Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Is it a good thing to have a cabinet member in your ward?
Alan Stanton mentioned in this post that councillors actually don't have much power. They appear to act more as an advocate for their constituency. However there are some councillors who allegedly do have a lot of power: cabinet members.
So St Ann's, until recently, had 3 cabinet members in their ward. This included Brian Haley who appears to have had the power to transform roads. Harringay, does not have a cabinet member in the ward.
Or is it more important that they don't necessarily represent you but that they live in your ward (Brian lives in Harringay, not St Ann's)?
Or does not not matter at all? Every single ward west of us has three Liberal Democrat councillors.
Tags for Forum Posts: cabinetmembers, councillors
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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An interesting model, which can help explain the workings of power in Haringey politics, is the big man theory of anthropologist Marshall Sahlins.
For an understanding of why some parts of the Council fail to work properly I'd again recommend two of my old favourites: C.Northcote Parkinson's essay on injelititis; and practically anything by John Seddon on the application of systems theory to service organisations - especially local government.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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What I'm actually getting at Alan, is that given that things are as they are and that we have very little chance to change them, should we vote for someone because they are likely to be a cabinet member in a majority party or does it not matter at all?
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I suspect you want a simple yes/no answer, John. But, as I've walked round delivering leaflets, your question was rattling in my head. It raises a lot of interesting points.
I'm required to render unto the Chief Whip that which is the Chief Whip's. But unto Lord Nolan the Ten Principles of Public Life. So putting aside Party, I'll go with Lord Nolan.
Vote for a party with policies and principles you believe in and want to see in practice. And vote for individuals who you think believe in these policies and principles; have the personal qualities to carry them through; and to be part of a team which does so. Qualities including experience and ability; and some track record. (Though I would never exclude people who've yet to prove themselves on the Council.) Above all, look for conviction; determination; integrity and courage.
Specifically on the cabinet councillor issue, I've never been one. So I can really only tell you how it looks from outside. In my view, the Leader-Cabinet system both centralises power and strengthens the power of senior officers on whom the "cabinet" are forced to rely. (I have in the past been a deputy and attended some meetings. I thought these were dysfunctional and far too officer-dominated.)
Some key "Cabinet" councillors have an absurdly wide remit and are easily 'captured' by the 'gravitational pull' of a very large bureaucracy. They often seem to be in back-to-back meetings with - I assume - little time for reflection. Or for seeking out a wide range of competing views. The forums for judgement building (as opposed to racing through long agendas) seem poor.
You're right that things "are as they are". But we - including you, John - do have a chance to change them. Both nationally and by influencing the Council. Just two examples.
● A friend of ours - an ex-Labour councillor - working for ASH helped change the law on smoking. A few years ago, how many people would have said that was impossible?
● The small group of residents (including Nora Mulready) - investigated Certificates of Lawfulness and persuaded Cllr Claire Kober to instruct that procedures were tightened-up. Against indifference and inertia from some council officers.
Though there are many more Haringey staff who want to see services improve; and who I know would welcome fresh ideas and new energy.
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