By-Election results : Labour 1, Lib Dem 1, Tory 0

Yesterdays by-elections in Lambeth and Kingston saw Labour and the Lib Dems both comfortably hold their seats.

Labour’s Mark Bennett held Streatham South in Lambeth … with a big increase in majority over the Lib Dems from 70 to 255. This is an impressive result for Labour .., particularly given the loss of former Cllr Tim Sergeant’s personal vote. This builds on a series of good Labour results in by-elections in the Borough … look out for Lambeth as a possible surprise Labour gain in 2006. The Tories fell to a derisory 10% of the vote, in a ward regarded as safe Tory until 1994.

In Kingston David Ryder-Mills held Canbury for the Lib Dems … with a virtually unchanged majority over the Tories of 385. However, both parties increased their share of the vote at the expense of Labour and the absent Greens … despite the Labour candidate Chris Priest having formerly been a Cllr for the ward from 1998 to 2002. In 2002, Ryder–Mills lost the previously safe (under different boundaries) Lib Dem Coombe Vale ward … when he lost by 53 votes to two Tories who tied for third place behind the other two Lib Dems. This was the only tied vote in the 2002 London Borough elections … and the first in London since the 1994 Eel Brook ward election in Hammersmith and Fulham.

In Canbury, the bizarre Scargillite Socialist Labour Party branch in Kingston achieved a hardly revolutionary 21 votes. This brings to mind the gloriously barmy comment of their General Election candidate (and old Stalinist) John Hayball when asked for his solution to teenage pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases … “I think the cause of this problem is capitalism...under socialism people would have more loving relationships.” Brings a whole new meaning to bonking mad.

The last Communist Councillor in London

A footnote to London Borough history ends tomorrow with a memorial meeting for former Tower Hamlets Cllr Solly Kaye. Kaye was the last Communist elected to a London Borough … representing St Mary’s ward from 1964 until losing to Labour in 1971. He even survived the Tory landslide of 1968 … when the Tories won control of all but three London Boroughs.

He’d sat on Stepney Council for the same Whitechapel area from 1956 to 1965 … carrying on a tradition that in 1945 had seen twelve Communists elected to Stepney and two from there to the LCC. Kaye shared the St Mary’s seat at various times with three other Communist Party Councillors … Peter Roche, Monty Borman and Max Levitas (who lost with Kaye in 1971).

Appropriately, Kaye died on May Day 2005, at the age of 91. The memorial event tomorrow is at the Marx Memorial Library from 2pm.

The nearest another member of the Communist Party came to election to a London Borough was probably Vishnu Sharma in Ealing … who lost to Labour by just 23 votes in 1974 in the Northcote ward of Southall. Sharma was a leading light in the Indian Workers Association … whose other prominent figure was Piara Khabra, now Labour MP for Ealing Southall. Khabra is the only MP to have stood for election as a London Cllr under three different labels … Independent (1971), Labour (1974 and 1978), and SDP (1982).

“I Didn’t Expect the Adjudication Panel”

The current Islington case shines an unaccustomed light on the work of the Adjudication Panel for England (APE). The Panel is little known to the public … but it has the power to remove Cllrs from office between elections without appeal.

Most attention on standards has focused on the Standards Board for England (SBE) … and particularly its’ long delays in dealing with cases. But most complaints to the Board are trivial, vexatious and/or politically motivated … and rightly result in findings of “no breach of the Code of Conduct” or “breach but no action to be taken”. Only cases sent to the Panel can result in disqualification and removal from office.

The Standards Board has so far only referred fourteen London Cllrs to the Adjudication Panel … five cases have been dealt with, the ‘Islington 5’ are currently being heard, and the remaining four have hearing dates between today and December. Only one sitting Cllr has been disqualified by the Adjudication Panel - Barnet (now former) Cllr Alan Sloam (Colindale).

Camden elect Raj Chada as new Leader

Cllr Raj Chada (Gospel Oak) has been elected by the Camden Labour group as the new leader … and will take over from Jane Roberts at November’s full Council meeting.

Chada was only elected to the Council in 2002 … and has been Executive Member for Housing since 2003. He breaks new ground in being both the first Irish born and non-white Leader of Camden … but otherwise runs to Camden Labour type as a solicitor with a degree from Jesus College Cambridge. Indeed Chada is employed by local New Labour law firm Hodge Jones Allen … the Hodge is for Margaret Hodge’s second husband Henry (now a judge), who supposedly gave Cherie Booth her first legal cases in the 1980s.

