Labour's spiteful reaction to defections to the Green Party in perspective. Defectors speak out as they form second opposition group in size

 

 

 

The Brent Labour Party rushed out a message to members when they got wind of potential defections to the Green Party  today, instructing members to treat the defectors as political opponents and enforcing a 24 hour lockdown on members making any comments publicly.

 

The first officical comment was to the BBC is above and rather spiteful. In contrast this is what Zack Polanski said at the Press Conference:

 

 

 

Contrary to the Labour comments, there is a thorough established process on accepting potential defectors to the Green Party looking at their record and establishing their understanding and adherence to Green values. The usual checks are made on social media and elsewhere.

 

There are interviews at both local and regional level and the national party is consulted. Not all applicants make it through the process.  The process is friendly, but challenging.

 

Fortunately the Brent Green Party has issued statements from all the councillors so people can make uo their own minds.

 

 

 

 

 

From Brent Green Party 

 

Following a surge in the polls and with membership growing to over 180,000 in just a few months, the Green Party is today announcing the biggest block defection yet to the Greens, with 5 Labour councillors coming over to the Green Party,  

The 5 Brent Councillors are: 

  Cllr Harbi Farah (Former Labour Cabinet Member, Welsh Harp) 

Cllr Iman (Former Labour Party Whip, Wembley Park) 

Cllr Mary Mitchell (Welsh Harp) 

Cllr Tony Ethapemi (Stonebridge) 

Cllr Erica Gbajumo (Brondesbury Park) 

 

These latest defections come on the back of seven previous defections in London alone since September, with two in Southwark in the last month.  

Zack Polanski, Leader of The Green Party of England & Wales, said:  

The Green surge has just widened in London. What we’re witnessing in Brent mirrors what we’re hearing across the country on doorsteps and in polls. Good Labour councillors can see Labour has abandoned any sense of progressive politics and is showing absolute cowardice in its doomed attempt to out Reform, Reform with the politics of division and scapegoating.   

Increasingly, people are finding the alternative they need by joining the Green Party and working for a better world shaped by hope rather than fear. 

In the elections in May, it is the Greens who will be taking the fight to Reform and we show our intent today in Brent. This is just the start.”  

Brent Green Party said:

Brent is the most diverse borough in London, rich in history and culture, yet years of Labour and Tory austerity have taken a heavy toll. Services continue to shrink, in-work poverty is rising, families are under pressure, and local businesses face growing uncertainty. In one of the world’s wealthiest cities, such inequality is indefensible. 

By joining the Brent Green Party, Tony, Iman, Mary, Erica and Harbi are now able to speak out and push back. They are dedicated councillors who work hard for their communities, and Brent Greens stand ready to support them as they fight to put the needs of residents back at the heart of local government. 

Statements from Councillors 

 

 

Cllr Iman Ahmadi-Moghaddam (Former Labour Party Whip) 

Ward: Wembley Park 

I joined Labour to build a fairer society, but Starmer’s government has abandoned any ambition to change the system. This government has doubled down on austerity whilst the cost of living devastates families, sides with big developers instead of fixing Brent’s housing crisis, and scapegoats migrants to distract from its own failures. And whilst Israel commits genocide in Gaza, this government arms the perpetrators and criminalises peaceful protest. 

 

Throughout my time as a Councillor, I stood up for and organised for Palestine, for renters’ rights, leaseholders’ rights, for human rights, for an end to austerity, and for a fairer Wembley Park and Brent.  

 

I am joining the Green Party, which is now home to the values of compassion, social justice and community power. I will continue serving Brent with those values at my core. 

 

Cllr Mary Mitchell 

Ward: Welsh Harp 

I’ve been a Labour party member for a decade, and a Labour councillor for four years. I have always believed that a Labour Party in power was worth fighting for. 

Instead the Labour Party has left the values that I stand for, and what the Party historically has stood for and achieved. 

In copying far-right policy and rhetoric on migration, scrapping jury trials and the draconian policing of protest, we have seen the Labour Party move to the right.  

In downgrading investment in the energy transition and deepening fossil-fuel interests, the party has gone against manifesto promises on tackling climate change and nature depletion.  

The appalling complicity in Israel’s genocidal actions in Gaza and suspension from the party of those who call this out is a stain on Labour’s historic record of free speech and human rights advocacy. 

Where positive change has happened it has been tinkering around the edges. Yet the challenges that we face as a nation, and locally, are so significant that we require systematic change. I no longer believe that the Labour Party is capable of, or willing to fight for, the level of change it historically brought about. 

