EXCLUSIVE Boris seat Labour candidate backed trans flag road crossing
EXCLUSIVE: Labour candidate to take Boris Johnson’s Commons seat backed controversial £10,000 ‘transgender awareness’ road crossing installed by debt-ridden council despite warnings it was unsafe for disabled people
- Danny Beales posed for pictures by the four-way blue, pink and white crossing
- The artwork installed at just one London crossroads cost taxpayers £10,464
Labour’s candidate to take Boris Johnson’s former Commons seat was an enthusiastic backer of a project to install a trans flag road crossing which cost a cash-strapped council £10,000.
Danny Beales posed for pictures by the four-way blue, pink and white crossing at the junction of Tavistock Place and Marchmont Street in central London in November 2021.
Mr Beales, who is a senior councillor in the London Borough of Camden, also proclaimed a similar colour scheme installed in Tottenham Court Road as part of the Asphalt Art project as ‘great’, in a since-deleted tweet.
The artwork at just one crossroads cost taxpayers £10,464, including £6,500 spent on paint and labour, in a bid to to ‘help celebrate transgender awareness and act as a reminder of the rich LGBT+ history’ in Camden.
But weeks later it was revealed that the council was facing a budget shortfall of around £20million, blamed on the Covid pandemic, raising questions over whether it was a good use of public money.
The crossing also came under attack from disability rights campaigners, who warned it could be dangerous for partially sighted pedestrians, and mayor Sadiq Khan later halted plans for further artworks.
Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson said: ‘It comes as no surprise that Labour’s candidate in Uxbridge is a woke culture warrior from Sir Keir’s own constituency.
Danny Beales posed for pictures by the four-way blue, pink and white crossing at the junction of Tavistock Place and Marchmont Street in London in November 2021.
He is the favourite to win the by-election expected to take place on July 20, caused by Mr Johnson’s shock resignation last week over Partygate.
Camden Council installed the four-way blue, pink and white crossing at the junction of Tavistock Place and Marchmont Street to ‘help celebrate transgender awareness and act as a reminder of the rich LGBT+ history’ in Camden’
In his tweet from the time, since deleted, Mr Beales said: ‘Camden is open! As part of #LetsDoLondon #CamdenTogether it’s great to see these brightening up central London.’
He was responding to a series of eye-catching street art commissions on Tottenham Court Road, unveiled by Sadiq Khan and award-winning artist Yinka Ilori
Who wants to replace Boris in Uxbridge?
Steve Tuckwell – Conservatives
A father of two and Conservative councillor in South Ruislip on Hillington Council since 2018.
Danny Beales – Labour
Mr Beales, 34, is the former head of policy and campaigns at the National Aids Trust charity. He is a councillor in Camden but was born and raised in the constituency.
Laurence Fox – Reclaim
The 43-year-old former actor is running after doing a deal with the Reform Party to split by-elections between them. Came sixth in London mayoral vote in 2021.
Blaise Baquiche – Lib Dems
A former Tory aide in the European Parliament who quit the party over Brexit in 2017, he is now a media consultant on green matters.
‘This goes to show exactly what you get from Labour: expensive virtue signalling vanity projects.
‘Only the Conservative party will listen to the people of Uxbridge and stand up for their priorities.’
Mr Beales is the favourite to win the by-election in Uxbridge and South Ruislip in west London, caused by Mr Johnson’s shock resignation last week over Partygate.
It will take place on July 20, the local council said last night.
The Conservatives selected Steve Tuckwell to be their candidate for the vote, the party said in a statement.
Another by-election to replace close Johnson ally Nigel Adams in his seat in North Yorkshire will be held on the same date after he resigned on Saturday.
Freedom of Information requests submitted by local residents revealed how the total cost of the four-way crossing, believed to be the second of its kind built in the UK, came to more than £10,464.
Of that, a total of £6,500 was spent on the paint and the labour to create the four crossings points.
A further £3,614 was spent on project management and road safety audits. There was also £800 spent on traffic management during the creation of the crossing.
In January this year the council revealed the shortfall would hit £40million by 2025/26, due to the stagnant economy.
The Royal National Institute for the Blind – which has its headquarters in Camden – told the council that colourful designs at crossings could cause confusion to the blind and pose safety risks to those with bad vision trying to cross the busy street.
Transport for London’s Independent Disability Advisory Group also commented that people with learning disabilities or dementia may struggle to identify the crossing.
The group also warned that the crossing is likely to confuse older and disabled people, as well as drivers.
It further highlighted that people with sensory sensitivity could struggle with colorful crossings, which could cause anxiety, especially for people on the Autistic spectrum.
Finally, the group noted that visually impaired pedestrians may find it difficult identifying the kerb edge.
These concerns were prompted by similar worries over colourful crossings across London.
Those warning forced Mayor Sadiq Khan to pause the installation of any more colourful displays across the London transport network.
However, despite this, and despite its own Equality Impact Assessment, Camden Council decided to go ahead with the installation of the trans flag crossing.
In his tweet from the time, since deleted, Mr Beales said: ‘Camden is open! As part of #LetsDoLondon #CamdenTogether it’s great to see these brightening up central London.’
Responding to concerns, the council argued that there wasn’t enough information on the damaging effects of the crossing.
Labour declined to comment today.
Last week Mr Beales backed Sadiq Khan‘s ULEZ tax and suggesting struggling families hit by the £250-a-month green levy should blame the Government.
He said ‘we all need cleaner air’ as he was challenged over the £12.50 daily emissions toll, which will be expanded to outer London areas like Uxbridge and South Ruislip in August.
And while he admitted to ITV that some will find payments ‘tough’ he blamed the way ‘this government has mismanaged the economy’ and eaten into their spare cash.
He later sought to play down Ulez as the dominant issue in the by-election, saying: ‘Local people don’t view this as a binary issue.
‘The Conservatives may want to run a single-issue campaign here but I don’t think that will wash with voters.’
Labour is hoping to overturn Mr Johnson’s 7,210 majority, but the plan to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in August could still cause the party problems.
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