Improvements to the presentation of Illustrations

I am pleased to have discovered an improved way of displaying illustrations.  No longer will the user have to click and open the image of interest: instead the illustration, photo or scan will be displayed in situ.

This will make images much more accessible to the general user; an added benefit is a visual improvement to these pages.  The process of updating will take some time and will be spread over several weeks.

Improvements to 1894-1933 Section

I have decided to take advantage of time now available (due to the coronavirus emergency 'lockdown') to make some improvements to the 1894-1933 section of this site.  As a first step, a subscription to the British Library's online British Newspaper Archive has been taken out.  Access to the wide variety of local newspapers of the time will be used to corroborate, correct and expand the content. 

For example, one faux pas has been corrected: I apologise to the late Cllr. John Young (Harrow-on-the-Hill UDC) for incorrectly recording his first name as 'James'.

Additonally, I have until now been unaware of a Parish Poll in Great Stanmore from July 1930.  A draft Appendix has been written on the matter and is attached below.  In due course it will be incorporated in the main body of the section.

From time to time revised pdf files will be uploaded so that visitors to the site can access the latest information.  A note will be made against updated files with the date; during this updating activity a file could of course be revamped again at a later date.

Until this process has been completed, page numbering will inevitably get out of sequence.  Finally, I am hoping to get the whole of the section expertly proof read.

Greater London Authority and London Mayor Election 

7 May 2020 - POSTPONED UNTIL 6 MAY 2021

The next scheduled election in Harrow was for a member of the Greater London Authority. Voters would have cast votes for a member for the Brent and Harrow constituency, for London-wide members from Party lists, and for the Mayor of London.

The current Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, Navin Shah, had indicated that he was retiring from the GLA.  The Labour Party had selected Krupesh J. Hirani as their candidate; the Conservative Party had selected Molly I. Samuel-Leport. 

Due to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) health emergency, the Government announced on 13 March that the local elections due on 7 May were postponed and would now take place on 6 May 2021.  

Any local authority by-elections that would have been occasioned by a casual vacancy have also been postponed until 6 May 2021.

Local Government Boundary Commission for England:
Ward Boundary Review of the London Borough of Harrow

The LGBCE announced on 31 July 2018 that it was commencing a review in to the ward boundaries of the London Borough of Harrow.  The new ward boundaries would come in to force at the 2022 council election. The Commission will also be conducting a review of 24 other London boroughs.

The Commission state that the "individual borough reviews will decide how many councillors should be elected to each local authority as well as the boundaries and names of council wards.  The reviews aim to make sure votes in London local elections are fair and that each councillor represents roughly the same number of voters.  The Commission will also look at local community interests and ties."

The Commission have also stated in the case of Harrow that they would recommend a council size of 55, a reduction of 8 councillors from the current arrangement with 63 councillors.

The consultation on warding arrangements, that commenced on 31 July, ended on 8 October 2018. The next stage was a consultation on the draft recommendations published by the LGBCE, between 4 December 2018 and 11 February 2019.  Final recommendations were scheduled to be published on 26 March 2019, but the Commission decided to issue further draft recommendations on 2 April, allowing consultation on these until 29 April 2019.  Final recommendations were published on 28 May 2019 and details can be found on the LGBCE's website.  An examination of the changes have been included as Appendix V in the 2002-2020 section of this website.