In the Green Party, I find a party that recognises the interconnectedness of people and planet and the importance of radical systems change. 

I know many residents I represent will welcome this news. It is a privilege to be part of a new era of Green Politics in Brent, and to give Brent residents a real choice at the ballot box for a greener, fairer future. 

 

Cllr Harbi Farah (Former Cabinet Leader for Safer Communities) 

Wards: Welsh Harp 

For many years, the Labour Party was my political home. It was a place I deemed represented the ideals of social justice, equality, and collective well-being. I dedicated my public life and my hope to the vision of a fairer Britain, one where the most vulnerable were protected and the powerful were held accountable. 

Over recent years, however, an overwhelming and accumulating sense of disappointment has taken hold. This decision to leave the Labour Party is not one made lightly, but out of necessity and a deep-seated conviction that theparty no longer serves the principles it once championed. 

My primary disillusionment stems from what feels like a consistent pattern of broken manifesto promises. We were offered a transformative agenda, a genuine shift in power dynamics, but time and again, when faced with political headwinds or internal pressures, those commitments seemed to vanish such as welfare reform, scapegoating immigrant, race to the far right, scrapping jury trials and silencing internal debate dissent  

The gap between rhetoric and reality widened into an unbridgeable chasm. It became increasingly difficult to reconcile my values with a party that appeared to compromise on core principles for the sake of perceived electability, often leaving the most radical and necessary changes behind. 

I am leaving the Labour Party because my values have not changed; the party has. I still believe in a society structured around solidarity and genuine systemic change. I am a socialist, and I seek a political home that unambiguously champions these ideals. 

It is with this renewed clarity that I have decided to join the Green Party. 

In the Green Party, I have found a movement that not only understands the urgency of the climate crisis but also fundamentally embraces socialist principles. The Green Party’s commitment to public ownership, wealth redistribution, strengthening public services, and championing a universal basic income aligns precisely with the socialist vision of an equitable society.  

My hope now rests with the Green Party. I look forward to working alongside others who share an unwavering commitment to a compassionate, sustainable, and truly socialist future for our country. 

 

  

Cllr Tony Ethapemi 

Ward: Stonebridge 

 

I left the Labour Party because the party is no-longer the Party I joined over twenty-five years ago. Over time it has let me down in the values we shared - fairness, social justice, humanity and democracy. These principles guided my involvement and inspired my commitment, but I no longer feel they are upheld in the way I had hoped. The party I thought was broad and inclusive is no longer, it has lurched to the far right. 

 

The Green Party now reflects my values of social justice, humanity and fairness. I have in recent times been inspired by the socialist values imbibed by the leader of the Green Party and desire to serve the community as a Green Party member. 

 

Cllr Erica Gbajumo 

Ward: Brondesbury Park 

After nearly twenty years of membership, I have taken the difficult decision to resign from the Labour Party. Over time, I have felt that the party I joined has changed in both tone and direction, moving away from the values and principles that originally inspired my involvement.  

I have also grown increasingly concerned about the internal culture of the party, which in my experience has become more centralised and restrictive, leaving less space for open debate and genuine representation. 

My responsibility is to act with integrity and to put the residents I represent first. After careful reflection, I believe the Green Party offers a clearer and more consistent commitment to social justice, community wellbeing, and accountable politics. It is for these reasons that I will continue my work as a councillor under a new political home. 

Labour Bosses Sack Eight Sitting BAME Brent Councillors for Supporting Palestine and Close in on Council Leader Muhammed Butt

Brent Anti-racism Charter 2022

Exclusive insight from a former Brent Labour Party member:

Labour's Ruling Body (National Executive Committee) have imposed all Labour council candidates in Brent without any say from thousands of local party members or long serving MPs.

This includes barring eight sitting BAME Councillors, including Labour’s Chief Whip Cllr Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam and Cabinet Member Cllr Harbi Farah from standing in the May 2026 council election.

All deselected councillors signed a statement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in October 2023, infuriating Starmer loyalists. This is thought to be the primary motive for their deselection. 

White councillors who also signed the same statement survived the purge, in a move that will undoubtedly raise some difficult questions for Labour on the doorstep amongst Brent’s diverse communities. 

⁠The panel that decided Labour’s candidate list was chaired by Starmerite and corporate lobbyist Abdi Duale, who also carried out most of the interviews that led to the Councillors being deselected.

