Noel, who has a long history as a Green Party activist, is a shop keeper and experienced auctioneer, who brings with him a wealth of knowledge on campaigning about community issues. The 25 Members of the London Assembly are elected to scrutinise the Mayor and be concerned for the overall well being of London.
Noel Lynch said; “I am delighted to be joining the London Assembly, delighted to have this opportunity to make a difference to Londoners’ lives. The fact is, I can think of no more exciting challenge than being a strong Green voice for Londoners.”
Regarding his London Irish constituents, Noel added, “The Irish represent the largest ethnic minority in London and yet their problems have gone largely unrecognised. There has a been a dire failure to recognise the situation facing Irish people in London and I will be using my voice on the London Assembly and Police Authority to generate pressure to redress this sad state of affairs.
The Irish are among the lowest-paid of the ethnic minorities and for many racial discrimination is a constant feature of their lives. The Irish suffer high mortality and suicide rates, suffer disproportionately in terms of poor quality housing and of poor health. Sadly very little is said about this and tragically even less is done about it.”
Noel Lynch will also become a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA). Noel will be using his influence on the MPA to campaign for a better relationship between the Irish community and the police. The Irish community has suffered unreasonably high levels of stop and search, with some of the highest figures amongst London’s ethnic minority groups. The Irish are almost two and a half times more likely than white British people to be stopped by the police.
Research has shown that though the Irish are the group most targeted by the police they are also the group most likely to suffer from crime. Successive surveys in London have found that Irish men are more likely to have physical violence used against them than any other group, but are least likely to report crimes to the police. It was also found that Irish women are more likely than any other section of the population to suffer from street crime, with 13.4 per cent of those surveyed having been victims within the previous year.
Noel is a tireless and well known community activist in north London, supporting campaigns against inappropriate developments and support for local communities and shops. Prior to becoming an Assembly Member was working for the No-Euro Campaign.
Noel commented; “I hope to give support to all those struggling against big business, big government and vested interests.”
ENDS
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. Research by Professor Jock Young, Criminologist from Middlesex University, carried out over seven years shows that 1 in 7 of the total Irish population in London has been stopped and when this is broken down into the ‘young male’ group the figure is one in two, which is higher than for any other ethnic minority group. MPA Consultation May 2001
2. See Irish in Britain Resource/ www.irishworld.com