A Tory in the council chamber

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by John McMullan on July 8, 2009 at 11:40

This is the same bloke that when mayor of Haringey turned up to the Big Green bookshop one Saturday (I forget which one but Maisy was there) with his limo and chauffeur.. and he's saying that Labour are out of touch!

And he's from Noel Park ward which is a severely abused conservation area. What kind of Conservative is he going to be? The anti-gay/pro-family kind or the kind who would stop abuses of the planning laws (which is something you should do even if you're a socialist).

I guess Justin doesn't have much else to be excited about.

Permalink Reply by StephenBln on July 8, 2009 at 11:46

Oh how interesting,... and you can still see & tweet with Tottenham Tories...? - Justin blocked me for being negative, you obviously have to tow the TT line.. to stay in (no more comment from me) ..

Cllr. Dobbie seems to have detected that he won't be elected, if he dons his red rosette again.. so he's switched to blue.. Ach, most of them make me sick..

Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on July 8, 2009 at 11:52

I suppose if the Lib Dems weren't the pioneers of instant post-election crossdressing/floorcrossing (Demirci of Bounds green; Harris of Noel Park) Labour might be in some sort of trouble. Strange that the 'elected' have even less loyalty to party or principle than the electors in the wards.

Permalink Reply by Liz on July 8, 2009 at 15:22

OAE, is it time we philanthropists put on our ragged trousers and seek the new Jerusalem beyond the red, blue and yellow pastures of Wood Green, now that it is as easy for a Labour cllr to throw off his politics as it is his trousers? Since party ideology appears to be meaningless, maybe its time that we removed it altogether from local government?

Maybe, as John says, the good cllr would better serve his residents if he did something about satellite dishes and plastic windows on neglected historic houses in his ward. Wonder if his voters will punish or reward him for his 'bravery' come election time?

Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on July 8, 2009 at 16:06

John, as a member of the Labour Campaign for Lesbian and Gay Rights, Cllr Alan Dobbie is unlikely to be an anti-gay Tory. And, to be fair, he was a very hard-working Mayor and chaired the Council well and fairly - even when faced with a very unruly public gallery.

As for the daft fancy dress and limo, many people would be disappointed if the Mayor turned up on a bike, and not wearing a funny hat, red coat and lace ruffles. And of course, as Rousseau almost said, councillors are born free, but everywhere are in chains.

Why has Alan Dobbie gone over to the dark side and become the Supreme Leader of the Conservative Group on the Council? People will pooh-pooh my explanation. But the real culprit here is almost certainly that Mayoral chain. In making it they used the metal originally used to forge the One Ring described by Professor Tolkien. Alan Dobbie has worn this powerful and dangerous chain for two terms as Mayor.

Permalink Reply by Liz on July 8, 2009 at 18:17

This article claims that Alan Dobbie was also a Lib Dem in the Borough. Is that true?

Do you think Cllr Dobbie keeps checking his political compass and this time found he was no longer on Mahatma's mat?

Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on July 8, 2009 at 19:34

I'm uncertain about Alan Dobbie's earliest career. Though he was never a LibDem councillor. Ian Willmore, former Deputy Leader, assures me that Dobbie was a passionate Young Socialist. However another story doing the rounds is that he belonged to a secluded branch of the early Stoorish Hobbits.

Permalink Reply by StephenBln on July 8, 2009 at 20:56

..and still no word from Justin...

Perhaps they're out now celebrating (the TT group) .. or perhaps he's (Justin) digging out his Christmas Tree lights for an early (if rather premature) celebration...

Let's just hope that the electors are wise enough not to throw the baby* out with the bathwater..


* baby?

Permalink Reply by Justin Hinchcliffe on July 8, 2009 at 22:14

What poisonous and spiteful remarks from John and Stephen. I'm not much of a fan of Alan Stanton, although he is correct in saying that people and organisations *expect* their Mayor to turn up in style. Alan is also right when he says that his namesake was an excellent Mayor - one who kept order and was fair to all Members of the Council. Obviously the press couldn't print Alan's statement in full (lack of space etc), so here's the FULL text of the letter Cllr. Dobbie sent out to Labour members:

Dear Member,

Further to my letter to you on 4th June, I am now writing today to inform you that with immediate effect that I have resigned from the Labour Party and therefore the Labour whip on Haringey Council.

I will sit as a Conservative Councillor until the Council elections next May.

For some this will come as a shock and no doubt many will be upset and angry at my decision.

This has been no easy decision, but I believe that urgent change and a fresh start is needed, both for Haringey and Britain. We need at national level a Government that has a sense of purpose and will speak up for the ordinary person, something which Labour seems to have forgotten in recent years.

