More Holbeck (managed prostitution) news. Schoolchildren approached.

[TheQueef]

When are they going to admit error?
It's time this pilot ended, it should never have started but it's shown how idiotic the plan was.

Oh Butterer, how awful.

So relieved for you, Butterer

Bullet dodged Butterer!

We are just prey.

@DidoLamenting

I don't understand why the population of Leeds en masse don't demand to close this down. It's completely indefensible.

For the majority of Leeds, it’s a case of out of sight, out of mind.

It’s a disgrace. Local residents have tried, but not got anywhere.

It's attracted criticism from any and every agency that crosses paths.

I'm convinced they are planning to use Holbeck as some template, why else keep it?

I've been the mad old bag calling 101 and writing registration numbers down for fifteen years. I'm on the edge of Rotherham, SYP are spectacularly uninterested.

There is one very obvious reason they want to keep it.

We should expect no better from the men involved in politics and law than we do any other man.

Link to recent thread with petition about this monstrosity.

Please all sign.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4073554-End-the-Leeds-Managed-Prostitution-Zone

Bumping this to get more people to sign...

But Conservative members on Leeds City Council say not enough local people were listened to during the review, and have submitted a motion, ... [calling] for the council to do more to engage with local people around the zone, and to even consider an “exit strategy” for the policy.

So now we have to rely on the Tories to defend women's rights. I'm speechless.

The national Labour party's complicity is shameful. I'm so hacked off with their blatant lack of concern for women and girls.

@HecatesCats

The national Labour party's complicity is shameful. I'm so hacked off with their blatant lack of concern for women and girls.

Yes.

Hilary Benn has been MP for Leeds central since forever and a day. He positions himself as one of the elder statemen of the Labour party, a voice of reason on the back benches. He's clearly been ignoring this for donkeys years and ignoring his female constituents. (For the record, Leeds Central is not leafy suburbia - it encompasses Woodhouse and Little London and other extremely impoverished areas. It also suffers from voter apathy on an epic scale - turnouts of 20% are not unusual, cos let's face it, when you're being crapped on from a great height, the local MP doesn't give a shit and the council are on the side of pimps and nonces, there's precious little incentive to get engaged in the democratic process.)

Has anyone from the area looked into withholding the portion of tax that pays for the zone? Its a legal form of protest but you have to go about it in a certain way.

Why are people expected to pay taxes so that men can abuse women? The zone costs taxpayers an estimated £300,000 a year. Even ignoring all of the other objections I don't see how they can justify it, just on the cost alone.

@Thelnebriati

Has anyone from the area looked into withholding the portion of tax that pays for the zone? Its a legal form of protest but you have to go about it in a certain way.

Why are people expected to pay taxes so that men can abuse women? The zone costs taxpayers an estimated £300,000 a year. Even ignoring all of the other objections I don't see how they can justify it, just on the cost alone.

That's a brilliant suggestion for a piece of direct action.

According to wikipedia there's roughly 300,000 households in Leeds, so I suppose you'd only be justified in withholding 1 quid of your council tax, but the administrative burden on the council to sort out the ensuing mess would be huge! Brilliant symbolic gesture (no-one could claim that people were withholding 1 quid for reasons of personal gain) while causing maximum disruption.

Hilary Benn has been MP for Leeds central since forever and a day. He positions himself as one of the elder statemen of the Labour party, a voice of reason on the back benches*

He's a huge disappointment

Well yes. Hence my use of "he positions himself..." He thinks of himself as god's gift to the labour movement but the reality is very different. I thought he was about as much use as a chocolate teapot back in the mists of prehistory when I was one of his constituents, and if anything he's got more useless with time.

@CaraDuneRedux

Well yes. Hence my use of "he positions himself..." He thinks of himself as god's gift to the labour movement but the reality is very different. I thought he was about as much use as a chocolate teapot back in the mists of prehistory when I was one of his constituents, and if anything he's got more useless with time.

Can't argue. He seems to be the sort of MP who keeps his head down to keep his seat.

I signed the petition at
www.change.org/p/leeds-city-council-end-the-leeds-managed-prostitution-zone

Huge sympathy to the women of Leeds. I'd have thought that having a big-name Labour MP like Hilary Benn would be an advantage in dealing with a Labour council. And I've just looked it up and seen that the council leader and one of the two deputies are women, as is the mayor. No wonder so many don't bother to vote.

@Butterer You must be near me. Fabian is my MP too. I wrote to him about the gender recognition reform and he ignored me