Ellie Goulding Shames Council As She Wades Into Politics With All Guns Blazing
British singer Ellie Goulding had quite the week. Early on Monday, Ellie and her boyfriend, Dougie Poynter, were snapped looking relaxed and healthy as they arrived back at London’s Heathrow airport after an extended vacation in L.A. Later the same day, Ellie was out in a London park, posting pictures of herself climbing trees. According to emerging reports, the issue of access to those parks has got Ellie hot under the collar. Ellie took to social media to slam London’s Hackney Borough Council for restricting access to the borough’s open spaces.
According to the Guardian, Goulding is very unhappy at measures taken by Hackney Borough Council to protect its open spaces. The Council is the municipal authority responsible for the upkeep of open spaces, including parks and gardens. Last month, the Council in Hackney brought into force a “Public Space Protection Order.” This controversial measure allows Councils to empower police officers or community support officers to ban people from anti-social behavior in public spaces.
Ellie Goulding is unhappy because the measure is used to stop homeless people, many of whom are mentally ill or armed service veterans, from sleeping in public places. Those who fail to comply can be fined up to £1,000 ($1,500). Ellie is clearly concerned about the plight of homeless people on Britain’s streets. Goulding shared a series of tweets with her nearly 5 million Twitter followers, expressing her “disgust” at the measures.
Ellie said she was “deeply concerned about how out of touch people can be, some councils in England have decided to treat homeless people as though they are criminals and are going to start fining them.”
Ellie gave both barrels to Hackney Council, calling them ignorant and accusing them of criminalizing “vulnerable people who need you the most.”
I'm looking at you Hackney Council. How could you do this to vulnerable people who need you the most? I can't deal with your ignorance
— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) June 3, 2015
Ellie continued her swipe at the authorities, saying that “homelessness isn’t a lifestyle choice, it is a last resort,” and pointing out that homelessness in London has risen by almost 80 [percent] since the current U.K. government came to power in 2010 and began a program of austerity measures that cut council funding and affected their ability to deal with issues like homelessness.
Homelessness isn't a lifestyle choice. It is a last resort and has risen 79% in London since 2010. Because people aren't caring enough.
— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) June 3, 2015
The East London Lines claim that the Public Space Protection Orders “privileges the appearance of Hackney and the convenience of customers over the damage caused to the vulnerable” and would effectively criminalize the homeless.
Ellie also highlighted a further issue that came to light in London last year, when shops were allowed to fix spikes in their doorways to stop homeless people from sleeping there.
Remember last year when "anti homeless" spikes started appearing around London? I'll never get over it. I feel the same about this.
— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) June 3, 2015
The Council defended its measures, saying that rough sleepers “are causing serious problems for other residents with anti-social behavior including drug use, drunkenness, public urination and defecation, and threatening behavior.”
Ellie called other fans to “express their disgust” by signing an online petition calling on the Council to stop criminalizing rough sleepers. To date, the petition has attracted 70,000 signatures.
Is Ellie Goulding right to criticize Councils in this way? What do you think?
[Photo by Christopher Polk / Getty Images]