London Labour Party Executive member and Kingsbury Councillor Shama Tatler did not stand [she said so in Twitter statement]. She was a vocal supporter of the move to take decision making out of the hands of Labour members, and is rumoured to have been actively involved in deciding the final list of candidates. Cllr Tatler was also involved in the running of a similar process in Leicester in 2023, which deselected 19 Muslim and Hindu Councillors. 

New Starmerite MP, Georgia Gould, imposed by the national party in 2024, is rumoured to have taken time out of her busy government ministerial role to personally intervene to encourage the purge and replace sitting Councillors with her Starmerite allies. 

This comes four days after Labour's catastrophic defeat in the West Hampstead ward by-election in neighbouring Camden Council. A similar 23-point swing in Brent in 2026 would see councillors being lost in almost every single Labour-held ward. The recent upheaval in Brent Labour will undoubtedly increase this likelihood, leading to internal fears that Labour could lose control of Brent’s administration.

This appears to be the first step in removing council leader Muhammed Butt, motivated by Starmerite outrage over his non-compliance, especially his decision to allow Brent council to set up a ‘twinning arrangement’ with Nablus, a town in Palestine.

EDITOR'S NOTE - The deselected individuals remain as Brent councillors until the May 2026 Local Election unless they resign.

'Half of the left councillors have be deselected' - first reactions to London Region sponsored Brent Council selections for May 2026 council election

 Results and comments from reliable sources are coming in as the selection of Labour candidates for the May 2026 council election are announced in letters to candidates. One insider said, 'Half of the left councillors have been deselected'.  The selections were made by the London region of the Labour Party rather than local Labour Party members.

Two high-profile  de-selections were the Labour Group whip Cllr Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam and Cabinet meber Harbi Farah. Cllr Jumbo Chan, an NEU member and backer of anti-academisation campaigns is another casualty along with Cllr Tony Ethapemi (Stonebridge) and Cllr Erica Gbajumo (Brondesbury Park).

One disappointed candidate commiserated with another saying, 'Don't tak it to heart. The selection process was as corrupt as it's ever been. A pity because it looked hopeful for an even playing field this time, but not to be.'

I will update this blog post as more results and reactions come in. 

Further deselections;

 Cllr Rita Begum

Cllr Rajan-Seelan

Cllr Diana Collymore 

 

Probity and Planning in Brent

 

With the far-reaching new Brent Local Plan now in place until 2041, Brent enters a new period of multi-million pound developments in its growth areas that will change the face of Brent, as well as the more routine planning applications that are often delegated to officers.

With its quasi-judicial role the Planning Committee is supposed to be free from any specific political interference although it operates within the Council's Local Plan and Planning Guidance.

There have been questions raised in the past about indirect political interference in Planning Committee, especially when Labour members who do not conform the expectations lose their position (and their additional allowance)  in one way or another.

It is important then that in order to ensure the public see the proceediungs as fair and above board that there is probity in the Planning Committee's structure and proceedings.

The Local Government Association has published advice on probity in planning HERE. They say:

Probity in planning is about ensuring that decisions on plan making and planning applications are undertaken, on behalf of communities, in a fair, impartial and transparent way.

What appears to be missing from this in the context of  a mainly one-party council is how the members of the committee are chosen.  In Brent the proportion of places allocated are on the basis of the local election outcome and there are seven Labour members of the Committee and one Opposition member.  Currently this is a Conservative. Cllr Michael Maurice. There is no Liberal Democrat although concern over new developments in the borough was one of their main campaigning  issues.

Labour members are appointed to the Committee by the leader, and perhaps deputy leader, rather than elected by the Labour Group.. 

It is important to note that there is no overt political whipping  of the Labour committee members on planning matters.

This adminstration's Planning Committee is listed above.  It is worth noting that the chair, Cllr Matt Kelcher, is the partner of the new Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Mili Patel.The  new Vice-chair is Cllr Saquib Butt, brother of Muhammed Butt, leader of the Council.  Both were on the previous Planning Committee.

New members of the Planning Committee include Cllr Ajmal Akram, who I understand is Muhammed Butt's brother-in-law, and Cllr Arshad Mahmood, widely alleged to be Cllr  M.Butt's cousin.

These connections, if true, would constitute half of the Committee, although they all, of course, may be fiercely independent with no family allegiance.

 

Cllr Saqib Butt

In addition to his position on the Planning Committee Cllr S. Butt has also been appointed to the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee that has planning and regeneration as part of its remit. He is also a member of both the Audit and Standards Committee and its advisory body.

