Cllr Tariq Dar is to be Brent Council's next Deputy Mayor

Cllr Tariq Dar was elected Deputy Mayor for 2023-24 at yesterday's Brent Labour Group Annual General Meeting. He had 29 votes, to Tony Ethapemi's 14. There was 1 abstention. This means as far as can be forseen that Cllr Dar will be Mayor in 2024-25. 

Cllr Orleen Hylton will be appointed Mayor for 2023-24 at the Brent Council AGM.

Brent's new Mayor and a contest for Deputy

Deputy Mayor, Cllr Orleen Hylton, carrying out her civic duties

 

Residents may encounter the Mayor of Brent at various events as well as seeing them chair meetings of Full Council (often with whispered instructions from the Brent CEO who sits beside them) but may not be aware of the full 'job description'. This is taken from Brent Council's website:

The Mayor has many civic and ceremonial responsibilities and has an ambassadorial role as first citizen of the borough.

This means the Mayor will promote Brent and participate in, and help initiate, activities that help the economic, social, cultural and environmental wellbeing of Brent and its residents.

Mayoral duties carried out by the mayor include:

·       chairing Council meetings

·       signing documents under seal

·       conducting citizenship ceremonies

·       hosting civic events

·       attending local events.

During their period of office, the mayor will receive numerous invitations to events/functions in the borough and across London. The role played at these events varies, depending on their nature and the expectations of the organiser.

At the beginning of each municipal year, it is traditional for the mayor to select one or more local charities to support. The mayor’s office will organise a number of events to raise money for these charities and at the end of the mayoral year the proceeds of these events and any donations received will be evenly distributed to the chosen charities. The mayor may choose to establish a Charity Committee with representatives of the charity(ies) to assist and promote the fundraising efforts.

Although the Mayor and Deputy are officially installed at the Council's Annual General Meeting they are effectively elected at the Labour Group Annual General Meeting. At this meeting the current Deputy Mayor is rubber stamped as 'Mayor designate' and there may be an election for Deputy Mayor if more than one candidate comes forward. 

At the Labour Group AGM at Brent Civic Centre next Tuesday, May 9th, Cllr Orleen Hylton, (Preston ward)  current Deputy Mayor, will be put forward as Mayor for 2023-2024.  There will be an election for the Deputy Mayor, which in effect because the Deputy normally goes on to become Mayor the next year, will be an election for the 2024-2025 Mayor.

The candidates  are Cllr Tariq Dar, Cricklewood and Mapesbury Ward, and Cllr Tony Ethapemi, Stonebridge Ward. Both have been councillors since 2018. Their applications, forwarded to Labour councillors ahead of the AGM, include several sections that together have a total limit of 1,000 words, so this is just a summary. Unfortunately the full applications are not publicly available.

Cllr Tariq Dar MBE, emphasises his support for voluntary and community organisations. He is a charismatic leader and stresses his loyalty, resilience and social intelligence. He says that as Mayor he will be fair, consistent and respectful of others.

 

Cllr Tony Ethapemi claims that his professional background in local government and as a lawyer gives him the necessary leadership qualities for the role. These skills will enable him to ensure disciple and decorum in the Council Chamber.

The Brent Council Annual General meeting is on Wednesday May 17th.

Councillors are appointed to different Committees by the Leader of the Council and their attendance is recorded. These are the candidates' records taken from the Brent Council website.

 

How Stonebridge ward nearly got a non-Labour councillor!

 

Cllr Ezeajughi in his Mayoral robes

 

It was announced on March 21st that the Governor of Anambra State, Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo. had appointed Stonebridge councillor and former Brent Mayor  Ernest Ezeajughi, as the Chief of Staff of his administration and that Ernest would be relocating to Nigeria. LINK

 

The news took Brent Labour by surprise, only hearing about it from a magazine article, and they spent some time trying to contact him.  With the April 5th deadline looming for signed nomination papers to be submitted to the Civic Centre, there was a flurry of activity on March 31st, three working days before the deadline, and Labour's London Region got involved. They arranged to re-interview him for the nomination that evening.

He was late for the re-interview and it took place without him.  The panel decided that following his appointment he would not be able to carry out his role as councillor if re-elected and that it was against the rules not to live in the borough he serves.

Additionally Labour was worried that when it was revealed that he was not living in the borough an embarassing by-election would result - not for the first time.

 

Fearing that they would not be able to field an alternative candidate, thus conceding the seat to another party, a new panel was hastily convened on April 1st and the current Brondesbury Park councillor,  Tony Ethapemi was selected and duly signed the nomination papers.

As a former local party agent I have to sympathise with the plight the agent and colleagues found themselves in. I hope their blood pressure is back to normal!