Sam Townend for Bristol North West

Having spent a lot of time in Southmead, working alongside local Councillor Jenny Smith, local residents and groups, it is clear to me that the Panorama programme was not a fair representation of this disparate but proud community.  For sure Southmead has had its anti-social behaviour problems and, as in many areas, there are pockets of ignorance and racist individuals.  These must be tackled with the strongest force of law and through clear educational messages in our schools.  Knowing that there was a media investigation going on into racism in the area (but not having been invited to contribute) Cllr Smith and I canvassed a large number of addresses in the old estate of people of many different ethnic backgrounds and, on those occasions, did find two complaints of racism.  These are two too many and we have passed on the complaints to the authorities.  However, more generally there was a view that anti-social behaviour was declining.  That is not to say that racist incidents do not take place nor that the programme was not shocking, it plainly was.  Certainly, the Council has a job of work to do to ensure that the curriculum in our schools contains adequate and robust anti-racism lessons and the authorities must combine their work to focus on this problem.  Young people should not be allowed to think that racist abuse is in any way acceptable.  However, picking on Southmead yet again as the "root of evil" as the media often seek to do is both unfair and entirely unproductive when the aim is to improve life for all local residents.  
 
Sam Townend
Labour prospective MP
Bristol North West