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.