Post by Martin Francis in a personal capacity
It may have escaped readers' attention that as well as local elections a Referendum is taking place in Bristol on May 5th.
What has this got to do with Brent?
The Referendum will consider whether to replace Bristol's Mayoral system, which centralises power in the hands of the Mayor, with a Committee system which spreads power across a number of key committees giving backbench councillors more power and encouraging shared decision making and a more consensual approach to local politics.
In line with national policy Bristol Greens will be supporting the Committee option.
In August 2020 A Brent Labour Group Task Group on improving democracy and scrutiny chaired by Cllr Thomas Stephens rejected the Committee system but put forward many proposals. It is worth checking to see how many recommendations were actually implemented LINK . A member of the Task Force, Cllr Kieron Gill, resigned becaus he felt the report was too soft.He pointed out that over the previous 10 years the number of elections held within the group, over the 4 year period of an administration, has gone from 48 to 8. Gill claimed that his call for more elections and term limits was answered by 'democracy causes arguments and disharmony' and that this sounded more like more like a North Korean apparatchik than any kind of Democrat.
He later resigned from his Brondesbury Park seat while Cllr Stephens joied the Cabinet.
Bristol and the West Momentum recognise the problem of a system based on the concentration of power in one person's hands:
Muhammed Butt will have been in power as leader of Brent Council for 10 years this month having replaced Ann John at the Labour Group election following the 2012 local election. This was not his first taste of power - he had been her deputy leader.
He is not Brent's Mayor, that is a mainly ceremonial position with the added role of chairing Council Meeting, but he heads the 8 person Cabinet. In this role he has gradually gathered more power to himself. The number of posts elected by the Labour group has shrunk to just four: leader, deputy leader, and the two chairs of Scrutiny Committee.
Other posts are appointed by the leader and rubber stamped at the Council AGM.
Butt is so confident of Labour victory that he has asked for applications from Labour candidates for consideration for the various roles on offer (and their accompanying additional allowances) BEFORE the actual council election takes place. on Thursday. The deadline for applications is tomorrow.
Readers will remember that Muhammed Butt also succeeded in changing the rules so that he could continue in office beyond the previous limit. The Task Group Report recommended 8 years.
This system puts the power of patronage in the Leader's hands and tomorrow's deadline restricts any internal moves over the political complexion of the administration.
The Cabinet system leaves most Labour backbenchers without any real power to affect decisions, limiting their role to rubber stamping Cabinet decisions at Full Council meetings. Other parties have even less of a role. It assumes that backbenchers and opposition councillors have nothing of value to offer apart from being a conduit of residents' complaints to officers.
It is a waste of potential talent and fresh views to the detriment of the common interest of residents that could be harnessed through a Committee system.
With no leadership challenge, attention will focus on the deputy leadership. Although there has been an assumption that this would go to a woman to maintain gender balance I understand that this is not a rule. Indeed Michael Pavey was Butt's deputy for a while before the two fell out.
Mili Patel and Ellie Southwood have been mentioned as possible candidates. Shama Tatler is said to be concentrating on a possible parliamentary career in a Watford seat. Daniel Kennelly has been mildly critical of the administration lately LINK and is a possible outsider candidate.
Given the almost one-party state in Brent the Scrutiny Committees are of key importance and need chairs and members able to take a robust approach. The Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee is currently chaired by Cllr Ketan Sheth who has moved wards from Tokyngton to Wembley Central. The Resources and Public Realms Scrutiny Committee is currently chaired by Cllr Roxanne Mashari who is not standing in the council election. It is no secret that she had a tough time in running that committee on the terms that she felt were appropriate and necessary. The Topical Issue agenda item that she introduced was not favoured by those in power. The Joint Meeting of the two committees to discuss the Casey Review was suspended at one point because of problems in deciding who would chair the meeting.
At the recent Fairer Housing Hustings there was cross-party support for an over-hauling of the scrutiny system in Brent with housing being so important that some felt it needed a scrutiny committee of its own.
A key appointment will be the Chair of the Planning Committee. At every meeting the chair reminds participants that this is 'a non-political quasi-judiciual committee' bound by various plans and policies. There have, however, been concerns of indirect political influence on the committee with the most recent being the case of Abdi Abdirazak who allegedly was removed for voting the 'wrong way'. LINK The result is that Labour councillors tend to abstain, rather than vote against, problematic applications, with the lone Conservative councillor the only 'Against'. This means that multi-million applications that will change the face of Brent can go through on the vote of a handful of the 8 councillors on the committee.
It is not clear whether some external committees such as the nine-borough NW London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee will have its Brent representative nominated by the appropriate Brent Committee or by the Leader himself.
