BNCTV names the Mohers as possible conspirators behind John's ousting

BNCTV has published the following article speculating on the reasons behind Ann John's demise: LINK

Although Ann John has been losing on popularity greatly in recent times, this change has taken most people by surprise. A source within Brent Council has told BNCTV that Councillors Jim and Ruth Moher could be the people who played major part in this selection process. Is it a conspiracy theory? That is what people are now beginning to talk about. 

Ann John is a person respected by many, equally, a lot of people have been showing contempt towards Brent Council following their experiences dealing with its former Leader. Cllr John has received a huge amount of criticism regarding her handling of the process closing 6 of Brent’s 12 libraries and following that, she has not been seen as a constructive ‘player’ who would win votes for the Labour Party at the next elections in Brent.

Things were not looking good for Ann John after a complaint made by Councillor Paul Lorber and his request to investigate Cllr John and her ‘alleged interference with the planning process by seeking to influence a planning decision.’ This information was picked up in an e-mail sent by Labour Councillor Dhiraj Kataria to Councillor John and others. Although Ann John has been ‘fully exonerated’, many see it as a blemish on her reputation.

One of Labour Councillors in Brent has told BNCTV that he particularly did not like the process she [Cllr John] has been following in regards to the consultations with Willesden Green Library campaigners and her adamant stance to carry out the development of the new Cultural Centre as planned, and that is including the demolition of the Old Willesden Library.

So why would Councillors Jim and Ruth Moher be involved in this process? They simply could not see Labour Losing at the next elections. Ann John ‘has accumulated too much negativity’ around her handling of the issues and it would lead to Labour being ‘torn to pieces’ as put by our source who wished to remain anonymous.

By John Dempsey

Same old faces in the new Brent Executive

The new Council Executive are the same old faces with minor changes as a result of the defeat of Ann John. A fresh and dynamic approach looks highly unlikely given that there is only one newcomer - Cllr Krupesh Hirani:

Lead Member for Corporate Strategy & Policy Co-ordination – Cllr Muhammed Butt (prev Ann John)

Lead Member for Resources – Cllr Ruth Moher (prev Muhammed Butt)

Lead Member for Crime Prevention & Public Safety – Cllr Lincoln Beswick - unchanged

Lead Member for Children & Families – Cllr Mary Arnold - unchanged

Lead Member for Adults, Health & Social Care – Cllr Krupesh Hirani   (prev Ruth Moher)

Lead Member for Environment & Neighbourhoods – Cllr James Powney - unchanged

Lead Member for Highways & Transportation – Cllr Jim Moher - unchanged

Lead Member for Housing – Cllr Janice Long - unchanged

Lead Member for Customers & Citzens – Cllr Lesley Jones - unchanged

Lead Member for Regeneration & Major Projects – Cllr George Crane - unchanged

Cllr Pat Harrison will be Chair of the Labour Group and Chief Whip Barnhill councillor Shafique Choudhary.

The new Mayor will be Cllr Michael Adeyeye and his deputy will be Cllr Bobby Thomas.

Wanted - a Green leader who combines electoral and campaigning politics

Caroline Lucas has announced that she will stand down as leader of the Green Party in September but will of course continue as the only Green MP, and a very effective one at that.

This could be a positive move for the political health of the Green Party, distributing leadership and drawing on the talent of the wider membership. but has the danger of the new leader being overshadowed by our MP. Certainly the demands of being an MP with the normal constituency case work load, the sole representative of the Greens in the Commons and the Leader are great and it is characteristic of Caroline's cool assessment skills that she has recognised that.

The demise of the Liberal Democrats, the knee-jerk resurgence of the Labour Party based on very little in policy terms, and the deepening economic and environmental crisis, demand long-term strategic thinking alongside grassroots activism.  Bringing these together will be a major task for the new leader/s (co-leaders are possible in the Green Party and a positive possibility).

A leader outside the House of Commons will recognise that Greens combine electoral and campaigning politics.

Incidentally, Jenny Jones, on Twitter has said she will not be a candidate for the leadership.

Caroline's statement

In September 2012, Caroline Lucas MP will reach the end of her second term as national Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, and has announced today that she will not be seeking re-election for another two-year term, in order to broaden opportunities for the range of talent in the Party and to raise the profiles of others aspiring to election.

Caroline Lucas said: "I'm hugely honoured to have served as the first Leader of the Green Party and I'm proud that during the four years of my term, we've moved Green politics forward to a higher level, with the Party by far the most influential it has ever been. We've seen significant breakthroughs in winning our first seat at Westminster and gaining our first ever local council in Brighton and Hove. These were followed by further breakthroughs onto new Councils in the recent local elections, which were among the most successful we've ever had, as well as establishing ourselves as the third party, ahead of the LibDems, in the elections for London Mayor.