New Wembley Hill councillor  Ajmal Akram goes straight into office as a member of both the Planning Committee and Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee. New Kilburn councillor Rita Begum is on the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee as well as Planning.

Brent has two wholly-owned subsidiary housing companies First Wave Housing and I4B and Saqib Butt has been appointed the councillor director on both.

 

From First Wave Housing accounts

 

 

From I4B Holdings Accounts

 

Both companies report to the Audit and Standards Committee.

 

Labour leaflet's ambiguous claims over sources of funding to help residents

 

Under the headline 'Your Labour Council is reducing the cost of living in Queensbury' the Labour Party is distributing the above claims in its election leaflet distributed in the ward.

Some are at best ambigous and suggest help is from the council rather than via the council.  Take for example the £150 refund on Council Tax. The Council's own website is very clear this this comes from the government:

A Council response to a Freedom of Information request by Paul Lorber lists all the Covid-19 grants that have been available and is a valuable source for cross-checking claims over the forthcoming period.

You will note that the Brent Council appears to have been unsuccessful in spending some of the grants available for business, while the Schools Department has, rightly, spent to the full.  Overall the 'repayment' column, totally £70m is concerning - is this unspent money that the council had to pay back to the government?

NEU urges Butt to follow Labour Party policy and act on Village School academisation

The Brent National Education Union passed the following resolution unanimously at their meeting last night:

Brent NEU note that The Village school is still a Local Authority school and that Brent Labour Party policy is to urge LA schools to remain within the LA family of schools. We further note that the overwhelming majority of staff and the community have called for the school remain in the LA family of schools. 

Brent NEU also note that the Labour Party Conference in September 2018 agreed the following.

“That in government, the Labour Party will bring all schools back under local democratic control including academy and Multi Academy Trusts. Therefore, proposals to wind up MATs and turn over control and management of schools to local democratically controlled structures should be developed urgently.”

Brent NEU therefore call on the leader of the council Muhammed Butt to urgently;

1. Write to the Chair of Governors and the Governing Board at The Village urging them to withdraw their proposal to become an academy as part of a Multi Academy Trust and remain as an LA school. 
2. Write to the Secretary of State for Education to urge the Government not to proceed with the proposal due to the difficulties accompanying this proposal to join Woodfield in a MAT.

Brent Labour Group punish John Duffy, outspoken Brent councillor - Labour whip removed

Cllr Duffy

In a dedicated meeting of Brent Labour Group held on Monday maverick councillor John Duffy  was deprived of the Labour whip for an indefinite period.

In what one informant described as an ugly meeting reminiscent of a kangaroo court, Duffy was accused of  bullying and bringing the Labour Group into disrepute.

Cllr Butt's allies ensured that a compromise proposal, for a shorter period, was defeated. Duffy's recent criticism of Brent's CEO, Carolyn Downs, appeared to have played a part in the move as well as his revelations concerning Brent's management of its waste services. LINK

Duffy, who was not selected by Labour for the May 2018 elections, has just only six months left as a councillor.

I do hope that this does not prevent Cllr Duffy continuing to speak 'Truth to Power' despite "Power' trying to silence him.

Should Brent Labour have a council funded premises as its election campaign HQ?

A message has gone out to members from the Labour Party asking, 'If you're free to volunteer on polling day, let us know which campaign centre you will join.'

One of the centres listed is:

Campaign Centre - Brent (Peel Precinct)
21-23 Peel Precinct,
NW6 5BS

This address, on the South Kilburn estate, is in fact that of the South Kilburn Community Alliance which is part funded by Brent Council.

Surely it is wrong for a premises associated with the Council to be used for party political purposes. The call to Labour Party members says the campaign centre will be open from 9am to 10pm.

NOT NOW, BERNARD

Will Bernard be given the chance to climb Labour's mountain?

The crowded field of Labour hopefuls for the Brent Central parliamentary has been joined by yet another runner. Fresh from winning a council candidate place for the Willesden Green was, Bernard Collier has now set his sights higher, and has announced he wants the Brent Central seat.

After last week's flurry of letters to the Brent and Kilburn Times (and Zaffar van Kalwala managed it again today)we can look forward to the Thoughts of Bernard jostling for a place alongside those from the other candidates.

Meanwhile here is what he wrote about himself: LINK

I have lived in Kilburn and Willesden since 1986. Bringing up two children in Brent, using local schools, GP’s and hospitals, has given me a thorough understanding of the issues that affect people locally.

