The full list of Cabinet and Committee changes has been published ahead of tonight's Extraordinary General Meeting of Brent Full Council. The changes follow the creation of a Green Group when 5 former Labour councillors made the positive choice to transfer their allegience to the Green Party.
Cllr Ishma Moeen (Wembey Hill ward) will succeed Cllr Harbi Farah in the revised portfolio of Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Cohesion. Cllr Moeen has wide outside interests in addition to her councillor responsibilities:
The full changes are appended but it is worth noting that Cllr Nerva is replaced by Cllr Farah on the General Purposes Committee and that Cllr Dixon comes off Planning. Cllr Dixon becomes Chief Whip succeeding Cllr Ahmadi Moghaddam who has joined the Greens.
The need for effective scrutiny and full transparency has long been a theme of the Green Party in Brent Cllr Mitchell, leader of the Green Group) is on the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee and Cllr Ethapemi on the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee. Cllr Gbajumo joins the Audit and Standards Committee and Advisory Committee.
Cllr Bajwa, currently revelling in the role of Deputy Mayor, comes off the Licensing Committee and is replaced by Cllr Ethapemi.
Greens now take over the role of second opposition party from the Lib Dems.
The appointments come on the eve of what I understand is a return visit of the Campaign Improvement Board that made the Labour selections for May 2026.
13 comments:
You do NOT have to be a member of a political Party to carry out effective Scrutiny. Two of the 'Green' Scrutiny members already sat on Scrutiny as Labour Councillors. There was no restriction on them to Scrutinise properly in the past - and they did their best despite having to obey orders from above.
In reality proper Scrutiny and challenge to bad Labour decisions (and 'Calls In' of bad decisions) in Brent was undertaken by Liberal Democrat Councillors who for example challenged the 'blue' bags decision and the fiasco of the Altamira project.
The whole point if scrutiny is to hold the Labour Cabinet actions to account and to ensure that decisions improve services rather than make things worse.
The Chairs of Scrutiny Committees should not be Labour Councillors as Liberal Democrats have been pointing out since 2020. Hopefully the 2026 election will finally bring about the change that Democracy, Scrutiny and proper local accountability is so badly needed in Brent.
Are you suggesting that Labour’s CIB are likely to revisit those prospective candidates for May again?
perhaps reform UK will take a majority of seats
The difference now, is they have Martin Francis behind them, as well as a back bone. If lib dems get in, come local elections, will you pledge to abolish the leader/cabinet model are restore power to all councillors?
They already are, but no review of candidates already chosen, just looking at female applications this time around
Re Anonymous 13 Jan 18.08 - if and when you reveal yourself I'll be happy to answer your question. Although yo can probably guess the answer.
This maybe obvious to some but why would you put certain Councillors on committees when they do little to nothing for the residents in the ward they represent is beyond belief.
Paul, the Labour Party rules tie the hands of they Scrutiny members
most unlikely, the word on the street is they don't want another bunch of self serving politicians
Why would anyone put a councillor who lives in Harrow a Cabinet position, especially as they are always working on specialist events and never seen in their ward?
Civilising Brexit civilisation - zone-by zone. Why should Brent tenanted towers estates pay record taxes for no social infrastructure/ no neighbourhood allowed by Reformist design?
Reformist policy of 8 tenanted towers permanent developments zoned. Scrutiny is clearly a good idea. Good growth welfare state infrastructure to appropriate scale and to where Brent population is being car-free sky houses towers packed-in.
are lib dems for local democracy?
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