'Much of this legislation is a predator in our midst'

Contractors Lendlease are already preparing to rebuild Euston station now that HS2 have demolished the area. Maybe they can do some good for our open spaces and trees, though they have some scary questions about a concourse replacing Euston Square Gardens. Of course, meanwhile, HS2 continue to cut down our Adelaide Road trees and the leaseholders are trapped on the Regent's Park Estate in Cartmel and Langdale.

But we have a predator in our midst, and I don’t mean High Speed 2 or Covid-19. They are being used as catspaws to undermine our civil liberties and the survival of our species on this planet.

Dorothea Hackman continues to fight against the Edmonton incinerator. (Image: Archant)

While we can prepare for protests at COP26, the international climate summit in Glasgow in November, legislation is going through parliament that will change everything: privatising the NHS, preventing us from protesting, making asylum illegal for refugees, and making it difficult to vote.

Yet the one piece of legislation we desperately need, the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, has yet to gain unanimous support.

How will local authorities afford to retrofit the heating on our estates if they are not granted the money from central government for heat pumps and insulation, and training?

Further fossil fuel investment, building incinerators, infrastructure projects like HS2, building demolition, tree felling - all this and more has to stop if we are to halt carbon emissions and global warming.

Floods and fires and those who can fleeing as refugees from hunger and thirst will only increase, so we must keep our government honest to their climate target undertakings.

Meanwhile, there is a lower rate of Covid vaccination in Camden, like the rest of inner London, so we need to stop thousands crossing our borders untested daily eg at Heathrow.

People could consider being more afraid of the disease than the vaccine. It is no surprise that the old folk who remember the horror of all the deaths in childhood before vaccines were available are keenest to be vaccinated. Shouldn’t we be asking our teenagers if they want to be offered this vaccine? The 16-18 year olds could be protected this summer. Or as the extinction academics say: “Good luck herd.”

Exactly whose bodies will they be stacking up - is there societal engineering here, on a par with underfunding the general tier of education? And leaving it to foodbanks and footballers to feed the millions of destitute and impoverished people, soon to have universal credit reduced again.

So something cheerful - protest with the North London Drummers who practice Mondays 6-8 at St Pancras church on Euston Road, Samba band leads NHS protest - twitter.com/antiracismday/status/1411289212880556035?s=21

Dorothea Hackman is head of Camden Civic Society.