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Theo Blackwell |
Labour deny ‘implosion’
Party is rocked as experienced councillors confirm plans to quit
CAMDEN’S Labour Party was last night (Wednesday) fighting off claims that the group was “imploding” after some of its most experienced councillors confirmed plans to step down.
Four former members of the cabinet which once governed Camden are among those not seeking re-election at next May’s boroughwide council elections – including Councillor Theo Blackwell.
Despite not being leader, he is perhaps the best-known figure on the opposition benches and is notoriously vocal in council meetings.
He follows party leader Cllr Anna Stewart who announced her decision to quit the Town Hall last week.
Geethika Jayatilaka and Penny Abraham, who both served as social services chiefs when Labour was in power in Camden, will also stand down. The party lost its 40-year grip on the council in May 2006 when a Lib Dem and Conservative coalition was formed after Labour ranks were decimated by disastrous election results.
In Cllr Abraham’s case, she will bring the curtain down on a 16-year tenure on the council. She said yesterday: “I have been working towards retirement for a couple of years. I have many plans. I’m going to play the piano and take a slow boat to New Zealand.”
Labour may lose even more current councillors as the party begins its ward-by-ward selection of candidates for the election. Current mayor Nurul Islam and Fazlul Chowdhury are said to be considering what to do.
The biggest shock, however, remains Cllr Blackwell’s decision not to stand again. As a former deputy leader and the party’s press manager, he has jokingly been compared to Alastair Campbell or the over-excited fictional spinmeister Malcolm Tucker. But even his fiercest rivals admit he has been one of the council’s most astute councillors.
“This was a difficult choice, but I felt the time was right to go – a four-year term is a four-year term,” said Cllr Blackwell. “Unfortunately, over the last four years, I have seen a diminishing in the role of scrutiny. Councillors used to tackle, in public, some meaty issues and get involved in policy-making, but today everyone knows it’s a bit of a joke.”
Cllr Blackwell will be replaced in the Regent’s Park ward – if elected – by Tulip Siddiq, who is considered one of the up and coming stars of Camden’s Labour Party. She is the women’s officer for London Young Labour and could become Camden’s first Bangladeshi female councillor.
The changes come with the party still unsure over who will lead it into next May’s elections.
Former mayor Nasim Ali is expected to take on Julian Fulbrook in an vote for the leadership next week.
The party said membership had stabilised across the borough at around 900 members.
Cllr Blackwell added: “We will have strong candidates. If you look at the democratic way in which we choose candidates, you would see eight or nine people vying for three places in each ward. ”
Liberal Democrat leader Councillor Keith Moffitt said: “Theo is obviously one of their councillors with the most political acumen. It does seem, however, that a number of Labour’s members are not confident and are thinking they could be doing something better for the next four years.”
Tory leader Councillor Andrew Marshall added: “Labour are clearly at a low ebb, but the best councils have good people in control and in opposition. The Conservatives, when we were in opposition, did a lot to improve the quality of the council. Theo has certainly contributed in opposition as well.”
Planning expert loses out in Holborn
VETERAN Labour councillor Brian Woodrow was de-selected in Holborn and Covent Garden ward late last night (Wednesday).
The former planning chairman – who was vindicated by a standards inquiry in 2007 after claims he was biased against the King’s Cross development – lost out in a party vote to new candidate Awale Olad. Cllr Woodrow fell out with some high-profile colleagues over the King’s Cross case but has been celebrated in Holborn for his dedication and planning expertise. |
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