I am proud of a lot of what Labour has achieved both locally and nationally, but the recent months has shown how out of touch Labour is – to busy worrying about what positions people will hold and how much to get for it.

I also feel that now in local government that there is no real accountability. “Cabinet local governance” is a sham of 9-10 councillors deciding on what will happen and the majority group follow like sheep. Councillors have lost the chance to properly hold officers and lead members to account but expected to be there mainly as voting fodder, even at the expense of being able to represent one’s own ward.

For many months now I have felt uncomfortable and not at ease in being a Labour Councillor, but let me be clear, although the Liberal Democrats are currently the main opposition on the council to Labour, they do not offer a real alternative to Labour. Their councillors are mainly a coalition of anti-Labour at any cost. As a Conservative Councillor I will vote against Labour in the Council Chamber when it is right, not because I am no longer Labour. In the last few weeks as I have met Conservative activists in Haringey and got to know Richard Merrin, the Conservative candidate for Hornsey and Wood Green, in that short time I can see that Richard is committed to working for Hornsey and Wood Green and will be the strongest challenger to Lynne Featherstone.

We need an MP who will work hard for us all year round. Our MPs should put Haringey first and Richard, along with the Tottenham Conservative candidate, Sean Sullivan, will do just that and I am happy to endorse them both and work for their victories when the general election comes.

You must believe me when I tell you that this is the hardest political decision of my life. I have been proud to be a Labour activist with 27 years unbroken membership, but like almost everyone else seeing Labour MPs trying to make stupid expense claims has left me ashamed as power and corruption seems to have gone to the heads of too many Labour MPs who ought to know better.

I want to make clear, on a personal level I have no dispute with the vast majority of my former Labour colleagues and under their leadership of Claire Kober, wish them well. However, the run-up to the recent group annual meeting and being asked by some to go for different positions to ensure that I would get extra money left me disgusted. I sincerely hope that people do not think that I am a Councillor for the money, because this is an insult to my integrity and all that I stand for.

To those who have campaigned for me and voted for me over the years as a Labour candidate and Councillor, I am truly sorry if you feel that I have betrayed your trust. As I have said, this has not been an easy decision, but I want a better way for Haringey and Britain and the Conservatives, under David Cameron’s leadership has changed and recognised its past mistakes and I want to be part of that progressive Conservative alliance that will help the residents of Noel Park and the country that I am not ashamed to say that I love.

Finally, I will continue to serve as a Councillor for Noel Park until next May and put the needs of Noel Park first, be that local residents, residents associations, community and voluntary groups and local businesses, whilst ensuring that the thousands of Conservative voters in Haringey now have a voice on the council.

I hope wherever possible to work with the other two Noel Park Councillors and I will not attempt to put party politics ahead of getting what is best for Noel Park. I may no longer be Labour, but my passion for Noel Park remains as strong today as it ever was.

It is now the turn of Labour members and supporters to decide how they see the future and whether fairness for all becomes a reality and take positive action by joining the Conservatives as well.

From the bottom of my heart, thank-you for giving me the chance to serve as a Councillor, as a Labour Councillor, for the friendship and support which has meant so much to me over the years and hopefully when the dust has settled you will come to understand why I have left Labour for the Conservatives today.

With all good wishes,


Councillor Alan Dobbie,
Councillor for Noel Park ward.

Permalink Reply by StephenBln on July 8, 2009 at 22:34

Ha ha.. Poisonous remarks..?

If I remember your tweets correctly, you like dishing it out youself, but you're not so keen on anyone else doing it...

Come on, get over it - you aspire to be a politician don't you?

And then there's all this bumpf you've posted about ex-Mayor Dobbie ^, about whom last week, you would have said exactly the same things that you now say about us.

I'm afraid it's all very hard to take..

Permalink Reply by matt on July 9, 2009 at 7:03

To quote;

... the run-up to the recent group annual meeting and being asked by some to go for different positions to ensure that I would get extra money left me disgusted. I sincerely hope that people do not think that I am a Councillor for the money, because this is an insult to my integrity and all that I stand for.


And ....

“Cabinet local governance” is a sham of 9-10 councillors deciding on what will happen and the majority group follow like sheep. Councillors have lost the chance to properly hold officers and lead members to account but expected to be there mainly as voting fodder, even at the expense of being able to represent one’s own ward.

How depressing. Can't see the points made above being any different/better under any other party though.

Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on July 9, 2009 at 7:42

Matt, it may be helpful to know that Cllr Dobbie was at one time Labour's Chief Whip. So he would have seen the inner working of the "cabinet" system.

But I have to confess that I didn't read (or notice) the no doubt incisive and helpful paper he may have written at the time on ways to improve and reform the system. Perhaps he'd like to post it on Hol?

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