Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Councillor Stanton Sent into Wilderness by Local Labour Group
The Labour whip was withdrawn from long serving Tottenham councillor, Alan Stanton last night.
A meeting of the local Haringey Council Labour group last night took the rarely used step of withdrawing the whip from one of its longest serving councillors. The official reason given was Councillor Stanton's voting in opposition to the appointment of new Council Chief Executive, Nick Walkley.
The action was taken by the Labour political group on the Council. It's party business, rather than official council business. However, I do wonder at the meaning of that distinction; when it's a decision by the ruling group over the issue of the appointment of the Council boss, it seems barely relevant to draw a line between the two.
Being deprived of the whip cuts a concillor off from the party’s support machine, labels them as a bad boy, and can lead to their being deselected as the party’s candidate for the next election. It's the grown up political equivalent of playground kids sending someone to Coventry.
So that must be awful for a serious councillor like Alan Stanton with fifteen years of office behind him, right? Wrong. Stanton made clear how he felt about it at 3:00AM this morning on Twitter:
Kober threw me in the briar patch. This is really gonna be fun!
— Alan Stanton (@AlanStanton_) December 7, 2012
(For those of you less familiar with Uncle Remus, Stanton's briar patch refers to an apparently awful thicket into which clever B'rer Rabbit tricked Bre’r Fox throwing him and from which he quickly escaped to make more mischief.)
In conversation with Alan, some hours before the briar patch tweet, Alan told me, "I'm so disillusioned with the level of secrecy in the local party, the need to control from the top, that I'm glad to be out of it".
The current censure applies to Alan for three months. Whist it's by no means certain whether the party want the independent minded Tottenham Councillor back amongst their number when that time is up, this Councillor is certainly not for turning. Alan told me, "No, I won't reapply to rejoin the Labour group that's enough for me." Their loss I'd say. Independent minded he may be, but he's a politician who is a serious thinker and has his heart in the right place. I have to question where a party who doesn't have room for someone like Alan is headed.
As for Alan's future, he has a big agenda he wants to get his teeth into with the big issues around making Tottenham a better place to live, short of simply allowing it to gentrify. He seems to think the chances of his serving as a councillor again are slim though since he sees little chance of an independent councillor ever being elected in his neighbourhood.
Let's not bid farewell to Alan yet, though. This is after all a rabbit that lives by its wits.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David Schmitz on
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Attempts to define courage have never really succeeded. Plato's dialogue the Laches, after all, ends inconclusively. But it does contain the following passage (my apologies to Old Age Emporium for not managing the original Greek and having to make do with the Jowett translation):
For I meant to ask you not only about the courage of heavy-armed
soldiers, but about the courage of cavalry and every other style of
soldier; and not only who are courageous in war, but who are courageous
in perils by sea, and who in disease, or in poverty, or again in
politics, are courageous; and not only who are courageous against pain
or fear, but mighty to contend against desires and pleasures, either
fixed in their rank or turning upon their enemy. There is this sort of
courage--is there not, Laches? (my emphasis)
It seems to me that for Alan to provoke a separation from a group which he has served all of his adult life and to do so out of principle is courageous.An even more interesting question, however, is why it should it be necessary to demonstrate courage at all, if one is merely airing a disagreement with ones colleagues. Must there really be a need, anywhere in a society as open and tolerant as ours, to have to display that quality in such circumstances?
David Schmitz
Lib Dem Councillor for Harringay Ward
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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What an unexpected honour to find oneself, albeit pseudonymously, in the same brief paragraph as Plato on Courage, and in the same short sentence as the great Benjamin Jowett of Balliol! Thank you David. One notes that you have gallantly spared Leaderene Kober's blushes by citing Plato's the Laches only, eschewing all reference to his earlier, and arguably more widely known, Miss Whiplaches.[Alan has some fond memories.]
At the risk of, perhaps, straying from the OP of this Dialogue, in my first month of university Greek, September 1961, our prof (Bill Meany) advised us to commit to memory some ancient Balliol verse as a mnemonic for correctly pronouncing the great Jowett's name, so we wouldn't betray ourselves as the total gobshites we undoubtedly were should we ever be invited to tea at Dublin's Trinity College:
"My name it is Benjamin Jowett:
Whatever is knowledge I know it.
I am Master of Balliol College
Whate'er I don't know is not knowledge."
An undergraduate sort of limerick in need of a firm editorial hand and a punch line, but it served its purpose. No, I was never invited to tea at any Trinity College. But I trust Bill remembered the mnemonic when he met Benjamin in some Stygian backwater of the Elysian Fields twenty years ago.
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Permalink Reply by Seema Chandwani on
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Mr S??? I leave you for a few weeks and you get your whip removed?? LOOOOOOOL!!
On a serious note, Alan knew this was coming, in fact anyone at the Walkely full council would know it was HIM who asked for the vote so people were sure they knew where he stood.
I don't think this debate is whether you like or dislike Alan, or whether you are a Lib Dem or Labourite, it is about whether we elected people to listen to our concerns as public electorates or whether we elected people to listen to the parties concerns. In normal circumstances, both should be the same or similar but in the case of Haringey, it appears not to be the case.
