Cllr Shama Tatler becomes a Life Peer, a baroness in the Political Peerages announced today and will take a seat in the House of Lords. Known for her fondness for tower blocks that have changed the face of Brent, she cares little for the fact that most Brent residents cannot afford them, as long as they pile up the numbers to meet targets.
Cllr Tatler is also a main force behind the 'Labour YIMBY's' (Yes, in my backyard) as well, allegedly, a prime mover in the recent deselection of many Labour councillors through her role in the upper echelons of the London Labour Party. The deselected councillors' support for Palestine was allegedly frowned upon by Tatler.
On the national political stage she rushed to replace Labour Candidate Faiza Shaheen when she was sacked as a General Election candidate by Keir Starmer. Tatler lost to the Tories.
Keir Starmer, who made the recommendation is clearly impressed by her.
Above is my personal view, below is the official citation:
Cllr. Shama Tatler - Brent Councillor and Vice-Chair of the London Labour Regional Executive, Patron of the Labour Housing Group and Head of the Labour Group Office at the Local Government Association.
Shama Tatler was first elected to Brent Council in 2014 representing Fryent ward, and re-elected in 2018, she now serves the residents of Kingsbury ward. Shama was appointed as Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Planning in Brent in December 2016. Under her leadership, thousands of new homes have
been delivered alongside progressive planning policies.
Shama currently serves as Vice-Chair of the London Labour Regional Executive, Vice-Chair of Labour Indians, and Patron of the Labour Housing Group. She is a graduate and mentor of the Fabian Women’s Network mentoring scheme. Shama was also a Labour Party Parliamentary candidate in 2024. Shama began her career as a secondary school History and Humanities teacher and she is a life member of the Children’s Cultural Organisation, Shishukunj. She now works as the Head of the Labour Group Office at the Local Government Association (LGA), supporting Labour councillors and councils.
Also nominated for a peerage is Sarah Teather, former MP for Brent East, who won the seat when Labour voters revolted over Labour support for Blair's Iraq War. Her recorded was tarnished over her support for Coalition policy to impose student fees after she had spoken against them in the Commons. On 6 January 2006, 25 Liberal Democrat MPs signed a letter drafted by Teather and fellow frontbencher Ed Davey, indicating their unwillingness to continue working under party leader Charles Kennedy opposing the Tory-Lib Dem welfare reform. She went on to work with refugees.
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey nominated her for the peerage.
The official citation:
Sarah Teather - Charity leader, former MP for Brent East and Brent Central and former Minister of State at the Department for Education Sarah Teather is a charity leader, experienced Board member and former government minister and MP. She is currently interim Chief Executive of a national children’s charity that helps young people, families and schools to tackle bullying. She also serves on the boards of Barts Health NHS Trust and Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust as a non-Executive Director.
Previously, she led JRS UK, a charity providing support, legal advice and accommodation to refugees. She was the Minister of State for Children and Families from 2010 to 2012. She served in Parliament for 12 years as MP for Brent East from 2003 to 2010, and then as MP for Brent Central following boundary changes. She stood down from Parliament in 2015
So the reward for being parachuted into a winnable Labour seat and then handing it to the Tories is a place in the Lords.
ReplyDeleteLabour rewarding failure while taxing success. Makes sense.
Teather was a phenomenal MP and minister. Thoroughly deserved.
How ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteExcuse me for not celebrating. The `thousands of new homes' she is cited as having delivered are riddled with problems, like flammable cladding, mould, failures of heating etc etc. Problems she always refused to acknowledge. Kicked upstairs as a reward. Fitting that someone with no respect for democracy (willing to be appointed - not selected - to fight the general election in place of a candidate who had been campaigning for several years), should find her place in an undemocratic legislative chamber.
ReplyDeleteShe was desperate to get into Parliament, but no constituency would ever select her in future after the Chingford and Woodford Green debacle!
ReplyDeleteLady Tatler - what a joke! A true reflection of what the former Labour Party has become under Starmer.
Life peers add a place name to their title. I am not sure if Baroness Tatler of Quintain would be allowed. Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteBaroness Tatler of Undeserving
ReplyDeleteIt is unbelievable that this Brent Councillor, who is disliked by the vast majority of Brent Coucillors past and present (though they can no longer show it) has become a Peer, and has so influential in the Labour Party that she now chooses who can stand as a Labour candidate in Brent.
ReplyDeleteWhat to name this particular Labour Tower Lord?
ReplyDeleteLady Tatler of Permanent Development zoned
Lady Tatler of Inequalities
Lady Tatler of Reform
Maida Vale Conservation Area was getting flood water tanks (underground car parks) built under Brent blocks to from River Westbourne defend its homes. A social value off-set whereby Brent tenant service charge bills cover these new flooding defences operational cost for wealthy Westminster's benefit.
So correction: regressive, harsh and unjust planning policies.
Can see why she walked into the Feudal Lords.
ST is a zonal planning, then 'mine all the gaps' politician
A business meeting with the King next no doubt.
ReplyDeleteEdited [ ] Comment: if they think Ms Tatler has a handle on Brent they are completely wrong, she is unsympathetic to the harms a lot of the bulldozing in borough has caused to communities, the horrendously ugly lego blocks that have destroyed our skylines and areas which which were once charming architecturally. I had a dealing with her to do with a dodgy landlord threating residents and breaching planning conditions, she seemed sympathetic and the right when she was walking away she said, "as long as they meet building regs" which floored the other meeting participants. This demonstrated to me the levels of fake she operates in as she appeared understanding, right til the last minute. [ ]
ReplyDeleteEdited [ ] Comment: And the self serving Towerblock Tatler got a Peerage for this substandard housing and the many other debacles she has dumped on Brent residents, and of course her revenge on fellow Labour Party members. Unbelievable, just as is the state of Brent's housing. []
ReplyDeleteBaroness Tatler of Bent
ReplyDeleteAs if the Feudal House of Land Lords needs two more bad growth advocates.
ReplyDeleteBritain's only single staircase post Grenfell new tower build, Orwell Tower, South Kilburn opened in 2025.
Britain's only tall building zone (2019) with no tall building zone masterplan (nearing 2026), and this no policy for a notorious flood area.
Granville new homes which costs more to remediate now than it did to build in 2010.
What could possible go wrong, does in Brent. As said a Reform policies pilot borough.
Needed for assisted dying votes no doubt, as that vote connects direct to tenanted population tower growth zones being asset stripped of welfare state infrastructure by permanent development.
ReplyDeleteNo-to-neighbourhood/ neighbourhood not, towers zoned, to massive scale packed-in taxpayer populations need 'other' solutions than social care infrastructure being baked-in.
She's one of my local councillors and has been MIA since she decided to run for Parliament. Didn't do much beforehand, tbh.
ReplyDeleteFailing upwards at it's most blatant.
The title can be quite long. This is former Brent MP, Paul Boateng's, full title: Baron Boateng, of Akyem in the Republic of Ghana and of Wembley in the London Borough of Brent[
ReplyDeleteBaron Boateng of the oh so secretive Grenfell Tower demolition 2025
ReplyDeleteSouth Kilburn does have a Brent council masterplan 2017 produced following Brent's 2017 unilateral cancellation of the 2004 community-led neighbourhood masterplan for South Kilburn (which had cost £3 million of UK taxpayer money and a 3 years CONsultation to produce).
ReplyDeleteHowever, Brent does not have a tall building masterplan for its South Kilburn tall building zone declared in 2019. Clever Reform/ 'the worse the better' stuff is in play. Tower Lords needed!
Didn't Labour want to close down the House of Lords?
ReplyDelete