I began my working life teaching independent living and advocacy skills to adults with learning difficulties. Since then I have run voluntary organisations and worked with community groups (Refugee, Pre schools, Senior Citizens) for the last twenty years. I have gained experience of promoting their collective voice and influencing social policy at local, regional, and national levels.

My varied experience, including managing Sure Start outreach teams and facilitating Community Networks for example, means that I bring both a passion for social justice and a range of strategic and management skills to “make it happen” in Brent Central.

The Labour party in Brent Central has a mountain to climb after losing a nominal majority of 19% in 2010. It is vital therefore that the candidate we choose has experience of representing, influencing and negotiating on behalf of local communities. Someone with a good grasp of policy and also a history of standing up for communities and fighting for social justice.

I believe Brent Central deserves to have an MP who has lived a life outside of the political bubble. Who has experience of the local area and the problems facing local people. A fresh face untainted by some of the negative issues that have dogged our party in recent years. Someone to represent all the communities of Brent Central.

This is why I am putting myself forward to be the candidate for selection by Brent Central CLP.

Butt 'excited' about 'dynamic,energetic and talented' new Executive

In a statement released this morning following the Brent Labour Group AGM, Group and Council leader Muhammed Butt said:

I want to thank the outgoing Executive Members for the dedication to Brent and commitment to public service that they have shown. I am incredibly excited about starting work on Monday morning with our dynamic, energetic and talented new Executive. 

The Government has caused a recession, a dramatic fall in living standards for our residents and are implementing cuts to welfare that will devastate our community. We still have a lot of work to do to protect the people of Brent from this onslaught and I am confident that we have the best possible team to do so.

The new Executive now has 50% of its members from a Black and Ethnic Minority background compared to 30% previously and the average age has reduced to 46 from 60.  However three women lost their posts in the election and only two gained posts.

It is unclear whether there will be any political change of direction as a result of these changes and Muhammed Butt's statement concentrates on dynamism and energy rather than policy. It does appear to be more of a generational change than a shift to the left. However some Labour sources hope for a more robust approach to children's centres,  free schools and forced academies from Michael Pavey and a more proactive and sympathetic engagement on housing issues from Margaret McLennan. Michael Pavey will be talking to parents and carers at Gladstone Park Primary school tomorrow who are fighting forced academy status in a meeting arranged before Saturday's AGM.

Labour 'Young Turks' may challenge for Brent Executive positions

The challengers are probably too young to remember this!

The Brent Executive may have a more youthful profile following Labour's Annual General Meeting in May. AGMs of any organisation are an occasion for elected positions to be open to challenge and part of that process is for members to assess the performance of the incumbents and consider alternatives.

According to my sources among the incumbents under particular scrutiny this time round are Cllr Lesley Jones, Cllr Mary Arnold and Cllr James Powney. 'Alternatives' that have been mentioned include the very able Cllr James Denselow who has a background in journalism; Cllr Michael Pavey, energetic Barnhill by-election winner, who is  a school governor and has launched a high profile campaign to safeguard Children's Centres; and Cllr Roxanne Mashari who yesterday announced she was not standing for the Brent Central parliamentary selection. Presumably experience as a member of the Brent Executive would stand her in good stead in any future parliamentary bid. I have heard that Cllr Lincoln Beswick is not expected to carry on but Jim Moher, contrary to weekend reports, is to stand again.

Meanwhile Cllr Butt himself has contributed a new blog on the Council website which calls on residents to campaign on cuts to the fire service and on the A&E closures. This adopts a slightly harder line than previously.  LINK

Following my posting yesterday on the front runners for the Brent Central selection I have had somewhat conflicting information. There has been a suggestion that Cllr Ann John has joined James Powney in backing Catherine West but others claim that West is seeking nomination in another constituency.

Apparently there has been some disquiet that members of the short-listing panel, who it is claimed should remain neutral, have been involved in backing particular candidates. Meanwhile I have let all the  prospective candidates I am aware of  that in the interests of an informed public I am happy to carry their Guest Blogs on this site.

Tanks at Brent Town Hall on Monday?

 

It is likely to be a busy and rather tense weekend in Brent Labour circles as final figures are totted up to see whether a potential plan to topple Muhammed Butt has enough support.

Action now would enable a new leader to take over before the final decisions are made on the 2013-14 budget with controversies remaining over the level of Council Tax, the London Living Wage and departmental budgets.

