Last week's Brent Council election result re-called the 2006 election that also resulted in No Overall Control. In the 2006 case Labour did not want to go into coalition with anothe party after losing 14 seats. There was an interregnum when officers ran the council and eventually a Lib-Dem Tory Coalition was formed with Paul Lorber (Lib Dem) as leader and Bob Blackman (then leader of Brent Conservatives) as deputy leader.
Today's situation is different with multiple parties but there are also similarities. In 2026 Brent Greens won a higher percentage of aggregate votes than Lib Dems or Tories but fewer seats. 20 years ago Labour won a higher perceptage of votes than the Lib Dems but fewer seats. This comes from their vote being more widely spread across the borough rather than concentrated in a few seats.
In 2006 there were only three main parties jockeying for position but this year there are five. A Lib Dem - Tory coalition this year would not produce a majority council (22 councillors againt Labour's 26). If Greens joined them they would have a majority (31against 26), alternatively a Labour-Conservative coalition (one has been rumoured from several sources without any evidence) would have a majority (37 against 20)
Other arrangements, short of a formal coalition, are also possible but concerns over the stability of the council over a 4 year period would arise.
The Annual General Meeting of Brent Council is timetabled for Wednesday May 20th when leadership and committee positions will be decided.
41 comments:
Obviously it's understandable to imagine some concerns but I am among those who are hopeful for a deal that takes control away from the Labour Party - and I imagine many people feel the same. Lib Dems, Greens and yes the Conservatives coming together to agree on some common ground which can provide leadership and *change* in Brent. Labour need some time out of power in Brent to actually get themselves together.
Regardless I hope any arrangement that sees Labour take power involves the removal of the current Labour leadership. Will be an interesting week ahead.
In 2026 Brent Greens won a higher percentage of aggregate votes than Lib Dems or Tories but fewer seats.
This suggests Greens should lead a libdem/tory coalition!
I voted Labour in Barnhill - not out of any love for the current regime, but to keep out the Tories (who were not, in fact, far behind). I can think of one or two reasons why an arrangement with the Tories might be very attractive to Mo Butt, but that can hardly be what most Labour voters would want or expect.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone got together for the best of brent, and all put their top policies together
In 2022, I believe that Brent Labour (including those running under the Labour and Cooperative tag) received over 50% of the votes cast in the local elections.
This time it is just under 30%, so more than 70% of the people who voted did not want Labour to run Brent Council for the next four years, even though they won the largest number of seats, although not a majority of them.
In those circumstances, it would be a travesty if Cllr. Muhammed Butt was allowed to continue as Council Leader. He should step aside, and if he doesn't, the Brent Labour Group should choose a new Leader, better suited to work co-operatively with the other three Parties in the best interests of all the borough's residents.
And if Labour were to nominate Cllr. Muhammed Butt to continue as Council Leader at the Annual Meeting next week, I hope that all of the councillors from the other three Parties would vote against him staying in power.
That is my personal view, based on what I have witnessed, experienced and discovered over most of his 14 years as Council Leader. Feel free to agree, or disagree (with reasons) in your own comments.
Surely not even the Brent Tories would be so stupid as to do some shady deal to keep Butt in power? Is Councillor Kansagra so desperate to be Mayor as to sacrifice the Tories to oblivion and ridicule?
According to the local Newspaper the Lib Dems are demanding that Councillor Butt stands down as Leader of Brent Council.
The Tories are silent - but probably hoping for some allowances paying positions - as their price of sitting on their hands. No doubt Butt & Kansagra are wheeling dealing as we wait with bated breath.
With so many ex Labour Councillors in the Green ranks - will the Greens demand Butt's head before letting Labour stay in control of Brent or even creating a Labour/Green coalition?
Come on Martin - time to spill the beans about what the new boys & girls on the block are up to. Will it be an exciting new future or much of the boring old same?
The Greens are full of ex Labour people. Momentum 'entryism' policy in practice. They can hardly be expected to do any deal with the Tories.
What Labour voters or Labour Councillors want is of course irrelevant - what matters to Mo Butt is Mo Butt's position and the financial benefits it brings.
Difficult fir labour to y him, as far as i can see, all those who would have challenged for leader, plus some who previously have, have lost their seats, difficult position to be in.
If you want to know what the Greens think? Think about it: some of them left the Labour Party, some never were Labour. That says to me that they do not support the Butt Labour administration. As for the LibDems, we all know they will never work with Butt's Labour. Then the Tories? Well, who wants to work with them?
The problem is all those looking to be leader, lost their seats, so its either the experienced leader but unpopular in butt, or an inexperienced, unsuitable leader, which is better for brent
Or will those ex Labour Greens who only stood for Greens as they were deselected by Labour now convert back to Labour if offered a sweetener Cabinet position by Butt?
Equally would they convert back to Labour if Butt is removed as Council Leader?
