Incinerator opponents vow to fight on

It's been a busy week for opponents of north London's planned new mega-incinerator. An estimated 600 protesters marched in Edmonton on Sunday and opposition councillors in some of the seven boroughs represented on the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) have been trying to persuade their colleagues to call for a pause and review of the project, on environmental, health and financial grounds. In Enfield an attempt by Green, Lib Dem and Community First councillors to have a motion debated in time to be effective was frustrated by the mayor's slowness in calling an extraordinary meeting. In Haringey the council did meet but voted down a Lib Dem motion (curiously, a large number of councillors from the majority Labour group didn't attend). However, the attitude of Haringey's leader and her deputy towards the project is less than clear. In Islington motion put forward by Green councillor Caroline Russell was defeated, despite backing from two Labour MPs -  Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) and former Islington Council leader Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green MP).

However, the fight to stop the incinerator has not yet been definitively lost. It now seems that there was never a fixed plan to sign the contract on 18th January and it is unclear when it will be signed. The Stop the Edmonton Incinerator Now (STEIN) campaign has launched a fundraising campaign with the aim of mounting a legal challenge.