As I write it seems that the threat to Butt's has diminished slightly over the last few days but the arithmetic is very tight. He defeated Ann John by only one vote last May so in theory it only requires one vote to switch.

Rather than a left/right division it appears that this is almost a generation split with reports that the move has been spearheaded by a senior councillor and ex-member of the Executive who had a reputation as a left-winger in the 1980s.

During his period in office Muhammed Butt has promoted younger councillors such as Krupesh Hirani and Michael Pavey and built up a team of younger supporters whilst at the same time retaining the support of some Labour heavyweights.

As Brent Town Hall witnesses the last of its dramas (or will it all fizzle out?) the new Civic Centre awaits the triumphant entrance of the Leader.

Watch this space...

Meanwhile the battle for the Labour nomination for parliamentary candidate for Brent Central is hotting up with up to six names in the hat according to reliable sources.  Cllrs Val Kalwala, Choudry and Mashari have all been mentioned. The latter would benefit if Labour decides on an all-woman short-list and she would be pitted against Dawn Butler.

Brent Council to 'vigorously' pursue free schools

The middle of August is often the time when controversial proposals are published and this August is no exception. The Brent Executive on August 20th will be discussing a major report arising from a comprehensive review of educational provision in the borough.

The issue of free schools has divided Brent Labour Party and the report attempts to satisfy both sides of the debate.

Officers recommend that the Council should 'vigorously pursue' partnerships with free school providers as well as academy providers and notes that any new schools arising from Section 106 agreements with Quintain in Wembley (Fulton Road) and in Oriental City, would, under the current national framework, have to be academies or free schools. Such schools will be necessary because expansion of existing schools is not sufficient to meet anticipated demand and in order to utilise this funding stream to remove the need for prudential borrowing. They say  that the Council would have to be 'extremely careful' about identifying preferred providers and propose the following partnership commitment from potential free school and academies providers:

Academies and free school providers working with the Council will be expected to demonstrate:

1. An absolute commitment to the ethos and values of inclusive education for all Brent’s children and recognition of the positive role schools should play in the wider community.

2. A commitment to a close working relationship with the local authority in order to maintain an appropriate focus on borough-wide priorities, including local authority nomination of a member of the governing body and a commitment to sharing performance information.

3. The ability to deliver school improvement in an urban context.

4. That the establishment of the proposed education provision would be supported by demonstrable parental demand and with a genuine commitment to providing school places for local children.

5. Appropriate staffing arrangements to ensure high quality teaching and learning from qualified staff and good employment practices, including in relation to support and contracted staff.

6. A commitment to meeting the needs of Brent’s diverse community.

7. A commitment to ensuring the future employability of young people (in particular in secondary and 16 to 19) through links with business, industry and higher education.

8. A commitment to community access and use of facilities through agreed extended opening and lettings policy.

9. A commitment to good pupil nutrition and healthy eating.

10. A commitment to inclusive practice and fair access to the school for all pupils as governed by the Admission Code of Practice and the Authority’s Fair Access Protocols.

The partnership commitment clearly addresses concerns over issues such as the employment of unqualified teachers,  working conditions, poor quality school meals and selection. However, Conservative academy and free school advocates are likely to see this as an attempt to get academy and free school funding for 'local authority schools in disguise' - lacking the 'freedoms' that such schools are supposed to enjoy.

Brent Labour desperately seeking council candidates for 2014

Brent Labour Party is looking for people to stand as Labour councillors in 2014. They are possibly a little desperate so I thought I would give them a hand by publicising the invite. Note you do not have to be a member of the Labour Party to attend:

The Brent Labour Party will soon be starting its selection process for Brent Council elections in 2014. With this is mind, the Brent Labour Party is holding an event on the 4th of July for people interested in becoming a Labour Councillor.

If you are interested in putting yourself forward, this is a fantastic opportunity to come along, and learn a bit more about what being a councillor really entails, and how to go about applying.
The meeting starts at 7pm with presentations by current councillors talking about their experiences of getting started and what it’s like to be a councillor.

There will then be a chance to ask questions. This will last approximately 45 minutes – 1 hour. After the presentations you will be able to talk to the councillors informally.

If you know someone that might be interested in coming along but isn’t on this email list please pass this information on – everyone is welcome to attend, even if they’re not a Labour Party Member

The information for the evening is the following::

Wednesday the 4th of July 2012 – 7pm

The Stonebridge Hub, Hillside, NW10 8BN (10 minute walk from either Harlesden or Stonebridge stations)

Let us know if you would like to attend by emailing brentlabour@live.co.uk

I will be happy to publish any suggestions from readers about questions that could be asked after the presentation.