Lets hope Starmer to survive and save his own skin ( and as a former Human Rights lawyer) abandons governments brutal brownfield estates policy (in place ever since the 2010 Con-Dem coalition national government).
This would finally call peace on this English Civil War which is clearly unsustainable (however lucrative for politicians), as in 2026 there are enough major external threats to the UK's nation survival? The government bully risks being bullied now and nation cohesion should be on the main agenda.
With brownfield estates policy ended, Brent councillors would feel safe to re-engage with the excluded populations of Brent's population growths zoned and end Reform policy delivery inside these zones? No more meanwhile, lets have welfare state infrastructure to scale designed into these new town zones by government, make healthy neighbourhoods, make green places.
The next national government is a Reform-Tory coalition by media demand shoe-in. They even have a TV channel 24/7 as back -up. Knowing this, the Britain is in Europe political parties need to coalesce, build and grow roots. Brownfield estates policy is internal exiling and excluding vast numbers of people, condemned as living in contaminated waste sites for allocation. Reparations NOW. STOP THE WAR.
Best if the Greens build from their new bases. Attempt to re-integrate toxic social exclusions like the Kilburn Tower Wall fail better back into London civil life. This will make a lot of political noise, gain votes, raise Green profile, even get the MP who sits in cabinet local equalities re-engaged. Green-led towers neighbourhoods of community and of health. Car-free, so design for that life style and at high quality.
Cllr Anton leader of brent LD is ex Labour too, so you can’t hold being ex labour against anyone
Write him a letter telling him Mr Grant, he loves your letters!
If Labour are actually socialists they will look at Greens.
Its very hard to hold my nose and agree to letting the Tories into anything.. Ideally a Green/Lib Dem/Labour Coalition would be preferable but assume thats unlikely given that Labour can govern with ONLY the LDs or the Greens. The one thing I think we are all agreed on is that Butt should step down...
Looking at the voting for each ward in detail it seems clear that Greens would have won more councillors if they had only stood one candidate in each ward.. eg. in my ward there were two council seats up for grabs and greens came a very close third and fourth. if they had stood only one candidate they would have had the largest number of votes by some margin.. it looked like this was the case across Brent. of course hindsight is 2020 vision.. so easy to say in retrospect..
I don't think you understand why they left Labour
Can't imagine why anyone would want the Tories or Lib Dems anywhere near control of the Council.
This is a golden opportunity for elected members to re-discover the joys of deploying well-behaved, civic co-operation ahead of party political interests for the benefit of Brent residents.
Well, it's a thought................!
.
Forgot to post my name on the borough ahead of political party comment!
Can't imagine anyone still wants Labour ruining our borough anymore than it already has - people didn't vote against Starmer here they voted against the Butt dictatorshop and our poorly performing Labour Councillors taking their allowances without actually helping residents or standing up to him!
Tories have made major improvements to how Harrow is run and increasd their majority there in last week's local election.
We spoke to someone before the election who said although they was a natural Labour supporter they would vote Tory because of the great way the Tories were running Harrow.
They left Labour because they were deselected to stand in the election.
Thank you for your suggestion, Anonymous (13 May at 12:43).
I did send an email to Cllr. Muhammed Butt last weekend, including the comment I had made under Martin's first post sharing the local election results. That said that he should step down as Council Leader, and that if would not agree to do so, the Labour Group should vote to choose a different Leader. Cllr. Butt has not replied to my message.
The Reformist Tories should be out in the cold given what is pending at the 2029 GE, although they are natural allies of project Brent car-free tenanted towers hundreds.
Of course he is
No chance, Labour no longer exist as a left, or centre party, they are the new Tories. In Brent, the Labour Party have no position other than being in power.
I can't work out that logic!
The Labour cabinet no longer holds a majority of seats. If candidates are chosen based on their individual merit rather than political affiliation, it will be interesting to see how long they last.
Labour Couucillors in Brent were not voted out because of Starmer but looks like Starmer will now be ousted and the country will be in chaos until a new Labour Leader is confirmed and then there will be a call for a General Election as the new Labour Leader wasn't elected to run the country - how much will all of this messing around cost us tax payers???
At least tories wont continually raise taxes and their salaries. Wandsworth was a great well run council
Anton is not ex labour. I’ve known him since he joined us in his teens.
ANSWER - Mo Butt (desperate to hang on) - Tories (just want their allowances and Mayor position for their egos).
Butt will try to hang on at all cost and will use his 'patronage' to offer the Tories money (positions paying allowances). The Tories will abstain knowing that it will get through (Labour 26) despite opposition from the Lib Dems (11) and Greens (9).
Vote Tory get Labour! - will really 'piss off' many Tory voters.
Butt Out
Im a Labour member and voted Reform to send a message to Starmer. Burnham has heard me. All hail the king of the north.
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