Tag: digital-companies

Community fights back against corporate takeover of our health and wellbeing

Health care, data, and local street markets – all our rights!

We don’t want luxury towers replacing Queen’s Market, and we don’t want our NHS personal health data handed over to Palantir, a controversial private surveillance company accused of enabling systems used to target Palestinians amid the horrific genocide in Gaza.

So why does Palantir want access to our most sensitive personal health data? Who benefits, and who is put at risk?

On Monday 2nd November 2026 at a full Newham Council meeting, elected Councillors unanimously passed a motion raising serious concerns about the NHS’s use of Palantir through its Federated Data Platform (FDP). The motion opposed the company’s handling of sensitive patient records and backed calls for the Government and local NHS trusts, including Barts Health, to use the contract’s ‘break clause’ and cut ties with Palantir.

Photo gallery (above): Newham’s community came together to stand against the privatisation of our NHS patient records by Palantir, a deeply controversial and seriously questionable company.

Our health is not for sale, and neither is our market – a significant victory due to the sustained community pressure and collective action!
We must remain vigilant against such digital companies trying to ‘pull a fast one’ again.

But sadly, on the same night Newham Council approved its latest Local Plan despite serious objections. Friends of Queen’s Market came out in force to defend the market as a vital public resource: a place that supports affordable food, community health, cultural identity and everyday wellbeing.

As Delwara Selman, a mother of three who travels to Queen’s Market every week, explained:

“The market’s great for my family’s needs, because of the cheap fruit ’n’ veg from different cultural backgrounds. People know which one’s good for them t’ help heal and cure them, and make themselves better. We’re not stupid, you know. I don’t want to live off of tablets for the rest of my life.”

Her words capture what is at stake. Queen’s Market is more than a shopping destination. It is part of our community’s health infrastructure, where affordable fresh food, knowledge and cultural connections matter.

Video (click left): Watch Cllr Syed Taqi Shah Naqvi speak eloquently about the importance of protecting the rights of local people within the London Plan.

Newham Council has been relentless in its attempts to demolish Queen’s Market and replace it with yet more luxury flats. You only have to look around the borough to see that these developments are doing little, if anything, to meet the needs of local residents.

Even more concerning is the latest news surrounding Caxton Works, where residents have been unable to return to their homes due to serious structural issues. It is deeply alarming that people have been left facing such uncertainty over the safety and security of their homes.

This raises serious questions about the quality, safety and accountability of the developments being pushed through in our borough. Are the interests of local people really being put first?

Further reading:

The disturbing recent revelations demonstrate that communities must come first and deserve better. We must not allow substandard, rabbit-hutch-style housing developments to prioritise developers’ interests at the expense of the people and communities they are meant to serve, and certainly not at the expense of a vital lifeline like Queen’s Market.

Developers’ interests over community needs?

The devil is as always in the detail. The Local Plan was approved by elected councillors that night, with one abstention. “Once again, Queen’s Market is being treated as prime real estate for greedy developers,” said longtime shopper Uddin. “Everywhere else I’ve travelled, historic street markets are respected, protected and cherished. Yet here, the Council continues to threaten a much-loved market that serves thousands of families across London and wider afield.” Uddin also condemned the barriers to public participation, having waited an hour outside in the freezing cold before being allowed into the public gallery which had lots of space. “Our democracy is not being properly upheld. I would go as far as saying it is being actively undermined.”

Our community is not a free resource

Long-standing Newham residents will recognise the Council’s familiar game of ‘smoke and mirrors’. Queen’s Market was previously designated a ‘strategic site’ inside the Local Plan. During the latest review, Friends of Queen’s Market spent months engaging with the consultation process, challenging proposals and demanding that the community’s voice be heard. Yet what was the point of months of consultation if the community’s concerns could simply be brushed aside?

Our time is not free. Our voices are not disposable. Our street market is not a development opportunity. And our private health data is not for sale.

We refuse to accept a future where corporate interests come before public health, community needs and democratic rights. And that includes plonking on luxury towers onto publicly-owned assets.

Queen’s Market is ours to defend – our health is not for sale, and our community will not be silenced.

Photo (above): There appear to be plenty of vacant seats in the public gallery, with sufficient space to accommodate more local residents who genuinely wish to attend. Will Newham Council’s Democratic Services and elected representatives listen to the concerns of local people and ensure that members of the electorate are given fair and reasonable access to attend, have their voices heard and their needs properly considered?

You can find out more about the Council meeting held on 2 November 2026 by visiting Newham Voice – click below: https://newhamvoices.co.uk/2026/11/03/chaos-at-newham-town-hall-as-opposition-groups-split-over-neighbourhood-forum-roles/