Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Thank you - from your Labour & Co-operative Party candidates
Hi everyone,
As you will know by now, we have not been elected to represent you for the next four years.
While this was of course not the result the three of us hoped for, we would like to thank every resident who took the time to share their views with us on the doorstep and engage with us at hustings, community events and here on Harringay Online.
We appreciated every conversation. In a big city like London, where people often live atomised lives, Harringay residents’ engagement with local matters and their care for our public spaces is special – and should not be taken for granted. We would also like to congratulate Marc, Jo and Rosie on their election. We wish them all the very best in delivering for Harringay and its residents – and hope they find public service deeply fulfilling. We would also like to thank our Liberal Democrat candidates – Karen, Dom and David – for running a cordial campaign. We have particularly appreciated David’s kind words and witty remarks whenever we crossed paths with him on the campaign trail.
Zena and I have very much enjoyed serving Harringay ward for these past four years – nine years in Zena’s case! From winning new investment for our roads and green spaces, to collaborating with our Ladder Community Safety Partnership to reduce antisocial behaviour, to opposing late-night gambling in the Magistrates Court – we have poured our energy and commitment into representing Harringay and are proud of everything we have achieved with residents. It has been an absolute privilege to represent Harringay and we have never taken this responsibility lightly.
A final word from Anna and Olly: Haringey Council lost a giant in the world of children’s policy yesterday. Zena Brabazon leaves a legacy very few local councillors can match. Her expertise and sheer determination as Cabinet Member for Children took a local council with a tragic history of two high-profile failed child welfare cases on a journey that culminated in Haringey’s first ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating for Children’s Services in February this year. With 98% of our schools rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’, ‘Outstanding’ SEND services and alternative provision, and £50.6m invested in our school buildings: every child in our borough is better off because Zena fought for them.
Thank you everyone – and please do stay in touch.
Anna Abela (on behalf of Olly Bennathan and Zena Brabazon)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dick Harris
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Thank you Anna for your gracious remarks.
I am very grateful that our ward had the benefit of such active and approachable councillors as you and Zena. I am quite sure that the swing away from Labour is not the result of your own excellent record of service to the ward.
Our new councillors will find you two a tough act to follow.
Best wishes for the future.
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Permalink Reply by Matt Fenby Taylor
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Thank you for this thoughtful message, and for the work the two of you have put in.
We didn't always agree on everything, particularly on healthy streets topics, where I think there was more to be done. But that sits alongside real respect for how engaged and accessible you've both, along with Olly, been throughout your time representing the ward or standing for election.
Showing up, listening properly, and engaging seriously with residents on detail matters — and you've done that consistently, including on issues where we didn't see eye to eye.
Zena's legacy on children's services speaks for itself, and the work you and she have done on community safety and opposing the late-night gambling licence, for instance, are things Harringay is genuinely better for.
Thank you. I wish all elected representatives had your strengths.
Wishing you all the best for what comes next, and hope to see you around the ward.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
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Anna, well said; I agree with Dick and Matt's comments.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh
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Well said, Anna.
Thank you for your service over the past four years. It is a shame to see you and Zena go.
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Thanks Anna and Zena for everything you have done for the ward and Haringey. Best of luck with future endeavours.
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Permalink Reply by Alice Mezzo
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Dear Anna, it was a pleasure to get to know more about you recently and I deeply admire and respect the commitment and hard work you have given Harringay. Thank you for all you have done. My vote went Green this time (mainly because of active travel/ traffic and air pollution issues) but I still thought you were a fantastic councillor and you will definitely be missed. Hope to see you around in Harringay soon. Alice
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Thank you, Anna. You have been an excellent local councillor. You were engaged with the community - attending our playstreet, LCSP meetings and just being visible in the local area.
However, I feel you were significantly let down by your local party on several key issues affecting Harringay residents.
- The prolonged delays, alongside the willingness to accept council officers’ assertions regarding smoke emissions from Green Lanes grill restaurants, were equally frustrating. Once again, residents’ voices were overlooked, despite the very real health impacts of breathing polluted air.
- The repeated delays over many years in delivering a traffic strategy that genuinely works for residents were unacceptable. The eventual commitments were too little, too late. HLHS had proposed a viable solution, but recently released documents suggest it was not even properly considered.