"I look forward to continuing to do all I can in my very demanding role as the MP for Brighton Pavilion, representing my constituents and defending them against the Coalition Government's disastrous economic policies and its refusal to accept its environmental and social responsibilities. I will also be able to dedicate even more of my work to the political frontline, putting the Green case for change in Parliament and in all circles of national political debate."

Cllr Darren Johnson, London Assembly Member, said: "Caroline has made a huge impact in her time as Green Party Leader and has helped shift Green politics from the margins to the mainstream of British political life. She will be an extremely hard act to follow but this is an ideal time to allow new talent to come forward."

Jenny Jones, London Assembly Member and recent Green Mayoral Candidate said:
"The Green Party has made some massive breakthroughs in the past two years, since having Caroline as our Leader, in Parliament, in Brighton and most recently in London, where we are now the third party behind the Conservatives and Labour. Caroline's decision not to seek re-election at this point is entirely in keeping with Green principles: it's a strong move, allowing other talented people to come through and to take the Green Party even further forward. She has set a superb example of how to lead. Whoever is elected in her place has a tough act to follow."

Nominations for leadership candidates are now open within the Party and will close towards the end of June. The new Leader (or Co-leaders) will take up the two year post in early September. No nominations have yet been received.

Caroline Lucas added: "We're lucky to have a wealth of capability and experience in our Party. Now feels like the right time to step aside, to allow more of that ability to come forward and help the party to grow. I offer my very best wishes to the next Leader, whoever they may be."

Read what Jim Jepps has to say HERE

What did for Ann John?

From the Save Preston Library 'Wall of Shame'

As the dust settles on the Brent Council leadership changes it is worth reflecting on the reasons behind the ousting of Ann John and what it means for the future.

The libraries issue, both the closures and the redevelopment of the Willesden Green Centre, has been the most contentious aspect of Council policy. The presentation as 'transformation' rather than closure; the labelling of opponents as self-interested, unrepresentative and middle class; the ignoring of petitions; the suggestion that cheap books were readily available at Tesco; all riled local citizens and the energetic and resourceful campaigners kept the issue in the local press and crucially on the national media agenda.

Nationally, Brent Labour's library policy became an embarrassment for the Labour leadership. Brent's policy was at odds with Ed Miliband's public opposition to library closures and shadow culture minister, Dan Jarvis's championing of the public library service. Ken Livingstone, Barry Gardiner MP and Navin Shah were all local Labour politicians who distanced themselves from Brent Council's policy.

Privately back-bench Labour councillors spoke about their opposition to the closures but confessed themselves powerless and some Executive members had reservations but were bound by collective responsibility not to oppose openly.

So a combination of a personal and presentational style that alienated the public and a political control that brooked no internal opposition, backed by a close personal and political alliance with Gareth Daniel the Chief Executive that insisted there was no alternative, all contributed to Ann John's demise. Of course the libraries issue was not the only one that divided the local party. The possibility of the council entering into a partnership to open a free school in the borough and acquiescence in academy conversions reveals a similar pattern with the leadership-officer combo arguing that 'there is no alternative' being opposed by some Labour party members on political grounds.

The problem with Muhammed Butt's succession is that he has been closely identified with Ann John as her deputy leader and, although his personal style may be more open and friendly and his presentation of policy less aggressive, his actual policies may be little different. He is likely to have a more collegiate relationship with his colleagues but a lot will depend on the experience, strength and stance of the new Executive. Will they be more independent of officers and more open to debate and persuasion?

Perhaps most importantly is the question of the administration's attitude to cuts in local services. There have been differences of emphasis about the impact with the Labour Council at first arguing that their cuts had been made in such a clever way that they would not harm residents but latterly pointing to the massive cuts in local government funding, combined with central government cuts and welfare reform, that would seriously damage the quality of life of many local people.

Muhammed Butt's views on the cuts are best accessed by reading his budget speech which is available on his blog HERE

In his leadership acceptance speech Butt said that building unity across the borough would strengthen its capacity to take on the fight against Coalition cuts. The political question is about the nature of that fight. With the Labour Party enjoying some success at the polls and the Coalition increasingly unpopular, will Brent Labour be pushing for a mass campaign against the cuts and be prepared to refuse to implement them when the damage to local people is intolerable?. Will that stance be backed by Labour nationally?

I would like to be proved wrong but  am afraid that the answer to both questions is 'No'.

We may see more efforts at dialogue with residents, mollification rather than vilification of campaigners and some minor concessions perhaps on volunteer run libraries, but little change in the overall direction of council policies.

