Windrush scandal campaigners slam £6.3m Overground revamp
- Windrush campaigners hit out at London Mayor for ‘gesture’ Overground line
Sadiq Khan‘s £6.3million ‘patronising’ revamp of the London Overground has been slammed by Windrush campaigners who stated they need ‘justice not gestures’ – as descendants of the victims of the scandal nonetheless look forward to compensation many years on.
An Overground line was named Windrush yesterday, together with the Lioness, Mildmay, Weaver, Suffragette and Liberty traces, which the Mayor hailed as ‘good’, saying it can save passengers from ‘nightmare’ journeys.
But campaigners at present criticised the naming of the brand new Windrush line, telling the Labour Mayor: ‘We don’t need gestures, we wish justice for Windrush.’
Natalie Morris, a journalist for The Lead journal, posted on X, previously Twitter, yesterday criticising the identify, writing: ‘A Windrush overground line. A Windrush statue at Waterloo station…
‘How about as a substitute of all of this we first give attention to paying the estimated 15,000 compensation claims of Windrush Scandal victims?
‘At least 53 persons are identified to have died whereas ready for his or her cash.’
Sadiq Khan’s £6.3million ‘patronising’ revamp of the London Overground has been slammed by Windrush campaigners who stated they need ‘justice not gestures’
Sadiq Khan ‘s £6.3million ‘patronising’ revamp of the London Overground has been slammed by Windrush campaigners who stated they need ‘justice not gestures’ – as victims of the scandal nonetheless look forward to compensation many years on
The National Windrush Monument unveiled at Waterloo Station in London, in June 2022
The new Lioness, Mildmay, Windrush, Weaver, Suffragette and Liberty traces on the Overground
London Overground rail traces are being given particular person names and hues in a serious overhaul
The overhaul would require one of many greatest adjustments within the historical past of the capital’s Tube map
She and her journal launched a petition saying there had been ‘sufficient tributes’ and demanding that the victims of the Windrush scandal are compensated by Christmas this yr.
A report warned final yr the victims of the scandal have been dealing with they have been lengthy waits and insufficient ranges of compensation.
The scheme was set as much as recompense members of the Windrush Generation – authorized immigrant staff from the Caribbean who arrived post-World War Two – who had been incorrectly classed as unlawful migrants.
It has come beneath fireplace from these making use of for compensation, with many expressing frustration on the battle to acquire cheap payouts.
The petition from The Lead journal stated: ‘A nationwide Windrush Day, a monument at Waterloo Station, and now an Overground line.
‘These are completely cheap (if overdue) methods to have a good time the Windrush Generation and their immense contribution to shaping the Britain we all know at present.
‘But in opposition to the backdrop of the federal government’s continued inaction Windrush Scandal, they barely really feel like a celebration. In reality, this inaction makes every tribute really feel like an excuse – an insult added to an already grievous damage.
‘Sadiq Khan has lengthy been a constant champion of justice for the Windrush era and their descendants. His tribute to that nice era’s influence on London is honest. But we can’t permit the federal government to cover behind such tributes. We can’t permit it to use public monuments as performative shows – as distractions from what the federal government really must do.
‘We don’t need gestures, we wish justice. And we wish it now.’
An indication for the brand new Windrush line which was unveiled by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan at present
The rebrand was criticised by Holocaust survivor Agnes Grunwald-Spier, who was despatched to a Budapest Ghetto as a child in 1944
The Windrush line between Highbury & Islington and Clapham Junction/New Cross/Crystal Palace/West Croydon (purple): The identify honours the Windrush era, who got here to the UK from the Caribbean to fill labour shortages after the Second World War. The line runs via areas with communities linked to the Caribbean
Sinai Fleary, creator of the Windrush Experience – workshops celebrating Britain’s black communities – additionally commented on the Overground identify, saying: ‘I like the concept of honouring the Windrush Generation with a tube line, statues and so on.
From the Lioness to the Windrush line: What the London Overground’s six new names imply
Here is the total description from TfL in regards to the new Overground line names:
The Lioness line: Euston to Watford Junction
‘The Lioness line, which runs via Wembley, honours the historic achievements and lasting legacy created by the England ladies’s soccer crew that continues to encourage and empower the subsequent era of ladies and women in sport. It will probably be yellow parallel traces on the map.’
