• EVERYONE who walks into a library is an equal, introduced to new worlds, able to access technology, or just sit quietly or read a book or a newspaper when the world outside gets too much, from children to the elderly, from rough sleepers to the vulnerable.

A library provides a safe space gently empowering its visitors. But Tory austerity has forced local authorities to cut library services up and down the country just at a time when they are needed the most.

It was the author Anne Herbert who once said “libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries.”

And she was right imagine what our borough would be without any libraries. It’s a grey and dismal thought and we must do what we can to protect these vital spaces.

In Belsize, the community library is a sparkling space where young and old are able to rely on services three days a week. Sessions for the elderly on digital inclusion, story-telling and homework clubs, open mic nights and talks by authors are all part of the library’s outreach to the community.

But the library needs support – it needs volunteers and it needs funds. As a Labour candidate for Belsize I want to make sure that the library can flourish into the future with sustainable funding and a long-term vision as a empowering space for the entire community.

SUCHARITA SETHI
Labour candidate for Belsize ward