Trial by Jeory

Separated by about 180 miles, the south Yorkshire town of Doncaster and Tower Hamlets don’t at first sight have that much in common. Both failed to become Diamond Jubilee cities this year and both have claims to historic Roman roads (although Tower Hamlets’s is characteristically dubious), and they each share notable industrial heritage. But apart from that, there’s little to link the two areas.

Except, of course, for their shambolic local politics.

In June 2010, then new Communities Secretary Eric Pickles completed a process started by his Labour predecessor John Denham by appointing a new chief executive for Doncaster council. The new man was tasked with mopping up the mess left by “15 years of poor governance and dysfunctional politics”.

It was the last time the Department for Communities and Local Government has intervened in a council’s affairs–and it is now seriously considering doing so again in east London.

The Doncaster decision was taken after the Audit Commission described the council as “failing”. Whitehall had already intervened in its children’s services department, but there were wider worries. In 2009, a controversial directly elected mayor was voted in. The relationship between Mayor Peter Davies (from the English Democrats, so a kind of ”independent”), and the majority Labour group became fractious, to say the least. It all came to head amid a deadlock between the warring parties over the appointment of a new chief executive…

Sound familiar?

Last Tuesday, Tower Hamlets held a confidential Extraordinary Council Meeting to try and appoint a Head of Paid Service. This position, which signs off the cheques, is a statutory role  normally performed by a chief executive.

But in Tower Hamlets, we don’t have a chief executive and there’s been a bit of a bunfight ever since Kevan Collins wisely bailed out in July 2011. A potted version of what happened next is probably needed, even for those who are more familiar with the saga.

Aman Dalvi, the director of regeneration was installed as the interim CEO and Mayor Lutfur Rahman was in favour of making his appointment permanent. However, the Labour group leadership was against this: they thought he was too close to Lutfur and that he wasn’t up to the job, so Dalvi was vetoed at a committee stage. The council then looked for someone else, but that process also failed.

So for the past few months, while the politicians fought among themselves, another council director, Stephen Halsey, has been acting as Head of Paid Service to prevent the town hall from going into default. At last Tuesday’s behind-closed-doors meeting, councillors voted to offer him a six month extension. However, within a couple of days, he had turned it down.

Five of Lutfur’s councillors have now triggered another confidential Extraordinary Council Meeting for this Thursday.

The issue has managed the impossible of making Tower Hamlets more of a laughing stock than ever before. So here’s what’s been going on.

After Dalvi was vetoed for the permanent position, he sued both the council and Labour group leader Josh Peck for what he claimed was a failure of process. Last week, I understand, that claim was settled out of court. I’m told that Dalvi has received an element of compensation and that the council has proposed to pay the legal costs for both him and for Cllr Peck. This bill is likely to be in the substantial thousands of pounds.

With his claim now settled, I understand that Aman is keen on getting the top job again–and so too is Lutfur. At last Tuesday’s meeting (scandalously timed to prevent Lutfur and his cabinet colleagues from attending the important annual staff awards dinner–see below), councillors were told only Mr Halsey had expressed an interest in being Head of Paid Service. However, behind the scenes Aman, who was close to settling his case, was also mulling re-entering the fray. With that knowledge, Lutfur’s group of independents tried to add his name to the list for a vote, but the three senior officers present–John Williams, the head of democratic services; monitoring officer Isabella Freeman; and finance director Chris Naylor–advised that was not possible.

As such, they now have to do it all over again on Thursday. I understand that Mr Naylor, an aspiring musician who will become the boss of the much saner Barnet council in February, is writing an “options” report for the evening. What he’ll suggest is not known, but if Aman Dalvi has officially declared himself, I’m fairly sure councillors will be asked to vote on his appointment. The stakes are getting high. Mr Naylor’s impending departure leaves a key position vacant and the anti-Lutfur camp believes Aman would too easily allow the Mayor to install his own person.

Lutfur’s crew, who accused the Labour leadership of racial discrimination against Aman after the last veto (Labour deny this), know there is a split in the majority group over this. If Labour vote against him, they will have to say why they don’t want him and that then risks further legal action.

Mr Naylor, who has just started his final working week, will probably have to offer a back-up plan. Mr Halsey might be persuaded to do it in an emergency. Quite why he declined last Tuesday’s offer is also not known for certain. Some think he’s been warned off, but there’s also a school of thought that he thinks Aman has been treated badly and deserves a fair stab at it.