The Camden Group followed the leadership election with major changes to their Executive. Nick Smith (Kings Cross) stood down as Education lead … and about time, as he’s been working in Brussels for the last few months. 1970s veteran John Mills (Gospel Oak) also leaves the Executive … but another throwback to that era Julian Fullbrook (Holborn and Covent Garden) comes in to replace Chada at Housing. Fullbrook is an interesting footnote to the political history of the 1980s ... as the Labour candidate who lost the then totemic Basildon seat to the oleaginous Tory David Amess (a former Redbridge Cllr).

The Schools brief is taken by Lucy Anderson (Kentish Town) … who as GLA candidate for Barnet and Camden last year, managed to turn Tory Brian Coleman's majority from just 551 to over 11,000. Jake Sumner (Camden Town with Primrose Hill) and obsessive Lib Dem hater Maggie Cosin (Highgate) take over at community safety and adult social care respectively (only in chi-chi Primrose Hill would residents insist on the ward name being "with" rather than "and" Primrose Hill). Former Mayor Nasim Ali (Regents Park) returns to the backbenches … whilst in other changes, Lib Dem defector Jonathan Simpson gets his reward in the high-profile job of Chair of Licensing.

Chada becomes only the third current Borough Leader not from a white background … joining Navin Shah at Harrow and Charles Adje at Haringey. He’s the first Irish born Leader since the 2004 retirement of George Meehan (until recently a Camden employee) at Haringey.

Islington 'cronyism' case finally reaches the public

Huge fun over the new three weeks for observers of the soap opera that is the Islington Lib Dems. Cronyism allegations against Islington leader Lib Dem Steve Hitchins (St Peters) and four other Islington Lib Dems finally reached the Adjudication Panel for decision last week.

The allegations state that the Lib Dems improperly appointed political mate Helen Bailey as Islington’s Chief Executive … but were first referred for investigation as long as three years ago. Hitchins and Bailey were both members of the Lib Dem ‘Federal Executive’ … and yet Hitchins seemed to forget to declare this to the shortlisting meeting. Instead he and the others allegedly overruled recruitment consultants Veredus … and put Bailey on her the shortlist, even though Veredus said she was “not recommended for further consideration, due to her lack of experience”.

The biggest laughs at the first week of hearings were probably reserved for the lawyers’ accountants ... Bailey, Hitchins and co, and the Standards Board are all represented by separate barristers. The taxpayers are paying for the Standards Board to use Antony White QC, who doesn't come cheap ... his previous clients include Naomi Campbell and (appropriately for Islington politics) Monty Python pictures. White is a member of Cherie Blair's Matrix Chambers ... and indeed represented her in a privacy case against Associated Newspapers.

At the hearing, defecting Cllr Joan Coupland (she suddently became a principled Labourite just after her mayoral year finished) delivered some vintage bile at Hitchins … “If you challenge his view he can get quite nasty, and he is manipulative and a bully. He answers all questions with a question.” The bunteresque Hitchins has a reputation that gives arrogant sods a bad name … but even his worst enemies (a long queue) think a three year delay is a pretty hopeless performance by the Standards Board.

Also in the frame is Deputy Leader Bridget Fox (Barnsbury) … who narrowly lost the Islington South parliamentary seat in May … and is widely seen as the nice cop to Hitchins’ nasty cop. The other Lib Dems are former Mayor Margot Dunn (Holloway) who chaired the Shortlisting Panel … and Cllrs Jyoti Vaja (Bunhill) and Dorrie Valery (Caledonian), who were added to the Panel to give the Lib Dems a 5:1 majority.

The result isn’t expected until at least mid October.

Defections since 2002 (L-W)

Continuing 'London Borough Politics' listings of all currently known defections of Cllrs since the last Borough elections in 2002. As before, additions/corrections welcome.

Again this list excludes Cllrs who temporarily defected and then returned home.

Merton

Cllr Horatio Cheng (Raynes Park) defected from the Tories only two months after his election in 2002. He applied to be a member of the Labour Group … but they (unusually but commendably in defection cases) required him to serve a year as an independent to test his new loyalties. He consistently voted with Labour in the Council Chamber … and they admitted him to the Group in July 2003.

Cllr Mike Fitzgerald (Abbey) was elected as a Labour Cllr but defected last month to become an Independent. He was reported as saying “I wasn't happy with the way the selections for the council elections in May were being done” … following the deselections of sitting Cllrs Mickey Spacey (St Helier), Mary Dunn (Lavender Fields), and Mike Tilcock (Pollards Hill). It’s rumoured that Fitzgerald might join a new ‘Pension Action Alliance' party … being set up by former Labour Leader Geoff Smith to oppose Labour at the 2006 elections. Spacey’s deselection has been attributed to some bizarre performances in the Council Chamber … including a call for the legalisation of all drugs, and a period as a low rent Jeremy Clarkson trying to out-petrolhead the Tories as Cabinet member for Transport.

