As a Londoner this past weekend, I hot foot it to my nearest human cooperative and patch of nature to enjoy a rare outburst of sunny and warm weather.
It is a particular joy to have within walking distance of where I live in south London , one of the most inspiring and uplifting of London’s green spaces –Battersea Park. With late blossom flowering, plains and chestnuts loaded with young leaf, flower beds in full bloom, swans and moorhens nesting on the lake, and excited birdsong hung on every branch, it is a time of year where the cycle of old giving way to new life can best be appreciated.
Watching the families and partners and friends spread out across the turf, I was struck by the sheer variety of humanity on display- men and women and children of all faiths and races, and every class, and the majority of them Londoners, acting out their right to access to this shared space of enjoyment and mutual tolerance.
I happened to have just got back from a week-long visit to Bolivia where for all its mistakes along the way , the democratically elected Movement to Socialism (MAS) government of Evo Morales can justifiably claim to have pulled off a remarkable social transformation . The government’s recognition of the plurality and equality of races and in particular its enfranchisement of the historically exploited indigenous culture, is the government’s most positive achievement since coming to power in 2006.
As I walked around my beloved Battersea Park, it was hard not to reflect on how lucky we Londoners are to live in a multicultural society which has evolved in modern times with a minimum of the repression and violence suffered by the peoples of the developing world thanks to a political system, that for all its faults, is unrivalled anywhere in the world in terms of its accountability and transparency..
And I thought of the election of Sadiq Khan as the new Mayor of London , a non-fundamentalist working class English Muslim of Pakistani descent and a member of the moderate wing of the Labour party. I have known Sadiq for several years, as a Labour member but also as a journalist and I had not hesitation in campaigning and voting for him. I know how disgraceful was the attempt by his Tory opponents to try and discredit his campaign by stirring up anti-Muslim prejudice and fear of terrorism.
A minimum checking of the facts of Sadiq’s upbringing record as a lawyer and MP would have confirmed the crude distortion and dishonesty of the black propaganda used against him. Which is why I never doubted that Sadiq would prevail, and I am delighted that he has sent his repugnant detractors packing with their tales between their legs.
As for the buzz of life in Battersea Park this weekend, it told a more valid story of our way of life as Londoners. A huge city that has survived Nazi blitzes, race and poll tax riots, successive immigrations, and terrorist bombs ,and has a majority electorate that believes in a consensual, tolerant existence, prepared to vote in as their mayor, invoking as his cause the common good, a man for all races, for all seasons. Which is why I hope Sadiq will not waste too much time before meeting and having a long exchange of views with with Pope Francis. It would send a great political as well as spiritual message way beyond UK shores. With human beings like these, our world can only get better, rain or shine.
