Wednesday's Annual Meeting of Brent Council marks the last year of the current administration and the thirteenth year of Muhammed Butt's leadership of the Labour Group and the Council.
The Annual Meeting sees much fussing over ceremonial regalia and flummery, as well as the serious business of appointing Committee members and representatives on outside bodies.
Cllr Ryan Hack will be installed as the youngest ever Brent Mayor and Cllr Kathleen Fraser as his seasoned Deputy. Whether Cllr Fraser acceedes to the Mayoralty will depend on the outcome of the 2026 local election.
Committee details are not released until just before the Annual Meeting but Butt may attempt a 'refresh' before the election. Watch this space.
The last item on the Annual Meeting Agenda is a proposed Protocol for setting up International Partnerships and a proposed Twinning Arrangement with Nablus on the West Bank of Palestine.
The Twinning proposal is accompanied by a very thorough 67 page assessment of the benefits to Brent and the practicalities HERE.
The twinning proposal has been supported by a 1849 signature petition and Brent Trades Council, Brent NEU, Brent Friends of Palestine and Brent Palestine Solidarity Campaign amongst others.
The financial arrangements are covered n the documentation:
The Mayoral Office is likely to spend some of its annual budget on hosting the occasional visit (if in a Twinning arrangement). A maximum budget per twinning or friendship agreement per financial year should be identified and confirmed with the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources by the officer(s) assessing the proposal to ensure funds can be allocated to this budget before any new Internal Partnership Arrangement is agreed.
International Partnering Arrangements would fall under the remit of the Mayor of Brent, but costs related to International Partnering Arrangements must be met by the organisation leading on this. This includes costs for entertaining, gift swaps or costs for printing certificates. There should be no additional financial cost for the Mayor’s Office, or other parts of the council.
27 comments:
All we are told is Brent has no money but they miracously find money for all of this???
How much is all of this actually costing and where are the funds coming from???
The controversial twinning is Brent playing international politics, not council's role.
On the Twinning Arrangement. Now, one place is a crumbling mess of potholes, streets caked in grime, overflowing bins that haven’t been emptied in weeks, and roads so neglected you’d think they were forgotten by time itself. The other place is Nablus.
Glad to see Cllr Hack and Cllr Fraser become our First and Second Citizen. Two community cllrs.
The mayoral role should be scrapped but legally council have to have one. In essence the role can be used to benefit local people if done properly . I think Kath or Ryan will do the job justice. Role is given usually to bum lickers of the leader and nice 2 seee now two very big exceptions .
On twinning it will be interesting to see if the Labour Councillors so keen to posture on the issue and those organisation supporting the idea will cough up the money needed or expect the hapless council tax payers to pay. What benefits has the twinning with South Dublin Council brought to Brent? No one is interested anymore and after a few people got a free trip to Dublin the Council lost any interest in the whole idea. After the recent arrests of some Iranian plotters will any Government take the risk of approving visas for any Palestinians?
Legally? Who makes the laws? Labour? Who chooses to pay them, rather than having it voluntary? labour
Agreed, they are people who help others, and not those that only want to help themselves.
This passage from the papers makes it pretty clear that the Twinning group would fund the activity: "International Partnering Arrangements would fall under the remit of the Mayor of Brent, but costs related to International Partnering Arrangements must be met by the organisation leading on this. This includes costs for entertaining, gift swaps or costs for printing certificates. There should be no additional financial cost for the Mayor’s Office, or other parts of the council."
Exactly! No money to repay this man for the damage to his car and livelihood 😠
How can Brent say they are not responsible because they did not know the pothole existed??? They have a team of Highways Managers and Engineers who are supposed to check and maintain all of the roads and pavements in Brent.
"Professional chauffeur calls Brent roads ‘despicable and dangerous’ after pothole severely damages car"
https://harrowonline.org/2025/05/11/professional-chauffeur-calls-brent-roads-despicable-and-dangerous-after-pothole-severely-damages-car/
this is Brent picking a side. And in a world where genocide is livestreamed and apartheid regimes are backed by Western governments, silence is complicity. Twinning with Nablus is Brent saying loud and clear: we stand with Palestine, we stand with the oppressed, and we reject colonial violence in all its forms.
This is about Gaza. This is about Kashmir. This is about pakistan. This is about every child buried under rubble, every journalist silenced, every family living under drones and curfews and checkpoints. Whether it’s Israeli war crimes or Indian military occupation, the playbook is the same. Ethnic cleansing, media control, settler violence, and global gaslighting. And the people in power expect us to stay quiet. Not in Brent.
Brent is a borough built by resistance. From Palestinian refugees to Pakistani and Kashmiri immigrants fleeing partition and repression, to Black and brown workers who survived Thatcher, raids, racism and austerity… this is a borough that knows oppression. So when we say we’re with Nablus, we’re not just being symbolic. We’re connecting struggles. We’re saying your fight is our fight.
