Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Cllr Alan deselected for writing Flickr blog
The cllr for Tottenham Hale Alan Stanton is facing deselection by the Labour Group over the use of his Flickr blog to discuss issues around the financial mismanagement of Ally Pally and other developments by some of his colleagues.
It seems Alan will not be forgiven for 'breaking ranks' and telling people the truth about what his colleagues get up to. Transparency is actually quite an uncomfortable thought for some it appears.
Alan appears to be the only sitting cllr to be deselected, despite his hard work on behalf of the residents over things like CPZ lines, illegal fines, litter and dumping and Ally Pally.
Alan is going to appeal against the decision. let us hope the Labour Group see sense and start appreciating Alan's true commitment to transparent local government.
UPDATE: Alan's appeal was successful
It seems Alan will not be forgiven for 'breaking ranks' and telling people the truth about what his colleagues get up to. Transparency is actually quite an uncomfortable thought for some it appears.
Alan appears to be the only sitting cllr to be deselected, despite his hard work on behalf of the residents over things like CPZ lines, illegal fines, litter and dumping and Ally Pally.
Alan is going to appeal against the decision. let us hope the Labour Group see sense and start appreciating Alan's true commitment to transparent local government.
UPDATE: Alan's appeal was successful
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Oh Justin! You are MORE THAN WELCOME to debate politics, you just have to make any official tribal allegiances clear on your profile (and when appropriate in the conversation). Stop being such a wuss.
Rubbish is political. Transport is political. HMOs are political. I could, of course, go on.
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Permalink Reply by james walsh on
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Alan i once again urge you to stand down from labour and become an independent. We shall not forget the way labour has treated you.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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I think it would be hard to avoid politics in any discussion in the local government category but as John says, we ask people who have a clear political allegiance such as a Party membership to be clear about that when engaging in political threads.
A good example was David Schmitz who answered some criticism of Lib Dem election leaflets raised by a resident but was careful to end his reply with his political viewpoint and position (in this case PPC)
As we draw nearer to elections, we must expect more politics to enter the site and maybe less gardening but we will continue to ask people with clear political 'jobs' to make that known and to avoid, as much as possible any personal comments(leave that for the political bloggers) but to stick to the issues.
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Having worked with Alan for many years when I was also a councillor, I can attest to his real commitment to his work representing his constituents in Tottenham Hale and indeed the wider community in Haringey. A scrupulously honest person, renowned for his constant digging and searching for the often hidden facts and figures of a project, Alan has frequently upset his fellow Labour (majority group) councillors when he has exposed issues some of them would rather hide. Alan is absolutely the sort of councillor we need - unfortunately he's not the sort that many current Labour councillors want. If his appeal against de-selection is unsuccessful, hopefully he will run next year as an Independent. I know I and many others would come out to support his campaign.
Lucy Craig
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Permalink Reply by BBL on
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The managment of the Council take its lead from Councillors, so this gives a good indication on how any dissent from employees is dealt with by them.
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Permalink Reply by GN8 on
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I wonder if the Labour party ever considered the message their action spells, particularly in view of the latest revelations that is still sending shock waves through the political system and the nation as a whole.
Lets see....
It is OK to abuse your position and spend public funds to further yours and your family riches, personal gains, and fulfil any greedy desire you might have, as long as YOU TOW THE PARTY LINE and it is all kept secret from the public.
Hey, you can put all your family members on the payroll and they need not even do a day’s work to earn it - totally acceptable and within the rules. O’ ye it must be within the rules... of course... Who’s rules? remind me...
It is OK to use your public position to further the commercial interest of companies that employ you as a director, or in any other capacity, as long as no one pays attention.
It is OK to get paid by anyone who wants you to create new laws or change existing ones... All is OK and can go on ad infinitum for as long as all your party members keep their gobs firmly shut!
The political club with it’s well oiled wheels and greased palms can go on and on and on unhindered. However in the unlikely event that the unlawful conduct ever becoming public, quickly develop a conscious, apologise profusely and immediately return the money, close your eyes and pretend no one sees you and hope for the best. Public attention usually last no more then 3 weeks and ‘the club’ will do what it knows best - COVER IT UP!
There are many technique perfected through the years – A self appointed committee to investigate perhaps? Or better still - a public inquiry held in secret. Or debate what to do with the issue for few years until the next election...
But keeping it secrete is the most sacred thing when you belong to ‘the club’. You can be sure of one thing – if you dare to tell, your head will be the first one on the block...
Deselecting Alan Stanton for asking questions in public, shows us they have not learned anything. They are not really sorry. They are only sorry we found out!
This action demonstrates that nothing has changed and does very little in restoring public trust.
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Permalink Reply by Justin Hinchcliffe on
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It's just occured to me: Flickr isn't supposed to be used as a blog - that's what blogspot.com etc. are there for!
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Are there 'rules' about these things? News to me. I use Flickr to document the state of Harringay both good and bad. I call that blogging i.e. logging the problems I see on the web. It makes it very easy to reference things to council officers. Recall that old adage about a picture being worth a thousand words?
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And another thing! For all of you who think Alan Stanton is some sort of 'saint' for being super-'independent', why has he never voted against the whip and with opposition councillors?
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Voting with the Whip
It's quite true that in eleven years I have never voted against the Labour whip. As far as I recall, I've abstained twice. Once I'm deeply ashamed of. It was a motion about Victoria Climbié and I should have voted against the whip.
Many councillors recognise that whipped voting, 'arranged' speeches and 'planted' questions at Council Meetings can look silly to members of the public in the balcony. (They are very rarely reported in the local press.) I made the same point here. The current system hides - often very heated - internal party debates. I could add more, but don't want to break the Hol rule about politicking.
Flickr
This is how Flickr describes itself:
"Flickr is a deep application, that means it has something for everyone, and probably some things you don't yet know about."
"Flickr is a huge, diverse bunch of people masquerading as a photo-sharing website".
Note the word 'masquerading'. So yes, I've been experimenting with my "photoblog" for a couple of years. With some success. Flickr is simple, straightforward and very practical. Its 'tags' and links are genuinely helpful. Apart from what you see, I have 'private folders' for family and friends with our snaps of trips, holidays, family weddings etc.
Most of my comments on photos are unpolitical. Unless you think that local councillors - of any party - shouldn't show residents what they do. (Like the: 'please take action on this dumping' shots.) I'm also proud that a few of my photos are now used on Wikipedia and (without fee) in publications including a textbook in India and a booklet on Urban Design.
Yes, I could have blogged, twittered, and Facebooked. But I simply don't have any more time.
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Permalink Reply by Alison P on
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This is really depressing news, and I'm very sorry to hear that Alan faces this threat. I think its pretty obvious from his contributions to this site that he is doing a fantastic job and trying to resolve the things that matter in this area. Crazy.
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