An issue that has resurfaced in this election is that of the number of potential councillors from the extended Butt family. The persistent rumours from a number of sources allege that 10 family members are standing. The response has been that there is no way to prove a connection, that shared family interests in politics is not unusual (eg the Johnson family), and that anyway each councillor is selected democratically by a ward panel and not by the council leader.
Muhammed Butt's position as leader currently seems secure although there are a number of new councillors this time round who may prove to be rather more independent. A letter circulated last July to selected Labour colleagues, apparently from within the Labour Group, = criticising his personal qualities, behaviour and communication skills as Labour Group leader, appears to have gained little traction. It included the suggestion that there was little to distinguish him from a Tory or Liberal Democrat in terms of of his political beliefs and especially his failure to fight Government cuts.
Given the leadership's tight hold on Labour councillors and the fate of the handful who have demonstrated some independence, it is important to elect councillors from other parties, or Independents, who will actively hold the Council to account. With the local newspaper a shadow of its former self there is a genuine democratic deficit in the borough.
Away from formal party politics there are a number of influential networks based on religion, shared heritage, residents' associations, voluntary organisations, campaigning organisations and trade unions that make an impact. It is noteworthy for example that the Alperton Liberal Democrat candidate has been endorsed on his election literature by the former chair of the local residents' association.
Labour is looking vulnerable to the Liberal Democrats in Alperton and Sudbury and apparently are concerned about Barnhill, scene of the legal challenge to the previous by-election result. Conservatives have been piling in the leaflets there and have been desperately distancing themselves from national events around Boris Johnson. Greens are hoping for a strong showing and moving into second place in some wards, sending an important message to Labour that residents care about environmental and social justice.
Please vote and use it to improve local democracy.
15 comments:
This is unacceptable. I think the national party need to be informed. William Relton, Co-ordinator, Brent Green Party.
There is a democratic way to end Mo Butt's stranglehold on power in Brent. It can be done by the people of Tokyngton on Thursday.
If all of the residents of Tokyngton who dislike the way he is running Brent, including those who usually vote Labour but are fed up with his style of leadership, use one of their votes for the Green candidate (and don't vote for Muhammad Butt) it could make a difference.
They could still use their second vote for the party they usually support (Labour supporters voting for Krupa Sheth, if they want to).
Brent is a one party state
'Brent is a one party state.' But it doesn't have to be!!!
If enough people use their votes in the 5 May elections, Brent can have a more balanced Council, and be governed better.
A lucid and persuasive account of the chronic threat to local democracy. Hope this prompts thoughtful action, and encourages everyone to use their vote wisely.
Let's not forget that within a few months of his "coup" to take over as the Labour and Council Leader from Ann John in May 2012, Muhammed Butt had engineered the resignation of Brent's well-respected Chief Executive, Gareth Daniel, and replaced him with his own choice of Interim Chief Executive, Christine Gilbert. She was supposed to be in post for just a few months, but by various means he kept her as the Council's top officer until August 2015.
With Ms Gilbert in charge a number of changes to Brent's Constitution were made. The General Purposes Committee, which was supposed to be made up of mainly backbench councillors, as part of the "checks and balances" to stop the Executive (now Cabinet) from having too much power, was packed with Cabinet members, with Cllr Butt as its Chair.
An important General Purposes sub-committee, Senior Staff Appointments, was also now chaired by the Council Leader, giving him the power to appoint top Council Officers who suited his way of doing things.
Those are parts of the nature of Cllr Butt's grip on power, as well as those set out by Martin above.
Martin has mentioned the Leader's power to appoint the Chair of Planning Committee, and concerns over his influence on how Labour councillors vote on planning applications. He referred to Abdi Abdirazak being the most recent example of a councillor being removed from that committee for "voting the wrong way".
I believe there was a more recent example, although it was not done as obviously. At the August 2020 meeting the then Chair of Planning Committee, Cllr James Denselow, was one of two members to vote against approval of Brent Council's plans to redevelop 1 Morland Gardens (another Labour member abstained). Brent Council's Annual Meeting had been put back from May to September 2020, because of the Covid-19 lockdown, and at that meeting Cllr Denselow was removed from the committee.
Cllr Matt Kelcher was made Chair of Planning Committee instead. He had been the Chair of Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee. The official reason given for the change was that there needed to be one male and one female Chair of the two Scrutiny Committees, so Cllr. Kelcher gave up his place to Cllr Roxanne Mashari, and was rewarded with Planning instead.
And as for the Scrutiny Committees, I might write something else about that!
'Butt is so confident of Labour victory that he has asked for applications from Labour candidates for consideration for the various roles on offer ... BEFORE the actual council election takes place.'
What arrogance, to put yourself forward for an important Council post before you've even been elected as a councillor!!!
Voters need to teach these Labour bigheads a lesson in humility, by not voting for them.
I wonder how many people realise that a number of candidates are either family members or friends of Muhammed Butt.
