Mayor calls for Hackney to stand up to Channel 4 snobs

Hackney's Mayor Jules Pipe has called on local residents to prove wrong the Channel 4 show 'Best and Worst Places to Live', due to be broadcast tonight, which claims Hackney is the worst place in the UK to live.   

The Mayor is asking people to tell Channel 4 what they think of the programme via an e-card from the Council's website.  More than 400 people have responded to Channel 4's viewer complaint address in the hour and a half since the campaign went live.
 
'I Love Hackney' banners are going up all over the borough, from parks and leisure centres, to the Town Hall and the Hackney Empire theatre.  20,000 'I Love Hackney' badges have already been distributed around the borough and residents are being encouraged to wear their badges with pride today.
 
Mayor Pipe said:
 
'Channel 4's programme is snobbery at its worst.  They are basically saying that places where there are poorer people are bad places to live.   Their methodology is completely flawed and their survey takes no account of the things that really make a place great; people, architecture, culture, nightlife, parks, and most of all, pride.'
 
Our I Love Hackney campaign has been welcomed by residents, and I know that thousands of local people will be keen to tell Channel 4 exactly what they think of the programme.
 
Our message to local people is wear your badge today and let Channel 4 know how you feel.  If you don't have a badge, pick one up from the Town Hall or your local library.     Let's show Channel 4 what we think of their outrageous claims.
 
Residents, visitors, people who work here, and anyone else who loves the borough should visit our website www.hackney.gov.uk and send our e-card to Channel 4 to tell them what they think of the programme.'
 
Top 10 Hackney facts:
 
1. Crime in Hackney has dropped 22% in two years, the fastest drop in London
 
2. GCSE results have gone up by two thirds in four years
 
3. Next week Hackney Council is opening London's only 50m heated outdoor pool at London Fields
 
4. Hackney has more parks and green spaces than any other inner London borough
 
5. Hackney has one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the country and is home to London's biggest Turkish speaking community, and the largest Charedi Orthodox Jewish population in Europe
 
6. The Audit Commission has said Hackney Council is the most improved in London, and in the top ten most improved in the country
 
7. Hackney will play host to 30% of the 2012 Olympic precinct, including the International Broadcast Media Centre
 
8. Hackney is officially the best borough in London for cyclists (London Transport Awards 2006)
 
9. Hackney is home to Britain's only 100% organic famers market at Stoke Newington
 
10. More than 20,000 Hackney residents wear their 'I Love Hackney' badge with pride

Ends