal settlements, FIFA chose not to take action, citing the “complex and undecided” legal status of the West Bank under international law. This leaves a long-standing issue unresolved, despite years of ongoing discussions within FIFA.

FIFA: Strong words, weak actions

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee was more direct, finding that the IFA had “systematically” violated anti-discrimination and fair play rules. They specifically noted the IFA’s failure to address racism within certain fanbases. Most notably, Beitar Jerusalem FC racist tirades and misbehaviour was highlighted.

Notably, the committee described the IFA’s response as “weak and insufficient.” As a result, such behaviour has been allowed to persist unchecked, and is likely to continue—fine or no fine.

The IFA was issued an official warning, fined a paltry 150,000 Swiss francs, and ordered to implement an anti-discrimination program, including awareness campaigns and behaviour monitoring. However, beyond this “wrist slap,” no serious measures have been taken, despite the severity and ongoing nature of its offences.

FIFA’s double standards

Despite acknowledging the issue, FIFA has chosen not to suspend the team. This has left many fans and teams questioning the federation’s commitment to addressing these violations.

This is especially jarring when compared to FIFA’s swift action against Russia. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the country’s national team and clubs were banned from all international competitions without delay.

The stark contrast raises troubling questions. While Russia faced immediate, severe sanctions, FIFA’s response to Israel was symbolic at best. This is despite the ongoing discrimination against Palestinians and violations of international football rules.

This disparity highlights FIFA’s reluctance to hold Israel to the same standards as other nations when it comes to racial and political issues.

Featured image courtesy of the Palestinian Football Association

Politicians across the 32 counties—the six counties of north Ireland plus the remaining counties of the Republic of Ireland—have called on governments North and South to follow the decision to ban greyhound racing by Scotland and Wales last week.

Belfast City councillor Anthony Flynn, representing the Green Party, denounced what he described as:

an unregulated industry operating without transparency or accountability.

He continued:

There is no dedicated legislation governing greyhound racing here. There is no official data on injuries or deaths and no proper oversight from DAERA [Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs]. We know from other jurisdictions that greyhounds are injured and killed on tracks every year. There is no reason to believe Northern Ireland is any different.

Unlike the Six Counties, Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI) in the South does keep track of its own brutality, at least partially. The campaign group Ban Blood Sports cites GRI’s figures in which they record that:

…since 2014, at least 4,040 greyhounds suffered injuries and 1,593 were killed.

Track deaths and injuries are commonplace, with greyhounds suffering horrific wounds through falls and collisions during races. Many are euthanised after sustaining these wounds. Moreover, Ban Blood Sports highlights that:

The Greyhound Racing Ireland figures are based on “reported” injuries and deaths, suggesting that the actual number could be even higher. They do not include the greyhounds injured at tracks and later killed elsewhere, or the thousands of greyhounds who are killed every year because they are not fast enough to win races.

A 2019 RTE documentary—Greyhounds Running for Their Lives—revealed the scale of mass murder conducted by the industry. It is likely thousands of greyhounds are slaughtered every year due to being judged insufficiently competitive. All this for so-called ‘sport’, and to boost another shameful industry, the gambling sector.

The government in Dublin has ploughed a staggering €386,806,146 in public money since 2021 into the murderous greyhound racing business. The figure for 2026 is €19.82 million. People Before Profit TD Ruth Coppinger pointed out that only €6 million had been set aside for animal welfare charities.

She said:

Racing at speed on oval tracks is dangerous for dogs in extreme weather. They have poor diet, very little enrichment in their lives and very little traceability.

It is not widely supported in our society any more because people have seen the dangers of having a racing industry that is just propped up by the State and is cruel for the animals involved.

She also cited Ireland’s status as “a complete and utter outlier” in a world where the cruel practice is only legal and active in a few countries. Unsurprisingly, it is the Anglophone world showing its customary barbarism, with England, Ireland, Australia and the United States being the outliers in question.

Ireland should be especially ashamed in joining these colonial nations in the torture of animals for entertainment. It does, however, have form in this regard, still allowing similarly cruel sports like fox hunting and hare coursing.

Seemingly content to maintain that disgraceful status, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said:

I do not intend to ban greyhound racing here.

He lamented what he called Coppinger’s:

…dreadful slight on the thousands of people who work in our greyhound racing industry and who love the dogs and care for them greatly.

That’s lovely to hear, but the verifiable facts of mass greyhound murder matter a great deal more than Heydon’s unverifiable psychic insights into the thoughts of workers in a horribly cruel and exploitative industry.