- There was also a failure to seriously address the removal of parking from Green Lanes to improve public transport and resident safety. The justification that shops required deliveries felt weak and dismissive of the many residents who signed petitions and raised legitimate concerns.
- The decision to push through a long-term deal in Finsbury Park just days before the election period began was deeply disappointing. While I do not have a strong personal view on the events themselves, many residents clearly do, and they deserved a proper democratic opportunity to voice their opinions.
More broadly, your local leadership failed to inspire confidence. During the Clear Air hustings, Cllr Ibrahim Ali appeared disengaged, spending time on his phone and giving the impression that residents’ concerns were not a priority. Former leader Peray Ahmet emphasized her business connections but didn't engage with residents. Her poorly judged interview on the Matt Forde podcast, where she appeared to suggest ambitions for higher office, reflected a concerning lack of humility and political judgement.
Despite these wider failures, you stood out as a genuinely effective local representative. I sincerely hope your party recognises your contributions, and I would welcome the opportunity to see you making a positive impact in Haringey again soon.
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AlICE, I much agree with your neat and excellent summary.
To expand on some points:
USE OF PHONES
This is not a feature of A or Z, but a few Labour Councillors have been so uninterested in council or other public meetings, that they are content brazenly to use their phones in full view of residents.
It's bad form and it is not a new problem for the Labour Group. It puts on public display, their arrogance and complacency. That they do it in full view is evidence of the contempt they hold for the residents they were elected to serve and who are paid from public funds.
THE TILT OF THE LAND
With the possible exception of Krankbrother—due to its location on land broadly tilting north— Harringay Ward is less affected by the council's major Events Policy and the attendant noise (and disruption).
Parts of Stroud Green Ward are badly impacted by the noise and disruption of Wireless.
However, the Ward far the worst affected was Brownswood. That is in the next door Borough of Hackney.
As the previous Haringey Labour leadership cared nothing for residents affected in Haringey Borough, one can imagine how much they cared for residents in a neighbouring Borough. The Labour Administrations of Hackney and Islington had no influence over the selfish Haringey leadership.
THE EX-LEADER
I genuinely credit the former leader with standing against her predecessor for leader of her Group and Council. Her predecessor's 36 month period was a disaster and not least in massive losses through irregular property deals.
The immediate past leader was more about networking and climbing the political ladder than serving residents today. Her predecessor once said he would only consider leaving to do something special
I heard that yet another former local Labour leader—now in the Lords—once spoke of having a Portfolio Career. This is the busy background behind promises made at election time.
The business connections you mentioned were keenly cultivated by the former Leader. They ranged from service industries such fast-food and slower food along Green Lanes, to the entertainment world: live music industry via the hiring out our public park. Including "Grime".
Labour's election material excessively revolved around on a single councillor: the authortarian leader.
LEADERSHIP ON THE ENVIRONMENT
However, the enduring legacy is the gap and lack of action on public health and the environment.
I cannot forget how the then Cabinet member walking into a pre-Covid, public meeting and explicitly stated her un-interest in the environment.
She did not sit down, but addressed her fellow Cabinet Member who chaired the meeting. She seemed to forget she was not in a Group or Cabinet meeting. The points she made about the climate crisis and the environment were:
- It was a niche issue; of
- Little or no interest to her people; and of
- Interest to a narrow "demographic" – that word stuck in my mind
Anyone who was present at the pre-Covid meeting hosted by Haringey Living Streets and chaired by the then Cabinet Member for Climate Action, will remember the comments of Peray Ahmet.
Who strode out after making her contribution. Is it any wonder our Borough made so little headway?
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IT's no joke for those genuinely trying to make our air, health and environment better. Too many Labour Councillors were more interested in their personal (careers, often business) interests rather than in local public interest. I could write more on this.
Above is the photo of the public meeting by concerned residents in the Green Rooms, addressed briefly by Peray Ahmet. She entered and exited from stage left.
Standing and speaking at centre right, is Cat Kenyon of Haringey Living Streets, in orange.
Click to view full width and size. I'm seated at the extreme lower right.
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The ex-leader is still the leader on Haringey's website.
On twitter she blames Starmer for the losses: A lack of introspection and self-awareness?
See https://x.com/susana_mendonca/status/2053564044766773278
Haringey avoided major scandals during her tenure, and did some good things while ducking the issues that gave the Greens major campaigning points.
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