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 james walsh on
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What is the 'Walkgate enquiry' ?
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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The enquiry into the "development" of the Licence to Firoka was commissioned by the council (the administrative arm) and took the form of consecutive reports by independent expert Martin Walklate, known as Walklate 1 (September 2008) and Walklate 2 (April 2009).
The de-selection of Cllr. Stanton has succeeded in drawing more attention to these damning reports, as well as to the other areas where Councillor Charles Adje has unanswered questions before him.
The questions needing to be answered are non-trivial. As many people as possible should see the independent, factual Walklate reports.
I think people of all political stripes should recognize that, whatever else they might think about Cllr Stanton, he has gone out on a limb over this important matter and manifestly not for careerist reasons. If more politicians acted out of principle in this way, we might have a better system. People that poison the body politic need to be pushed out and Alan Stanton is not one of them.
The deselection may encourage more people to say this is wrong and look closely at what is going on here.
If Alan's Appeal against deseleciton fails, that will only confirm how rotten is the system. His crime has been to put public interest ahead of (short-term) party interest.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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James, just to add that a large part of the first Report (September 2008) focussed on the process (or lack of one! ) for granting a licence to Firoka which let the company run Alexandra Palace for some eight months and keep the profits. The second report (April 2009) looked at responsibility for the losses incurred (at least £1.5 million) as a result of the licence.
Because of the anomalous legal position of the Ally Pally Charity, this loss had to be covered by the Council - i.e. council taxpayers.
Helpfully, Clive Carter links to the Ham & High Editorial which gives the key points. Though not all my Labour colleagues may agree with me that words like "damning", "horror, "squandering" and "shambles" are a balanced summary.
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Sorry i meant watergate. Sounds the same
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James, sometimes the subtlety of your humour escapes me!
A big difference with Watergate is that Haringey Council officers didn't do any 'Deep Throat' sporadic leaking. They commissioned the independent Walklate reports to get at the full facts.
Both reports were then published almost in full. (Some very small "redacted" bits are because of possible legal proceedings.) I don't know who decided this, but they deserve our thanks.
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Permalink Reply by Justin Hinchcliffe on
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I think, again sadly, that Stephen has cheapened this thread. Time for Hugh or Liz to act, IMHO.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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I think Stephen has made it clear he won't continue with this line any further. I 'll trust him on that.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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I don't think Stephen has cheapened this tread at all!
Politics demands lively debate and asking for the site moderators to act to silence him when he has not been offensive to the majority of the people who use this site is just a way chickening out of answering hard questions (on both sides of the debate).
What we need is some real discussion about the freedom of elected councillors (or MPs/MEPs) to talk directly to their electorate. Alan did this and seems to have been censured. Stephen did this and Justin seems to want him censured.
I may not speak with the same tone as Stephen or agree with what he says but I think his point is spot on about what is happening with politics both locally and nationally. The voice of dissent is silenced and only those who advocate the staus quo are allowed. Surely Justin, after all that has happened in Paliament over the last few months, you cannot be a champion of this position?
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Liz, there isn't anything stopping anyone from standing as an Independent for Harringay ward. Although people bemoan political tags, they still overwhelming vote for them. To find out how to stand go to http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/council/decision-making/becoming_a... - hope this helps!
Realistically, the only chance Indys have of being elected is if PR is introduced in local government. Personally, this is something I can see happening quite soon and favour.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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I think Web 2.0 will make it easier for an independent to stand, certainly this website put the frighteners on the local political parties.
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Micheal, I am more than happy to debate politics but, as we're constantly reminded, this is not the site to do it on.
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