Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
"London council named as England's 'most rotten' borough"
Haringey has been named as England's 'most rotten' borough.
Yesterday, The Standard reported that, per 100,000 of population in Haringey, there were 20 upheld, formal Complaints.
This, on the basis of data from the Local Government Ombudsman.
This is the second year running that the London Borough of Culture 2027 has secured the top place for the number of Complaints upheld by the Ombudsman.
The previous leadership was a menace to public money. They (we) made multi-million pound losses on municipal property wheeling-and-dealing. The current leadership has since failed to get a robust grip on finances.
Are any residents surprised?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dick Harris on
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I feel uncomfortable seeing that this thread is headed by a piece of facile journalistic abuse. "Rotten Borough" has a well established meaning in our blessed island and has nothing whatever to do with the possible failings of any London borough. The rotten boroughs were parliamentary constituencies and most, if not all, of them were abolished by the great Reform Act of 1832.
As a long time resident of Haringey, I can see plenty of good and poor things about its performance but I wouldn't say it is rotten in any sense of the word. Let us keep a sense of perspective and recognise cheap journalism when we see it.
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Permalink Reply by Iris Allan on
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I'm curious to know what the good things are about Haringey Council's performance.
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Permalink Reply by KP on
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Yes exactly. I don't see many positives about the Council's performance. I have also been living here a long time and I don't think "Rotten Borough" is inaccurate or cheap journalism
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I would rather not add to the length of this thread but, as you ask, I shall cite the alacrity with which the Council provided rehab home-care for my neighbour so he could be sent home from hospital. They also quickly arranged for modifications to be made inside his house to enable him to get around without help. On a more general point, my bins are emptied every week like clockwork.
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War is peace
Slavery is freedom
Diversity is strength
Haringey Council is good
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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So, Iris, what do we learn? Probably that you detest aspects of Haringey's council.
Oddly, me too. And I was a councillor for sixteen years. Although I expect we may detest and applaud very different things. For example I really do see diversity as strength. But if you intend giving us a pastiche of George Orwell, I suggest trying a bit harder.
As you may have noticed I detested the unwillingness of very senior people - at different times - in Haringey Council to follow the basic principles of their own constitution. Rechecking these principles today I noticed I've long been in error. My faulty memory suggested they're set out - crucislly - on page one.
That was wrong. They are now on page 299.
I advise anyone currently thinking of standing (or restanding) as a councillor to turn to the good staff from p.299. I used to make a joke that such a key document was kept in a dusty glass case in the basement. Fetched out annually and taken around in a ceremonial procession and loud acclaim.The dull truth is that these precious pages are on Google. So make Google your friend. There is no longer any need for mystical spells or chanting.
What gems will new councillors find on page 299?
Selflessness,
Integrity,
Objectivity,
Accountability,
Openness,
Honesty,
Leadership.
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Reversity is our strength.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
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IRIS, are you interested in constitutional and institutional issues?
Haringey's robust Constitution is so irrelevant to the council that they do not link to it. This is rotten.
Alan is right that their (our) Constitution is buried so deeply that the quickest way to find it is to search the municipal site with Google, using Advanced Search.
Once every four years, there is a chance for some council accountability during one 15-hour period. In between polling days, our remote council acts and seems to believe they either above the law or that they are the law.
In between, there are two main ways that ordinary people can attempt to force our secretive council to be a little more open: Freedom of Information requests and Complaints to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO).
The evidence suggests that Haringey Council resents and finds irritating, both of these lawful abilities of citizens.
Where such actions could expose municipal mistakes (or worse), the council is prepared to delay and to stonewall, sometimes for years and sometimes, by paying barristers with public money to defend the indefensible. This is rotten.
The council revels in their being "crowned" Borough of Culture 2027. The leadership and a small proportion of residents enjoy this.
However if, instead of giving so much attention to things they like to do and focused on fixing too-frequent failings, then net progress could be made. The council would then serve its paymasters (us) and service users (us) better.
It would of course be anathema for the council to welcome complaints or to regularly reply to FoI requests in the Statutory period. But if they took a positive approach and treated such actions as chances to learn, to improve, to do better, then we would all be better off.
On their current trajectory there is no chance of this kind of institutional reform. Haringey is on course to pick up their undisputed UK Rotten Borough heavyweight title for the third year running.
The council CEO is Andy Donald and the leader is Cllr. Peray Ahmet.
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Reversity appears to be a new word possibly coined by a U.S. writer. He explains that he means "...a deliberate inversion of justice, equity, and opportunity. This isn’t just pushback on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI); it’s a strategic redirection of hardship, intentionally designed to reinforce adversity for the already disadvantaged."
Can I hope, Iris, that is not what you intend to endorse?
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THE Standard's headline (Rotten Borough) is eye-catching if not sensational. Headlines are written by Sub-Editors whose job it is to summarise and yes, to attract attention to reporters' stories.
How many would trouble to read beyond a headline, "Statistics abstracted from the office of the local government ombudsman with special reference to Haringey Council" ?!
Haringey council has an unusually poor record for residents' complaints and Megan Howe's story does deserve attention, especially from the CEO and leader.
I think it's important to try to get past (and to read past) the headline and to consider the substance of the report.
Nearly 40 years ago I chose to live in Haringey, the Borough. At the time, its ruling council had a general reputation for high rates and poor services. I have not been disappointed!
I agree that it is important to keep a sense of perspective. In this context, it is to distinguish between being a resident in a Borough and enjoying the good things of living in a locality (such as Borough's many green space) on the one hand, and on the other hand, the objective performance of the local council.
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