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Councillor Keith Moffitt with Syed Hoque |
Councillor defects over foreign policy
‘Hypocrisy’ jibes greet move from Labour to Lib Dems
DEFECTING councillor Syed Hoque has been forced to defend his decision to stay on at the Town Hall after tearing up his Labour party membership on the grounds of the government’s foreign policy.
He jumped ship on Friday morning, announcing he had joined the Lib Dems due to his distress over the British intervention in Iraq and recent developments in Gaza.
Labour leader Councillor Anna Stewart said: “His views on foreign policy are not out of kilter with the Camden Labour group.
“I’ve known Syed a long time and it’s obviously very, very disappointing that he has made this decision – not once did he come to me and talk about his concerns.”
Instead, Cllr Hoque, who represents Haverstock ward, was secretly making a deal with the Lib Dems to become their 24th councillor. The group is now the largest it has ever been in Camden.
Cllr Hoque said: “I have been deeply upset by the recent invasion of Gaza. Instead of using their influence to bring the fighting to a halt, Gordon Brown and David Miliband have remained silent. Worse still, by refusing to halt Britain’s arms exports to Israel, the British Labour government is fanning the flames of a war which has led to the death of thousands of innocent men, women and children.”
Cllr Hoque was elected as a Labour councillor in 2006, wearing a red rosette despite the huge anger at the Iraq invasion which candidates found on the doorstep.
But on Friday, he added: “I never expected to be propping up a government that openly advocates war and aggression. Like the Liberal Democrats, I believe that diplomacy and negotiation are stronger weapons than guns and fighting.
“The decision to support George Bush’s illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, with false pretences of weapons of mass destruction, has killed hundreds and thousands of innocent civilians. This was an astonishing act of aggression, resulting in humanitarian catastrophe and unsettling an entire region.”
He said comparatively little about issues in Camden, apart from praising the work of his new ward colleagues Matt Sanders and Jill Fraser – and accusing some of his former Labour colleagues of being “rude and arrogant”.
Defectors have often been mocked in Camden for their lack of loyalty and commitment when the chips are down. This time around, there are familiar charges of hypocrisy: only last month, Cllr Hoque was using the New Journal’s letters page to attack the council’s records on social services.
But the Lib Dems have been on the wrong end of side-swapping in recent years and were happy to take Cllr Hoque on board. He could be rewarded with the chance to defend his seat at the full council elections in May next year. At those polls, the Lib Dems will look to end their power-sharing pact with the Conservatives and assume full control.
Cllr Hoque’s position on the council would certainly have been under threat if he had remained within the Labour group.
The Lib Dems have cemented their presence across the middle belt of the borough – despite a slight Labour revival in a recent by-election in Kentish Town.
Party organisers claimed the defection was proof also that they are best placed to challenge both of Camden’s Labour MPs. Sceptics said Cllr Hoque’s views would not chime with all of Hampstead’s
voters and it was the Holborn and St Pancras candidate, Jo Shaw, who joined photocalls this week.
While the snaps were taken, a weighty circle of councillors were giving private briefings this week about their concerns that the Lib Dems are trying to make local gains over international warfare.
But Lib Dem council leader Councillor Keith Moffitt said: “Syed is a well-respected leader of his community and his passionate and principled views make him a natural Liberal Democrat.”
Nevertheless, Conservative leader Councillor Andrew Marshall said: “It does seem strange that he has left for foreign policy reasons – he could have stepped down. I can’t see why there couldn’t have been a by-election.”
Cllr Stewart added: “I wasn’t aware Camden had a foreign policy. He doesn’t seem to have gone for the most noble of reasons. Syed has written strong letters criticising the council for the cuts they have made to social services budgets – but that is what he is now joining.” |
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