Some say that this assessment is simplistically naive as politics doesnt work like that, well that maybe, but possibly its the complication of politics that has allowed democracy to become endangered.
The vote for all Cllrs on the appointment of Walkley was just that, a vote. It was an individual opinion based on the mandate each Cllr was given to represent us. Cllr Stanton decision on how to use his vote should've been respected if not, then don't fool the public into believing there were options in the process. What this has shown is that Cllrs may have choices in theory but not in practice.
As a member of the Labour Party I can assure you that many of us did and do have concerns about the new CEO, many like me expressed those vocally and publically, including on a public petition. Cllr Stanton was not a maverick in his views, in fact he quite possibly was not a minority either.
If you are a "Leader" then your job is to "Lead", that is to bring people with you out of choice not force or fear.
There is a huge concern when your elected Cllrs hardly ever come on forums like HoL, rarely respond to you on Twitter or email, defend prior to discussing and spin their way out of accountability (or at least attempt to until they get pinned down with a FOI!!). This is the cause of many issues in this borough and why we, especially in Tottenham are continously led to self destruction.
Personally I think our "Leader" scored an own goal by removing the whip off Cllr Stanton, it has not silenced him nor will it prevent him from voting against further decisions! It has achieved very little except highlighting poor control of a team. In fact, now there is nothing stopping Cllr Stanton and this action has potentially created a much more damaging situation. Absolutely crazy decision in my opinion.
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Well, New Labour Electors of Haringey & Harringay, Seven Sisters & Tottenham Hale, you have a few days short of 17 months till 8th May 2014 when you can decide whether you want to be represented by a North Korean Cabinet of like-thinking local politicians or by a more enlightened pre-Gorbachev Politburo of monoliths. Alan is silly enough to think there may be a third way. Alan, I heard they are using the cuts to re-open an asylum for fools and mad. Meanwhile enjoy the re-training.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Excommunication is sometimes the ultimate penalty for religious sects and others. When a step like whip-withdrawal is taken, one can only imagine that the calculation is, better-out-than-in. This is a standing on its head, of the well known Lyndon Johnson remark about Edgar Hoover:
It's probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in.
Loyalty is rated higher than integrity. It doesn't look good and the whip-withdrawal suggests they cannot cope with Alan Stanton and regard him as a potent threat – in a sense, Alan should be flattered that he is seen as so subversive, so powerful. Cllr Stanton is now in a sense, liberated. I hope he uses his remaining time well.
And still, Charles Adje remains a member in good standing. Surely this is dysfunction?
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Permalink Reply by Anette on
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Unbelievable. I'm sure Alan will be back. I don't always share his opinions, but that he's doing an amazing job is beyond any doubt. He's passionate and corageous, not to mention incredibly kind and helpful.
Alan, you'll be more than ok..
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Why didn't The Leader Of Haringey Council do a cabinet reshuffle,if she wants to remove someone.
The perception it gives out is one of authoritarianism and intolerance to suspend a cabinet member for not agreeing with the leadership.If that was the reason for the suspension.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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I may be wrong, but I don't think Alan, excellent and hard-working councillor though he may be, is a Cabinet member.
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No, Alan has always taken care to enclose the pretentiousness of Kober's kitchen cabinet, cupboard or what-not within a cordon sanitaire of "inverted comas" - his subtle allusion to the vegetative state of the contents.
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John D and OAE,perhaps Ms Kober wants a kitchen fridge style cabinet stuffed with an assortment of vegetables such as turnips,swedes (not racist),cauliflowers and baked potatoes.And any other assorted fruit n veg that you can think of? Haringey Council boasts of how they don't like discrimination.But isn't suspending Mr Stanton from the whip (not an s n m reference) isn't that discrimination against a certain type of person.Discriminating against a personality type that is down to earth,speaks their mind and is idealist and has beliefs.Effectively saying don't join the council cabinet if you give a stuff about morality.
For me Mr Stanton comes across as someone who gives a sh one t about things.
Effectively he's being suspended for not being a slimy old toady who licks up to leaders.
Perhaps Haringey Council leadership and Ms Kober can reconsider this suspension.
It would show that she is open minded if she admitted she got it wrong.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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To reply to the last two comments — "don't want to give name" and John_D — I haven't been chosen by Claire Kober for a job in her "Cabinet". (In past years I've been a deputy to various "Executive" councillors - that was the old name for the cabinet - as well as chairing or being vice-chair on various committees.)
At one point after Cllr Kober became council leader, Cllr Stuart McNamara and I offered to job-share the Environment brief held by former councillor Brian Haley. The two of us felt we had a contribution to make and would complement one another's other's skills and experience. Claire Kober told me: "that wouldn't be helpful".
Cllr Kober was probably right. Stuart McNamara and I are independent minded and we often disagree. But our debate and disagreement with one another and other councillors is, I believe, a creative tension.
