Cllr Mitchell addresses Full Council yesterday evening
Statement by Cllr Mary Mitchell, leader of the Green Group on Brent Council, after the debacle over selection of the chair of the new Housing Scrutiny Committee at yesterday's Full Council Meeting;
In the first Full Council of this administration the Green Group’s
motion proposing a new housing scrutiny committee was unanimously accepted. In
the same meeting we made the case that the natural and democratic way of
approaching the three committees would be for each of the opposition parties,
of a similar size with 11, 11, and 9 councillors to chair these committees.
As part of the Labour Conservative deal that was made to keep Cllr
Muhammed Butt as the leader of the council, two of the scrutiny chair positions,
with remuneration of £15,299 were given to Conservative Councillors.
The Green Group firmly believes in the principle of democracy and thus
have consistently voiced the perspective that the Liberal Democrats should
chair the third committee, the Housing Scrutiny Committee, as they are the
second largest party, with a Green Party Vice-Chair. After two years we would
bring back to Full Council with a request for the roles to switch, and for a
Green Chair and Liberal Democrat Vice Chair.
I made this position clear in a conversation to the Leader of the
Council earlier this week, and set it out in writing in an email to all Group
Leaders on the morning of Full Council. The agreement made between officers and
Group Leaders was that nominations could be made on the day in Full Council.
We were therefore surprised when the Deputy Leader of the Council told
the Council that the Green nomination had been withdrawn the evening before,
and that the Labour Group were therefore intending to run their own nomination.
This is fundamentally untrue. Labour members in the meeting also confirmed that
this is what they had been told.
Despite the fact that I clarified that this was not the case and put
forward our own nomination, the Labour Group voted for a Labour candidate.
We now have three scrutiny committees in Brent – two chaired by the
Conservatives, one by Labour. The Liberal Democrats and the Greens have been
completely excluded.
The only conclusion we can draw from this series of events is that the
Labour Group were knowingly misled to ensure that they would vote for a Labour
candidate, purely on the basis of frustration that we stated our intention to
vote first for a Liberal Democrat candidate.
This is deeply disappointing – personal vendettas should not have a
place in politics. Upholding how Brent residents voted and the collaboration
that they asked for should take priority.
Deliberately misleading Councillors by misrepresenting facts is also
personally disappointing to me. We have seen the impact of misinformation on
our democracy. It erodes trust, weakens debate, and pushes us into a divisive
entrenched politics rather than towards the collaboration required as we face
the most complex set of challenges that our nation, and Brent, has experienced.
I used to be part of the Labour Group. I know first hand where tribal
loyalty and a lack of critical thinking can lead, and I’m disappointed in my
former colleagues for their inability to question despite the facts being
clearly outlined in the council chamber yesterday.
I am deeply disappointed that a personal grudge against the Liberal
Democrats robbed Brent residents of the opportunity for a scrutiny committee
chaired by an opposition party, as is standard practice across the country, and
that individuals in Brent Labour misled the chamber in order to achieve this.