If the Conservatives lose Kenton it Brent Council will become a one party state, a dictatorship and autocratic.
Infact several good Labour Councillors have already stepped down, been de-selected or in one case crossed the floor to The Conservative Group.
To make matters worse, Cllr Shafique Choudhary was not only deselected, the candidates in Barn Hill ward were told he was retiring. This is an out and out lie.
Cllr Wilhelmina Mitchell-Murray was getting more and more disillusioned with Butt's leadership and decided to cross the floor.
In years gone by other members of the party who voted against party lines were taken off committees.
Other candidates have been 'moved around' Orleen Hylton who was a Councillor in Tokyngton is now the candidate in Preston Ward. Mansoor Akram whgo I believe is related to Butt has been moved from Barn Hill to Kenton. I wonder why? Is that because he didn't do any work in the ward, never answered his emails and didn't support the residents at all in Chalkhill?
Labour claim that they are environmentalists, that they want to clean up the air, is that why Mansoor Akram drives a powerful convertible BMW or Jahan Mahmoodi drives a huge Range Rover? Are such cars good for the environment? Or are they both hypocrites.
It is absolutely imperative that Labour lose their grip on Brent. It is totally undemocratic to have such an imbalance of power.
May I suggest your readers vote tactically. In wards such as Alperton & Sudbury vote for the LIb Dems, in all other wards vote Conservative. If enough people do this then Labour's totality could be stopped in its tracks.
People need to vote on local issues NOT national issues - these local elections are NOT about whether you like Boris Johnson or not - they are about who will listen and help you where you live, who will hold Brent Council to account, to create a better local environment for all.
In these local elections please don’t vote Labour in Brent!
The Conservatives have been in opposition on Brent Council for many years. At one time there were two Conservative groups who were at loggerheads with each other. In my view they have not provided the detailed policy scrutiny required for effective opposition - in this sense they have failed residents and do not deserve their support. Residents would be hard put to quote any instances where the Conservatives have made a difference. The Lib Dem councillor for Alperton on his own has provided much more effective opposition. Greens have beaten Conservatives in a number of wards in recent elections and their election would signal a step change as it has in other boroughs.
While I have sympathy with some of the points made by Anonymous (2 May at 19:49) above, I must disagree with one point he/she has made.
While it is very bad for local democracy to have such an imbalance of power at Brent Council, it is not 'totally undemocratic'.
Cllr. Butt has so much power because too many Brent residents did not bother to use their democratic right to vote at the local elections in May 2018, and because our present democratic system for Council elections uses the "first past the post" voting system.
Only around 37% of Brent's registered electors used their votes in 2018. Labour candidates received more than 50% of the votes that were cast, with other parties between them receiving more than 40% of the total.
As a result, although only around 20% of Brent's total electorate voted Labour, they received 60 of the 63 councillor seats. They "won" those seats under the present democratic system, and the same system is in place for the 2022 local Council elections.
IF PEOPLE IN BRENT WANT A BETTER RUN COUNCIL, MANY MORE OF THEM NEED TO VOTE ON THURSDAY!
For a better democracy in Brent, we need a wider range of views represented on the Council, so that there are more councillors who will stand up for the views of the residents they are meant to represent and hold decision makers to account.
Please vote, and vote wisely, in the 5 May Brent Council elections.
The 8+ Brent Growth Areas are Government ruled inside of UK 'emerging economies' zoned and absolutely key to UK domestic extractive wealth plans for C21. Global British Islands is a costly expansive project where UK shire/conserved zones must also live high quality fully funded continuous improvement social democracy C21.
Councillors and MP certainly dare not engage South Kilburn "we can do whatever we want" bad growth re-development, see what happened to Cllr Abdi. The same would happen to Cllr Butt if he ventured, which he certainly wont.
There's a fairly reasonable Lib Dem candidate in Dollis Hill. ;)
I do agree this is about people not voting, as well as Mo's political, personal and family stranglehold. I well remember the 2012 coup. In part it was prompted by the by election here being lost by Ann John's Labour, when she'd promised to deliver it. Indeed. Krupesh was tweeting at the count that they'd won.
Ann's other big mistake was making Mo her deputy when he threatened to defect.
I do respect her for the work she did around FGM: that was selfless and also unpopular. She did it because she thought it was right.
Others could learn from that.
What is unacceptable?
Which national party need to be informed and what information are you asking them to be told of?
Ann John did listen to residents back in 1999 regarding saving and respecting Brent Kilburn Towns only park scale park, the South Kilburn Public Open Space (Kilburn Park)from developer land want.
Ann was here in the park and she did actually listen, public parks as surplus land at that time in Brent Kilburn became considered as "not in the public interest."
Those were the days, before housing the only infrastructure zoned, towered, no gardens and car-free became the post 2010 mono-agenda; after a few revoke plan, revoke plan, revoke plan special operations that is.
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