Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Harringay resident and ex St. Ann's Ward Cllr Brian Haley wants to be London's Mayor
According to Dave Hill, over at the Guardian, Haley is in the race to become the Lib Dems' Mayoral candidate. I don't normally take an interest in such trival stories (let alone publicise them) but, given his local connections and colourful history, thought it would provoke a few comments.
I don't regard him as a serious candidate. I suspect he's doing this to raise his profile (being one of just a handful of BME LDs), get put on a quango or two and, even, become a peer of the realm. Lord Haley of Harringay?
Tags for Forum Posts: Ann's, Brian, Democrat, Haley, Harringay, Liberal, London, Mayor, Quango, St
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Mr Hinchcliffe, please let's not pretend. In 2009/10 you were the chair of the Tottenham Tories during negotiations with Brian Haley to join your party. Had he done so, you'd have given him a warm welcome and a glowing write-up. Just as you did with former Labour councillors Richard Reynolds and Alan Dobbie.
It's fascinating to learn that Brian Haley was running a Dutch Auction between you and the LibDems. In my innocence I'd imagined that one day people just realised they'd changed. "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a UKIP supporter."
And why a Dutch Auction instead of the bidders upping their offer in the usual way? What was Mr Haley's initial asking price? How far did it drop before the Tories pulled out?
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Permalink Reply by Justin Hinchcliffe on
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Cllr. Stanton, Firstly, I have never been a "Chair"; I was the Chairman! Glad we've got that one sorted. He would have stayed in the Labour Party had he not been replaced by, erm, your partner! It's strange that you've never declared your interest in getting rid of him, isn't it? It is very quite common for people to defect to the parties once they have been de-selected. That's why so many people were shocked when Alan joined us. He hadn't been de-selected and didn't want anything in return. Haley, on the other hand, came up with a shopping list. We told him that, if he joined us, he would have to go through the usual channels (e.g. to get placed on the Parliamentary Candidates' List) . Perhaps exceptions would be made had he already been an MP - I don't know, I'm far too junior to know what happens behind the scenes at that level. He then wanted a 1:1 meeting with the Mayor. Boris wasn't interested in meeting him and I told him that his demands were unreasonable and unrealistic. This was said in a very blunt text. I understand the LDs offered him a job - as their Lead BME man in Cowley Street. Of course, I have no idea if he asked for that promise to be putting in writing. The Lib Dems, as a result of being in government, lost a huge amount of cash in 'Short Money', which they channeled into their HQ.
Had he joined us, would I have given him a "glowing write-up"? Well, that would been the hard bit - given he was Mr CPZ himself.... What is is they say about polishing a turd?
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Yes, I accept it would have been "the hard bit". But you could and would have done it.
Written a positive endorsement asking people to vote for a man who Richard Merrin, Tory Parliamentary candidate called "a political opportunist". Someone you now describe as: "a turd". And at the time:"the most hated councillor in Haringey for foisting CPZs on nearly every road in Haringey without proper consultation with residents".
Yes, my partner Zena Brabazon was one of the people who replaced Brian Haley as a St Ann's ward councillor. But my caustic views on Mr Haley were well known for a number of years before the 2010 election. That includes his mismanagement of CPZs (Controlled Parking Zones) and junction boxes; and the pretence that he was effectively tackling dumping. Not to mention his refusal even to answer people's emails.
It also amazes me that, when this "Dutch Auction" was underway for his services, neither the LibDems nor the Tories seemed bothered about the Standards Committee decision on 3 December 2009. The Committee found he had breached the Members Code of Conduct by instructing his solicitors to send a council employee a letter which was "intimidating in nature and therefore amounted to bullying, and in consequence, also amounted to a . . . failure to treat others with respect."
Frankly, I wouldn't have minded who replaced him.
(Labour councillor Tottenham Hale)
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Permalink Reply by Laura on
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Could I make a request that people don't use initials and assume that people always know what they stand for?
TIRAT
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