Newham

See seperate post on 27th September.

Redbridge

Cllr Suresh Kumar (Valentines) was elected in a byelection as a Tory … but continuing scandal claims have led to his becoming an independent. Labour claimed vote fixing in relation to the huge number of proxy votes in the byelection ... which Kumar won by just nine votes. In 2001, Kumar had featured as one of the Mirror’s ‘dirty dozen’ of Tory candidates, largely as a result of his record of company liquidation with debts of over half a million … and then appeared in a bankruptcy notice in the local paper.

Richmond

Cllr Douglas Orchard (South Twickenham) defected in March 2005 from the Conservatives to become the UKIP Parliamentary Candidate in Twickenham. He is now the only UKIP Cllr in London … given that the two UKIP London Assembly members first defected to Kilroy-Silk’s Veritas ego-trip, and now have their own ‘One London’ grouping. Orchard was first elected in 1994, and was the Tories first Richmond Mayor when they regained control of the Council in 2002. Orchard had stood for the Tory nomination as the local parliamentary candidate, but explained his defection by claiming “I was prompted to join the United Kingdom Independence Party by a Liberal Democrat Councillor who raised the issue of the allegation against me of being racist when I was mayor. I informed him that I had never been a racist but was a nationalist, a patriot”. He got only 1.5% of the vote in the general election

Southwark

Cllr Kenny Mizzi (South Bermondsey) defected from the Lib Dems to the Tories six months after his election in 2002 … having defected the other way in 1997. He was executive member for social services at the time, and defended his previous Lib Dem loyalty saying “sometimes you have to support policies you don't agree with when you're in politics”. (© Stunning Revelations volume one). Mizzi is now a Tory Cllr for a ward with one of the lowest Tory votes in London … just 6% in 2002 compared to the LibDems’ 62%.

Cllr Tony Ritchie (Camberwell Green) was elected as Labour but is now suspended from the Group and sitting as an Independent … whilst awaiting a (Standards) Adjudication Panel hearing later this month into allegations that he clocked someone who was harassing him at a community meeting. Ritchie is a former Leader of both Southwark and of the London Fire Authority. Ken Livingstone used his powers as Mayor to veto Ritchie’s re-election to the Fire Authority in 2000 … they are reported to share a very longstanding hatred going back to the days of the ratecapping battles of the 1980s. There’s nothing like old comrades …

Cllr Dermot McInerney (South Camberwell) defected from Labour to Independent in 2003 … reportedly on the issue of Iraq. Sounds a bit like an MP defecting over refuse collection. Otherwise a pretty invisible figure … unless someone knows something that we don’t

Tower Hamlets

Cllr Muhammed Ghulam Mortuza (Spitalfields and Banglatown) defected from Labour to Independent in May 2005 … when he supported George Galloway’s anti-Labour parliamentary campaign in Bethnal Green and Bow. After lengthy negotiations, he’s recently formally joined Galloway’s Respect Party. Part of the deal is that he leads the two person Respect group … rather than Cllr Oliur Rahman (St Dunstans and Stepney Green) who was actually elected as Respect, at a by-election last year. Galloway was reported after his parliamentary election win as claiming that seven Labour Cllrs were about to defect by the end of May … particularly after the acrimonious ousting of former Labour Leader Helal Abbas by retread Leader Michael Keith. Only Mortuza has yet shown.

Cllr Ataur Rahman (St Dunstans and Stepney Green) was elected as Labour but now sits as an Independent, following suspension by the Labour Group in May 2003. He was suspended following allegations of involvement with a charity called MATT … which has been accused of corruptly accessing and using public funds. Key Livingstone regeneration advisor Cllr Kumar Murshid (Limehouse) was accused of more tangential links to MATT … but after investigations cleared him is now again a Labour member after a period of suspension. A further Cllr whose name came up in the MATT investigation, Nasir Uddin, resigned to cause the byelection in St Dunstans and Stepney Green won by Respect.

Cllr Nigel McCollum (Bow East) now describes himself as Independent Lib Dem, having resigned from the Lib Dems in autumn 2004. The Tower Hamlets Lib Dems have a record of splits and personal hatreds that at least matches Labour’s local record of ya boo internal politics. When they controlled the Council for two terms from 1986 to 1994, they ended up splitting into at least three factions … whilst Bow Cllr Ricky Hunn defected to be an Independent in the last Council term.