Believing James Powney...

I wrote recently LINK that in my experience Cllr James Powney, despite our differences, has always posted my comments on his blog, but it seems that others have not been so fortunate.

Pete Firm, who is secretary of Brent Trade Union Council and a Labour Party member, posted a comment on the leafleting licence issue some time ago. The comment was about James Powney's suggestion that the campaign around the issue had been 'invented'

Cllr Powney had written:

The mischief started with the Willesden and Brent Times leading with a story that gave the impression that this was an entirely new set of rules, and glossing over the exemptions.  What is striking is that I personally spoke to the reporter and told her that "political purposes" meant a variety of political campaigns, not just political parties

Firmin's comment pointed out  the  Editor's note in the subsequent WBT , at the foot of a letter from Michael Read clarifying exemptions to the licence requirement, which said:

Brent Council's communication team has issued an apology to the Times for issuing an inaccurate statement on which our original report was based.

In other words, as I have also pointed out, LINK the Willesden and Brent  Times story was based on an e-mail from the Council itself.

 The comment was never published on Cllr Powney's blog and Pete wrote on April 30th asking why.

James, Can I ask why you haven’t published my comment (submitted last Thursday or Friday) to you blog post “How To Invent A Campaign”? Pete Firmin

 Firmin has has received no response.

 Coincidentally the latest post on James' blog is pertinent. LINK He is concerned that people don't believe him:

All this helps to create an atmosphere where anything that a Council officer or councillor says is disbelieved.  I have had this many times over the libraries issue, when I have pointed out that an assertion is not true, only to be told that it must be, and to have my interlocuter refuse to believe me even when I refer to documentary proof. 

Pete Firmin and I have both pointed to the 'documentary proof' in the Council e-mail and the Editor's note, that Cllr Powney's accusation about an invented campaign was wrong.

Time to publish Pete Firmin's comment, James?

Why Labour should not embrace free schools - by a Labour MP

As Brent Labour ponders whether to set up a free school with a partner in the borough they may be interested in this article in the New Statesman by Lisa Nandy, Labour MP for Wigan.

Andrew Adonis’s argument in the New Statesman last month that Labour should embrace free schools is selective, outdated and, in part, simply wrong.

In reality, free schools do not have the comprehensive and inclusive intake he claims. The catchment areas of the first 24 free schools tend to favour the better off, and consequently are populated by "middle class suburban people” according to research by the market analysts CACI. All of them take fewer children on free school meals than surrounding schools. At the West London Free School, for example, 23 per cent of pupils are eligible for free lunches, compared with 32 per cent in the five neighboring schools.

This is not an accident – it is inherent in the free schools model. The pattern has also emerged in Sweden, which pioneered free schools, where evidence suggests that free schools increase social segregation because they are, according to the Swedish Education Minister “generally attended by children of better educated and wealthy families making things even more difficult for children attending ordinary schools in poor areas.”

This backdoor selection is sanctioned by the Secretary of State, who says free schools must adhere to the admissions code, but allows "agreed variations", which have only been made public in response to freedom of information requests.

The problem with focusing only on free schools, as Adonis has done, is that schools are not islands. Tony Blair said a school “belonged to itself, for itself.” But schools are part of their community and what happens in one has an impact on children in another. Adonis ignores the enormous impact free schools have on other children, based on a model of surplus places, where good schools flourish and expand while others wither and die. This is great news for children, unless you happen to be stuck in a school with spare places and reduced funding while it is allowed to wither on the grapevine.

Similarly, the amount spent on free schools cannot fail to impact on other children. The amount spent per pupil in the first free schools is well above average, in part because the schools are smaller and because they are running at reduced capacity for the first few years. The West London Free School, for example, received £12,416 per pupil in its first year, compared to an average of £7,064. In addition, the set up costs are huge.
 The first round of capital funding amounted to £50 million which included £14 million for just one school building. Total capital costs for just the first 24 schools will range from £100-£130 million whilst nearly 100 civil servants are working on the free schools initiative in Whitehall. At a time when other schools are facing a real terms cut to their budgets over the next 3 years this seems shockingly unfair.

Adonis rightfully acknowledges the importance of teachers, as most politicians do, but is anyone actually listening to them? He argues for more centrally driven change, but visit any classroom across the country and teachers will tell you they are sick and tired of central reform.

