Brent Labour slams down the shutters over Council Tax debate

My grandad, brought up in the Victorian era, had a rich collection of' 'naughty' sayings and rhymes.   Apparently innocuous when said slowly, they were rude when spoken quickly. He delighted in encouraging his grandchildren to utter them at speed and would then gleefully accuse us of swearing.

One was 'I chased a bug around the room, I'll have his blood, he knows I will.'

Another, which came to mind today after I heard about last night's meeting of the Brent Labour Group, was:

'She shuts the shutters and sits in the shop.'

Well the shutters have come down on last night's meeting as the hunt for the leakers intensifies and I expect some councillors have been accused of s*itting in the shop!

The meeting was called at short notice to discuss the controversial issue of the possibility of a Council Tax increase before Monday's Full Meeting of the Council.

Cllr John Duffy had challenged the decision of Michael Pavey and Muhammed Butt to ignore the Group's vote in favour of a council tax increase  at the previous group meeting and wrote a letter of complaint to  the Constitutional Officer of the Labour Party at this affront to democracy.

Whether the short notice group meeting was a result of a ruling by the Labour Party authorities or the Cabinet trying to head off a public revolt is not clear.

There was clearly a possibility that there would be a split when it came to voting on the Council tax rise and even the potential for an amendment to raise the tax. Elsewhere on this blog I have listed some of the services that could be saved even with the comparative small sum of £1.4m over two years. This could include Energy Solutions, School Crossing Patrols,  Stonebridge Adventure Playground and the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre.

Anyway, with a little bit of what used to be called Kremlinology in the old days of the Soviet Empire (when I worked at Reuters, TASS the Soviet Union's news agency was in the same building so I am used to interpreting nudges and cryptic silences about totalitarian regimes) I guess that a formal vote on a Council Tax rise was taken and that it reversed the previous vote in favour of a rise.

I would conjecture that this was the result of pressure from the leadership and a bigger turnout from the 56 strong group than the 30 or so who had attended the previous meeting. I also assume that the leadership offered no crumbs in return.

I could be wrong and that really the meeting was about whether to support the Lib Dem amendment to reduce Council Tax for cat owners and aroma therapists,  or the Brondesbury Park Conservative's motion to reduce  Council Tax by 2.5% to be paid for by closing the Civic Centre's Melting Pot restaurant and replacing it with a Super Casino.

All will be revealed on Monday - or, more likely - all will be concealed on Monday.

You can watch the live streaming of the meeting on Monday from 7pm HERE

Brent Council statement on disturbances

Cllr Ann John, speaking for Brent Council, has made the following statement:

There is no justification for the mindless violence London has witnessed over the past few days. We have a history in Brent of very strong communities working together with the council and police to tackle crime related issues and it remains important that the whole Brent community pulls together to get us through the difficult times we currently face.  There is never an excuse for looting and wanton destruction and I call on local community leaders and parents to ensure that Brent businesses and streets remain safe and secure for all our residents.

• Brent Council will do all it can to support the work of the police and other emergency services in ensuring that Brent's majority of law-abiding citizens can to go about their business as usual.
• Crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated in Brent. The council will do all it can to support the police in bringing anyone involved in criminal activity to justice.
• We would ask parents and communities to continue to demonstrate good leadership and keep their youngsters off the streets during this time. This will allow the police to do the good job they have been doing in making sure our streets are safe.
• The council's senior team is closely monitoring the situation in Brent and is working in close partnership with the emergency services to ensure that contingency plans are in place should we experience the disruption experienced elsewhere in the capital.
• The council has commended the resilience and community spirit already demonstrated by Brent's residents in responding to minor disturbances experienced in isolated pockets in the borough.

Meanwhile there are reports that shops and petrol stations in Wembley are closing as a precautionary measure.