To the Israeli state and its UK mouthpieces, to Hindutva nationalists cheering on Modi’s brutal occupation of Kashmir, take note. You don’t control the narrative anymore. You don’t speak for our communities. We are watching, we are organising, and we are not afraid to name apartheid, genocide, and imperialism for what they are.
This is what decolonial solidarity looks like. Not hashtags. Not polite statements. Real political action. Local governments taking stances. Public institutions refusing to stay neutral. If that makes people uncomfortable, good. Oppressors should feel uncomfortable when they see global solidarity rising.
Big up Brent for taking a stand. Now it’s on the rest of London… the rest of the UK… to match the energy or get exposed.
Palestine will be free. Kashmir will be free. Pakistan shall resist and Brent just reminded the world that the global South is alive and unbowed right here in North West London.
At least Dublin is nearer as i can’t help but ask why are we twinning with a city so far away? In the middle of a climate breakdown, with global carbon emissions spiralling out of control, why are we choosing to travel, fly, and create unnecessary emissions by establishing international twinning agreements, when we could be focusing on local partnerships that keep our carbon footprint low and build stronger connections within the UK?
Twinning with Nablus, in this climate emergency just feels incredibly out of touch with the urgency of our situation. We’re in the midst of a climate crisis, and 👏 every action 👏 including international travel 👏 contributes to global warming.
why are we not considering more sustainable options that support our local communities, like twinning with places closer to home, such as Slough or Luton? These are local towns facing their own challenges from social inequality to housing crises, and they could benefit from the same community-focused exchange and cooperation without the massive environmental cost. What does the lib dems or green party who actually care about ou climate say about this?
Honestly, I’m fed up with them and what the majors doing in Brent before they start. People are struggling. food banks are at breaking point, rents are through the roof, and we’re still dealing with a cost-of-living crisis.
AND what does the Mayor focus on? Twinning with cities thousands of miles away. Nablus, really? This isn’t the kind of stuff Labour stands for.
Brent doesn’t need charity work right now. What people need are jobs; decent, well-paying jobs that lift them out of poverty. Labour’s supposed to be about improving people’s lives, not focusing on symbolic gestures that don’t solve anything.
The major should be using his office to focus on local solutions. Where’s the plan to bring in businesses that provide good jobs? Where’s the support for local businesses? Where’s the action to tackle the housing crisis? These are the things that will actually make a difference in people’s lives, not spending energy on distant international causes. This isn’t just a waste of time; it’s a slap in the face to people who need action right now. Labour’s core values are about lifting people up through opportunity, not charity.
Wow! What about India and Israel? Some balance please 🙏🏻
Thought Brent Councillors are elected to represent us residents here in Brent and ensure that our hard earned Council Tax is properly spent on the best local services possible?
Yes why isn't the Mayor concentrating on the battle against betting shops and gambling premises that create betting addiction causing so much harm to affected families here in Brent???
Voluntary? Do you understand how much time they devote to it
Unfortunately your speed was ruined by you taking sides with Pakistan over India when the recent terrorist attack happened on the Pakistan side of the divide. It’s not all anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Aren't Brent Council and elected Councillors there to run our borough where we live? There's been no public consultation with us council tax paying residents on this twinning arrangement.
And if it's so important to do this why hasn't Brent Council already twinned with cities in India, Pakistan, Africa, Ukraine etc???
It literally says that there will be no cost to the council
Do you understand how much time others in our community devote to volunteering without expecting to get paid?
What about india and israel? Two states created by the British, where many argue neither should exist as they currently stand.
Let’s decolonise india and stop ot attacking Pakistan. Before modern British borders were drawn, this subcontinent was home to sovereign groups like the Tamils of Tamilakam, the Gonds of Gondwana, the Santhals and Mundas of the eastern forests, the Bhils of western hills, and the Nagas, Mizos, and Bodos of the northeast, among many others. Even today, peoples like the Meiteis of Manipur, Tripuris, Khasis, Garos, Great Andamanese, Nicobarese, and Ladakhi tribes retain distinct cultural identities that predate any modern state. To free these tribes is not merely to redraw maps, it is to restore self-determination, land rights, and cultural autonomy to the first peoples of India. By allowing them to reclaim their ancestral nations; whether it’s Kangleipak in Manipur, Bhilistan in the Aravallis, or Cheranadu in Kerala, we take a step toward justice, and a pakistan free from threat.
In simple terms:
• India (or the Indian subcontinent) has existed for thousands of years, with continuous civilisations like the Indus Valley (c. 2500 BCE), followed by ancient kingdoms and empires.
• Pakistan, as a separate country, was created in 1947 during the Partition of British India.
• The areas that now form Pakistan were historically part of India, including during the Mughal Empire and under British rule.
So, India existed first—by thousands of years—but both modern India and Pakistan became independent nations in 1947.
Each to their own
I'm Muslim and I find the constant reference to faith throughout the 67-page assessment very partisan and divisive.
Please can you say more?
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