Butt: Borough unity will make fightback against government more effective

Cllr James Denselow has not waited for the niceties of confirmation by the Full Council to proclaim Muhammed Butt the new leader of Brent Council. LINK  He quotes the following acceptance speech by Butt:

It is an honour to be elected to this position. I would like to pass my deepest thanks to my predecessor Cllr. Ann John and look forward to her continuing to be deeply involved in the Borough that I know she has loved and served for many years.

These are the toughest financial times in the history of Brent. I want to develop a new approach to the relationship between Councillors and Officers, between front and back benchers and between the Labour Party and our residents. I believe that the more united we are as a Borough the more effective our fight back against this government will be.

I stand for responsibility, fairness and the values of equality that underpin the Labour party and I look forward to beginning the hard work for Brent residents in my new role.

Cllr James Powney, architect of the library closures, survived a challenge for his Executive position from Cllr Claudia Hector according to my sources.

Work on Chalkhill Park to start on Monday?

The site of the new park

 Cllr Shafique Choudhary reports on his Barnhill New Dawn blog that work is to start on the Chalkhill Park on Monday to be completed by mid-November.


I can hardly believe it after all the delays and there are many doubters on the estate who are still convinced the site is earmarked for housing,

I look forward to seeing rapid progress and hope that the giant rats rumoured to have made their homes there don't hold things up.

Chalkhill Primary School pupils will be jubilant when they see work has started

Muhammed Butt ousts Ann John as Brent Council leader candidate

Well informed sources tell me that following a challenge to Ann John's leadership that her deputy, Muhammed Butt, will be put forward as leader of Brent Council at next week's Annual Council Meeting.

The Labour Group voted for Butt by 21 votes to 19 and their decision has to be confirmed by Full Council. It is a very narrow margin...

Muhammed is currently lead member for resources and is councillor for Tokyngton ward.

The way cuts, and particularly library closures, have been handled by Ann John, appear to have been the motivating factor in the challenge. At the meeting Butt said he wanted to mend relations with the local community.

The leadership change, if confirmed,  is likely to lead to other changes in the Brent Executive at Wednesday's meeting.

Schools in crisis - assurances needed from Children and Families

There's lots happening regarding schools in Brent at the moment so it is a bit of a surprise to see that no report from the Children and Families department has been tabled for the Executive Meeting on May 21st LINK

Brent Council was featured in the Times Education Supplement on May 4th LINK in an article entitled 'Financial scandal continues to plague Brent Council'. This was followed up a front page story in the Brent and Kilburn Times this week.

The TES links four stories of financial mismanagement commencing with the Copland High School allegations of unlawful bonuses which has resulted in the arrest and bailing of seven staff and a governor , the sacking of the head of Furness Primary for 'serious mismanagement' and the suspension of the head of Kensal Primary for 'alleged breaches of financial regulation'. They are joined by Malorees Junior School this week where it is claimed that the school spends 101% of its budget on staffing compared with the 80-85% of most schools and is heading for a deficit of £0.25m within the next two years.

The TES states:

The school's chair of governors, Brent councillor Patricia Harrison, resigned in April after parents called for her departure and accused her of incompetence. One letter from a parent said the governors at Malorees Junior had "spectacularly failed the children in this school, their families and can only have left the teaching and support staff feeling vulnerable, professionally bruised and demoralised".

Presumably the Children and Families Department is undertaking some kind of investigation which will establish the facts of the matter. It should also ask why Brent Council's monitoring and auditing processes, despite the Copland case now being three years old, still seem to fail  to unearth such problems and deal with them quickly. It appears that the Malorees staff will suffer the consequences with teachers being reduced from 16 to 12 and others losing their allowances. Councillors surely need to know how the quality  educational provision will be maintained in this situation.

Another matter deserving of  discussion is the possible academy conversion of four more Brent high schools and the teaching unions' threat of strike action to secure secret ballots of staff and parents over the issue. The financial consequences to the overall education budget of such a move is a matter of great concern, particularly as the Council has warned schools about the flat budget settlements to be expected over the next three years. The possibility of Brent Council forming a partnership with a free school provider to create a new school in Brent should also be reported on.

Diminishing school budgets and the withdrawal of the authority from provision of all but core educational services have put also put the future of the borough's School Improvement Service in the balance. It is quite likely that the Service will not exist in its present form by April 2013.  This will impact on monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning in our schools. Schools in danger of failing may not in future be quickly identified and remedial action taken.

It would be disastrous if cuts in experienced staff that have already hit the financial management section of Children and Families and may have contributed to the situation of Malorees and other schools, are compounded by cuts that will reduce the school improvement expertise that has raised standards across Brent.

There has rightly been a sharp focus on the provision of additional school places to cater for the increase in the borough's pupil population and this has been led by the Major Projects and Regeneration Department. Children and Families need to be assuring councillors and the public that the urgent and serious  issues outlined above are under control and  receiving the attention they deserve.