The international evidence is clear, that autonomy and accountability work. But that points us away from Michael Gove’s free schools model which has taken away local accountability in the form of the local authority and centralised power in the hands of the Secretary of State.

We should be handing more power to teachers, not to Gove, increasing, not reducing local accountability and improving collaboration, not competition for places, so that children – particularly the most disadvantaged - are not left behind.

In practice this would mean teachers having more flexibility to decide what, how and when they teach. They might, for example, choose to teach by ability not year groups, and other forms of innovation that should be possible in any school, regardless of structure. It should be coupled with investment in lifelong learning and serious thinking about what happens to children outside the classroom, which matters above all to the children who most need our help.

Adonis looks to Singapore for lessons, but on a select committee visit to the country this year, ministers told us they were keen to learn from Britain about how to better equip their children for life and for the workforce. Similarly, Finland, which we visited last year, succeeds because of the status, pay and conditions of teachers, yet free schools can use unqualified teachers and are not required to adhere to national pay and conditions agreements. Michael Wilshaw, who Adonis cites as a champion of this model, was critical of the use of unqualified teachers at a recent appearance before the education select committee.

Adonis seems to have bought into Gove’s vision – that introducing competition, taking away "bureaucracy" and pursuing a relentless academic vision allows the brightest young people to do well, regardless of background. Gove ignores - and indeed has removed help for - the enormous practical barriers that exist for those children.

Free schools are part of that vision. To paraphrase Andy Burnham, it’s a vision for some children, and some schools, not all children and all schools. Labour can do better than that.
Lisa Nandy is the Labour MP for Wigan.

Seven questions for Michael Pavey

A couple of weeks ago, one of Barnhill's Labour councillors stopped me outside the Town Hall to urge me to join the Labour Party.  I told him that I had left the Labour Party 47 years ago  and couldn't rejoin as I still had some socialist principles. He told me that I was wasting my time with the Greens and should join up so I could help change local Labour from within.

I am afraid I guffawed.

There are decent people in Brent Labour Party, and I count some of them as friends, but I don't respect the lack of democracy that is evident in their policy making and decision making. With an all powerful leader, acquiescent Executive, backbenchers limited to ward working and a browbeaten rank and file membership, the party has become separated from ordinary people.

Michael Pavey, Labour's candidate for Barnhill, dropped me a friendly note earlier this week and I am sure that he is a fine fellow: 'I think most people who have dealt with me, think I'm a pretty straight sort of guy and I am..' as Tony Blair said. Having talked to councillors from various parties I recognise that most of them started out as local community activists who wanted to see improvements in their area. Often the choice of party when they decided to stand for the Council was almost incidental, depending on who they bumped into and who asked them, but it is what happens once they are elected that concerns me.


Cllr Ann Hunter remarked recently that she put her ward before party and it is clear that she has had her disagreements with the Lib Dem leadership, and was of course a Labour councillor until she resigned from Labour over Iraq.  She said this openly while some backbench Labour councillors have let it be known privately that they are opposed to library closures and some of the other council  cuts, and there are persistent rumours that in the Executive George Crane has his reservations and Jim Moher is more aware of the contradictions than many.


Despite all this, not one Labour councillor, Executive or backbencher, has come out openly to question any of the policies apart from Cllr Claudia Hector who made her opposition to the demolition of the Old Willesden Library public in a message to the Keep Willesden Green public meeting.  Once enmeshed in the part machine the activist becomes another rubber stamping, silent and privately resentful, automaton.


So given all that I have some basic questions for Michael Pavey:


1. If he is elected, what will he do if there is a clear difference between the interests of people in Barnhill and a particular Council policy?


2. Will he urge his fellow Labour councillors to initiate a London wide Labour Council resistance against the cuts demanded by the Coalition government?


3. If this does not happen and the cuts are clearly damaging local people, at what point will he vote against implementation?


4. Does he support the way Brent Council has ignored the thousands of people opposed to its library closure programme and more recently the regeneration of Willesden Green Library?

5. What will he do to restore the credibility of Brent's consultation system, criticised by many residents, campaigning  groups and our respected local newspaper?

6. Where does he stand on privatisation of council services, council sponsorship of a free school and academy conversions?

7.. What are his policies for Brent Council action (apart from support for the 'back to work scheme'.)  Like the Labour candidate in Wembley Central his literature only refers to GLA and Government issues, and not to what Brent Council have done or will do.