Similarly in the North, the lobby group Greyhound Racing Constituents NI seems upbeat about avoiding a ban. They boasted about their ability to slither into the corridors of power to get their way, saying:

We have been laying the ground work with decision-makers at Stormont over the last year regarding this issue.

If you want to make a small contribution to undermining this smugness and potential corruption, the Green Party has a petition calling for a racing ban.

Further such efforts will be required to match the achievements of Scotland and Wales. Scottish MSPs voted in favour a ban on March 18, bringing in the Prohibition of Greyhound Racing (Scotland) Bill that:

…makes it an offence to allow a greyhound to compete on an oval racetrack in Scotland, with a maximum prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to £20,000.

In Wales the previous day, Senedd members also brought in a ban. However, Llyr Gruffydd of Plaid Cymru criticised the legislation for not being comprehensive enough, saying it:

…doesn’t stop the breeding of greyhounds in Wales for racing. It doesn’t stop the training of greyhounds in Wales. For racing, dogs can still be kept in Wales, raced in England.

Despite this, the ban is still facing a legal challenge from the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, which seem intent on keeping Britain generations behind the times in maintaining cruel practices that treat sentient creatures as mere objects for human entertainment.

Featured image via Rásaíocht Con Eireann

At around 1:45am, the London Fire Brigade contacted the Met Police with news of the arson. The Met issued a statement three hours later, confirming that they’re treating the attack as an antisemitic hate crime.

Although the attack has not yet been declared a terror incident, counter-terror police are leading the investigation. At the time of writing, no arrests have been made.

CCTV footage shows three black-clad figures approaching one of the ambulances, which catches fire within seconds. Shortly thereafter, the suspects are seen fleeing the scene. Another video shows a sizeable explosion centered on an ambulance.

About Hatzola

Hatzola describes itself as: 

a non-profit, volunteer organisation established in 1979 to provide pre-hospital emergency medical response and transportation at no cost, to the North London community.

Hatzola responds to thousands of emergencies every year, from minor injuries to life-threatening conditions. our average response time to life-threatening emergencies is usually within minutes – because we cherish the value of life, and know that those vital minutes can spell the difference between life and death.

Volunteers are trained by medical professionals, and the charity works collaboratively alongside London hospitals and national emergency services. It provides both emergency first response and hospital transfers, among other services.

‘Hatzola’ is the Hebrew word for ‘rescue’. Similar organisations around the world use the name, although the degrees of direct affiliation between the chapters vary.  Although the charity itself is Jewish, it offers aid without regard to “race, religion, ethnicity, or ability to pay.”

An appeal to help Hatzola rebuild their fleet of ambulances has already raised over £38,000.

‘No one should feel that we’re not there for them’

Yossi Pincus, a volunteer senior paramedic for North West London Hatzola, stated that antisemitism is an “intrinsic problem nationwide”. He  added that:

We are currently running business as usual. We’re still responding and we’re still available for those that need us and no one should feel that we’re not there for them in any different way that we would normally be.

Pincus added that he was grateful to the UK government for its offer to loan four replacement ambulances until the charity can replace its vehicles.

In an address to the House of Commons, home secretary Shabana Mahmood stated that:

This incident comes at a time of soaring antisemitism in our country and today my message to our Jewish community is clear: we stand with you, we will do everything in our power to protect you and we will fight relentlessly to rid our society of antisemitism.

Green party leader Zack Polanski took to social media to offer his solidarity:

Horrified by the antisemitic attack in our city.

Antisemitism is vile and has no place here. Solidarity with the Jewish community in Golders Green — and with our communities across the country who will be feeling this today.

Likewise, Matthew Taylor, interim chief executive of the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, said:

This appalling attack on Jewish charity ambulances in Golders Green is profoundly disturbing and will no doubt cause enormous distress to Jewish NHS staff and patients.

This incident comes at a time when the NHS workforce is already facing an unacceptable rise in violence, aggression and abuse. While the motives behind these will be varied, the latest NHS Staff Survey reveals that almost one in seven NHS staff experienced physical attacks from patients or the public last year, the highest rate in three years. These findings paint a stark and troubling picture of the pressures and dangers staff encounter while simply trying to care for the public.

No member of staff should fear for their safety at work, and no community should be subjected to what appears to be hate‑motivated attacks on their essential services.

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Featured image via the Canary

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