Guest post by Philip Grant in a personal capacity
The Brent Council election results in seats.
There have been many comments under Martin’s recent posts about the local election results, with people giving their views on how the new four Party / no overall control Council should be run. The formal decisions on this will be made at the Full Council’s Annual Meeting next Wednesday, 20 May, beginning at 6pm.
If you feel strongly about something, why not let the decision makers know your views? It is something which I have often done, and it is something you have every right to do, by emailing the recently elected councillors for your Ward. You can check who they are, and get their Council email addresses on Brent’s “Find Your Local Councillor” web page. Even if you did not vote for them, they are your elected representatives for the next four years, and should be interested in what the residents in their Ward think on matters affecting the Council.
The choice of ways to find your local councillor on Brent’s website.
I happen to live in Queensbury Ward, which now has three Conservative councillors, so as I was concerned to see rumours that Cllr. Muhammed Butt might be trying to court that Group, I sent this email to them, with a copy to their fellow Conservative councillors, on 13 May:
‘Dear Queensbury Ward councillors,
Kanta and Jayanti have already come across me as a politically independent resident of your Ward, and I am writing to you, with a copy to your fellow Conservative members of the newly-elected Brent Council, to share my views on an important matter ahead of next week's Annual Meeting.
It may not be correct, but it has been rumoured online that Cllr. Muhammed Butt has been in contact with your Conservative Group, with a view to retaining the position of Council Leader for the next four years. If that is the case, I hope that no agreement has been reached with him.
I have observed, and interacted with, Cllr. Butt on a number of local issues for the past twelve of his fourteen years as Leader of Brent Council. I have watched, investigated and experienced a number of his abuses of power, to the detriment of Brent residents and the Council's reputation, and can provide detailed examples if you would like the evidence (although some of you will have witnessed this for yourselves).
I can imagine that Cllr. Butt will have offered inducements, such as the Leader of the Opposition role, nominations for Mayor, Chairs or Deputy Chairs of Committees. Please do not succumb to his temptations. Another four years of Muhammed Butt as Council Leader would do further damage to our borough, and facilitating it would be seen by many as unforgivable.
I am also writing to the Leaders of the LibDem and Green Party Groups. If the Conservative Group stays strong, and votes with these two other Parties against any Labour proposal that Cllr. Butt should continue as Council Leader, he cannot be elected to that position of power.
As Labour has the largest number of seats, but no overall majority, it is entitled to seek to have one of its councillors as Council Leader; but as Labour candidates only received 30% of the total votes cast in the 7 May Brent Council elections, the other three Parties can rightly ask the Labour Group to propose a candidate for the role who will work cooperatively with all three of them. That candidate is NOT Muhammed Butt!
In my view, as a long-term resident who prefers to take an independent view on any particular issue, a fair way forward for Brent Council over the next four years would be for positions of responsibility to be shared. That would be a condition which a prospective Labour Council Leader would need to agree, although they would be free to appoint their own Cabinet.
If the three "opposition" Groups cannot agree on who is best suited for the role of Leader of the Opposition, I would suggest that the Leaders of each of the Conservatives and LibDem Groups should each have the role for two of the four years. The Green Party's candidates received more votes across the borough than either of those two, so the Green Group Leader should have the choice of Chairing one of the main Council Committees, such as Planning or the two Scrutiny Committees, with the other two opposition Groups nominating the Chair of the remaining two.
As there are now four Parties with at least nine seats on the Council, it would not seem unreasonable that each should nominate one of their councillors to serve as Mayor during the four years to 2030. I would suggest: for this coming municipal year, a Labour Mayor with a Conservative Deputy; for 2027/28, a Conservative Mayor with a LibDem Deputy; for 2028/29, a LibDem Mayor with a Green Deputy; for 2029/30, a Green Mayor with a Labour Deputy.
I hope that you, and your Conservative colleagues, will seriously consider my views and suggestions, along with your fellow councillors from other parties, particularly my strongly held belief that Cllr. Muhammed Butt should not be allowed to continue as Council Leader, Thank you. Best wishes,
Philip Grant.’
Cllr. Muhammed Butt refusing to respond to a Point of Order I raised, as a petitioner at the May 2024 Cabinet meeting, when he declared his preferred option agreed, despite no Cabinet members raising their hands or speaking, and without even seeking a vote on the second option in the Officers’ Report. (Screenshot from the Brent webcast recording)
You may not agree with what I wrote, and will probably not wish to go into as much detail, but if you have a view on who should (or should not) be Leader of Brent Council for the next four years, or how the new Council should be organised so that the views of the 70% of residents who did not vote for Labour candidates are properly represented, you have just as much right as I have to let your councillors know what you think. I hope that at least some of you will.
As I said in my email above, I have also written to the Leaders of the Lib Dem and Green Groups on the new Council, and have heard back from both of them (although I have had no response yet from my Conservative councillors, or any of their colleagues). Cllr. Anton Georgiou let me know what his Group’s position is, and said I could share it publicly:
‘To be absolutely clear, the Lib Dem Group that I lead will never make any deals or arrangements with Cllr Butt’s Labour Group. The time has come for Cllr Butt to vacate the position of Leader of the Council and allow fresh, new leadership in Brent. That is what residents voted for last week.’
Cllr. Mary Mitchell asked me not to share the details of the Green Group’s position publicly, but in general terms they believe that the Brent’s voters have demanded change. They want to see that change brought about in the way decisions are made, including genuine collaboration, scrutiny and accountability.
The Lib Dem Leader has already shared his views publicly with our local newspaper, as you may have seen on the front page of this week’s “Brent and Kilburn Times”:
The front page story in Thursday’s local newspaper.
Will Cllr. Butt still be smiling after next Wednesday evening’s meeting at the Civic Centre? We may not have a vote at that Annual Meeting, but we have the chance to influence the outcome, if we share our views with our councillors!
Philip Grant.
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