To be completely clear, my feelings about this aren't about not "rising" up the political ladder. I've never been interested in that. I'm quite content to offer my work, ideas and suggestions whether or not I chair some committee, have a post, a "special allowance" or not.
But it appears to me that Claire Kober isn't interested in working with or listening to people with ideas, experience or abilities, unless they are personally loyal to her and pretty much under her thumb. Anyone who has read about or experienced good leadership will recognise that this is a sure sign of a very poor leader. “Silence - not dissent - is the one answer that leaders should refuse to accept.” — Warren Bennis
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Can I please thank members of HoL who've posted supportive comments here. Some people have asked me questions which I haven't replied to and I apologise for that. I was trying to avoid a long Q & A focussing on me losing the Labour Whip. But I'll try to write something reasonably brief which covers points raised.
In the meantime I want to move the discussion to a key issue which is far wider. It's that our local political discussions are diseased and need steps to restore them to health. That's about culture not just about changing structures or people. Claire Kober and her friends are a symptom of the disease. Removing them is necessary but not sufficient to cure it.
Take an important example. This week we had the launch of the Report by Sir Stuart Lipton about the future of Tottenham after the riot. The Report - if acted on - will potentially affect the lives and futures of everyone living in the Tottenham area.
One of its important features is not just what it says, but how it was put together. Hardly anyone who lives in the Tottenham Constituency or in the area most affected by the riot was invited to take part or give their views.
This top-down excluding approach has typified not just Stuart Lipton's report but the entire way in which Claire Kober has controlled the post-riot process. For example she appointed hand-picked people to her own so-called "Independent Community Panel", which she chaired herself.
I was told that Sir Stuart Lipton sent a draft of his report to Claire Kober and some other "cabinet" councillors at the beginning of November. I asked for a copy. Not just because I am a ward councillor for Tottenham Hale, one of the wards most affected by the Tottenham Riot. Nor because I was a Labour councillor. Nor because Zena Brabazon and I live a few minutes walk from where the riot took place.
It is because the Riot and the Report is of deep concern to every Haringey elected councillor. And because I believe that all Haringey councillors have should have had an opportunity to read and comment on the report in progress - if necessary challenging and suggesting changes and improvements.
The fact that Sir Stuart Lipton did not in any way open up the process of the report's preparation to all Haringey councillors, not even to share a draft with us and invite our views, is a severe criticism of him and his colleagues who took part in the report's production.
However, on 7 November I was told that Sir Stuart Lipton was happy for councillors to see the draft before publication. Even so, it wasn't until 3 December that councillors were sent copies. These were marked Confidential; so we were not at liberty to share them.
On 13 December LibDem Cllr Neil Williams tweeted me that the draft of the Lipton Report was sent only to Labour councillors.
The fetid secrecy which marks the way this Council does business is the opposite of local democracy.
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It's nice to read on HoL about my generosity and kindness. But actually, I'm extremely unkind and ungenerous to people in the political world who have repeatedly shown that they do not practice nor appear to understand the basics of democracy. Particularly when it comes to some of the most important issues touching on local people's lives and futures.
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Ms Kober is very young in age to be leader of the Haringey Labour Council.Aged mid thirties?
You have to ask the question is she experienced enough for this role as leader? No in my opinion.
I was interested to read what you wrote above Mr Stanton.I just assumed that Ms Kober and the Labour political group were trying to shut you up because you were in the cabinet with them.The fact that you are not in the cabinet makes it even worse in my mind that the Labour political group are doing what they did.As they don't even have to deal with you on the cabinet showing even less tolerance of people from diverse backgrounds that they claim to value;that they won't even tolerate someone outside the cabinet voting according to their conscience and speaking their truth.
So it's a not just a case of no dissenting voices in the Haringey Council Labour Cabinet,it's a case of no dissenting voices in the Haringey Labour Council among the councillors at all.
I find that rather chilling.
It's rather Stalinesque.
That's not very democratic is it?
So Mr Stanton does 15 years in office.And this is the way his years of work is rewarded.
What happened to the moral principle of loyalty.
"being deprived of the party whip can lead to being deselected as the partys candidate at the next election," writes Hugh.
So this is an aggressive attack by Ms Kober and the labour party group not just a minor issue.
15 years in office is alot of experience as to help that can be given to the community regarding the riots.I would have thought Ms Kober would need all the experience and feedback from that experience that she can get.Someone who is well know in the community can be very usefull to feedback information to the leadership about potential future riots and what can be done etc.
Perhaps Ms Kober and the Labour party group aren't interested in the riots feedback that Mr Stanton can give them.Maybe they just take it personally that he is critical.That's immature if true and pathetic and a sign of out of control ego not a sign of mature leadership .
Or does Ms Kober just feel threatened by someone who is experienced in the local community.
Maybe that is the problem.Mr Stanton knows too much,knows where the bodies are buried and is prepared to speak his mind.A young inexperienced leader could take that as a threat and go in for the kill.
You have to ask did Haringey Labour appoint Ms Kober because she is a woman because at 36 years of age their isn't much experience their.Was it just positive discrimination for women.
And the inexperience and insecurity is now showing?
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