The Mildmay line: Stratford to Richmond/Clapham Junction
‘The Mildmay line, which runs via Dalston, honours the small charitable hospital in Shoreditch that has cared for Londoners over a few years, notably its pivotal function within the HIV/AIDS disaster within the Nineteen Eighties, which made it the valued and revered place it’s for the LGBTQ+ group at present. It will probably be blue parallel traces on the map.’
The Windrush line: Highbury & Islington to Clapham Junction/New Cross/Crystal Palace/West Croydon
‘The Windrush line runs via areas with sturdy ties to Caribbean communities at present, corresponding to Dalston Junction, Peckham Rye and West Croydon and honours the Windrush era who proceed to form and enrich London’s cultural and social id at present. It will probably be purple parallel traces on the map.’
The Weaver line: Liverpool Street to Cheshunt/Enfield Town/Chingford
‘The Weaver line runs via Liverpool Street, Spitalfields, Bethnal Green and Hackney – areas of London identified for his or her textile commerce, formed over the centuries by numerous migrant communities and people. It will probably be maroon parallel traces on the map.’
The Suffragette line: Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside
‘The Suffragette line celebrates how the working-class motion within the East End, fought for votes for lady and paved the way in which for girls’s rights. The line runs to Barking, residence of the longest surviving Suffragette Annie Huggett, who died at 103. It will probably be inexperienced parallel traces on the map.’
The Liberty line: Romford to Upminster
‘The Liberty line celebrates the liberty that could be a defining function of London and references the historic independence of the folks of Havering, via which it runs. It will probably be gray parallel traces on the map.’
‘But there is part of me that feels so unhappy that some members of the Windrush era and their affected descendants are STILL ready for his or her compensation after the scandal.’
Mr Khan admitted yesterday that ‘not all people goes to be completely satisfied’ with the brand new names which price £6.3million. The adjustments will probably be paid for out of Mr Khan’s Greater London Authority finances.
The director of the Centre for Policy Studies assume tank stated the rebranding was ‘concurrently twee, patronising and simply bizarre,’ The Telegraph reviews.
And the rebrand was additionally criticised by Holocaust survivor Agnes Grunwald-Spier, who was despatched to a Budapest Ghetto as a child in 1944. She stated it ‘ignored’ the contributions Jews have made to London during the last 350 years.
The founding father of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and member of the Board of Deputies of British Jews for 15 years, wrote: ‘How disappointing, and typical, that within the rebranding of London’s Overground to advertise multiculturalism the contribution of the Jews through the 350+ years since Cromwell welcomed us again, has been utterly ignored.’
And the paper stated that ex-minister Mark Francois branded the change as ‘one more pointless gimmick to make up for floundering his mayoralty’.
A Freedom of Information request revealed yesterday that TfL paid £115,275 to DNCO, ‘an company that we’re utilizing that specialises in artistic group engagement’ for the rebrand.
The agency stated that it ‘explored themes of decolonisation, queer histories, intersectionality and younger London’s views’ to resolve the names of the traces.
TfL stated that DNCO’s experience ‘implies that we will successfully have interaction with communities forward of creating any choices on the names of traces and that the agency’s analysis would ‘inform the shortlisting of the names’.
The majority of this may go in direction of updating buyer data corresponding to redesigning and redisplaying maps throughout all Tube and London Overground stations, and issuing new variations in print and on-line.
Public tackle bulletins will probably be re-recorded and round 6,000 station path indicators will probably be up to date. The rebranding will probably be rolled out over per week within the autumn.
Emma Strain, TfL’s Customer Director, stated yesterday: ‘We wished to make it simpler for purchasers to navigate the London Overground by giving every of the six traces their very own distinct colors and identities for the very first time. Our purpose is to have a good time the capital’s numerous tradition and historical past with these new names and we imagine that, assisted with the analysis undertaken by DNCO who concentrate on place branding and naming, now we have performed simply that.
‘The estimated price is £6.3m, with the overwhelming majority of this getting used to replace buyer data. This contains redesigning and redisplaying new London Overground maps on the 113 Overground stations in London, round 6,000 station wayfinding indicators, in addition to the brand new maps in all Tube stations, up to date printed and on-line maps, digital screens and re-recording PA bulletins. All London Overground trains will function clearer and simpler to grasp line diagrams as soon as the branding is full in autumn this yr.’