And then there’s the nuclear option. I’ve written before that Eric Pickles and his senior team at DCLG have been monitoring Tower Hamlets very closely for quite some time now. They would intervene if they had the grounds to do so. And a council unable to appoint a Head of Paid Service could well be such grounds. In those circumstances, he could do what he did in Bradford and impose a top officer alongside a team of DCLG-appointed Commissioners; or he could go to the Local Government Association and ask them to nominate a Head of Paid Service.

A heavy-hitter from Whitehall would be in the perfect position to assess the wider situation in Tower Hamlets…and amass more evidence.

But who would they go to? Former CEO Christine Gilbert has just become acting head of Brent Council, so she’s out of the running. What a shame we don’t have someone like Derrick Anderson, the black chief executive of Lambeth council, available.

Meanwhile, in an illustration of how fraught this has all become, have a look at this following email exchange between Lutfur cabinet councillor Shahed Ali and Chris Naylor. Shahed is clearly not a happy bunny, and neither is Naylor. The exchange was triggered after John Williams sent councillors an email last Friday requesting their attendance for this Thursday’s meeting.

This is Shahed’s tired and emotional reply at 2am Saturday morning. (He’s really unhappy about having to earn his £24,000 allowance.)

From: Shahed Ali

Sent: 15 December 2012 02:08
To:JohnS Williams; Abdal Ullah; Abdal Ullah; Abdul Asad; mukitmbe; Ahmed Omer; Alibor Choudhury; ; Aminur Khan; Amy Whitelock; Ann Jackson; Anwar Khan; Bill Turner; ; Carli Harper-Penman; Carlo Gibbs; craigaston; David Edgar; David Snowdon; Denise Jones; Emma Jones; cllremmajones; Fozol Miah; cllrgrthienel; Gulam Robbani; ; harun.miah; Helal Abbas; Helal Uddin; Joshua Peck; Judith Gardiner; Kabir Ahmedx; Khales Uddin Ahmed; Kosru Uddin; Lesley Pavitt; Lutfa Begum; Lutfur Rahman; mdmaium; Marc Francis; cllr.mizan.chaudhury; Motin Uz-zaman; Ohid Ahmed; cllroliur.rahman; cllrpetergolds; Rabina Khan; Rachael Saunders; Rajib Ahmed; ; Rania Khan; Rofique Ahmed; Shafiqul Haque; shahedali;Shiria Khatun; Sirajul Islam; Stephanie Eaton; Tim Archer; Zara Davis; Zara Davis; Zenith Rahman; John Pierce
Cc: Stephen Halsey; Aman Dalvi; Isabella Freeman; Chris Naylor; Isobel Cattermole; Simon Kilbey; Takki Sulaiman; Kelly Powell; Laraine Clay; Anaclette Austrie; Dee Burnett; Matthew Mannion; Evelyn Akoto; Lynne Spillett; Theresa R Berecz; Murziline Parchment; Numan Hussain; Carole Saich; Lorraine Husbands; Beverley McKenzie; Ross Archer; David Courcoux; Patricia Attawia; Colin Hicks; Janet E Wood; Muhammed Uddin; Marie Geddes; Paul Harvey; Jean Waterson; Katherine Fleming
Subject: RE: Extraordinary Council Meeting: Thursday 20th December 2012 at 7.00 p.m.
Importance: High

Dear Mr. Williams and Ms. Freeman,

I wish to express in the strongest possible terms the incompetence of both Labour and Conservative group councillors, and officers for the weak advice and recommendations presented at the last Extra Ordinary Full Council Meeting.

First and foremost, it was absolutely inappropriate to have held this meeting on the night of the annual staff awards.  It is crystal clear that this was a pitiful and childish move by Labour group councillors to intentionally clash the two events so as to obstruct the Mayor and his Cabinet from attending this important awards ceremony.  As you are all aware, due to a reduced budget for the event, most non-executive members were excluded from the event along with a large number of staff members that otherwise have attended previously.  Especially due to the nature of the FC meeting being called to discuss staff issues, it was equally ridiculous that we could not even offer our gratitude in the success of our staff members going that extra mile in their respective duties.  We should without a doubt be ashamed of ourselves, particularly those members who were responsible for calling for this FC meeting knowing very well we also had the awards event taking place on the same night.

Secondly, the FC meeting itself was a complete shambles.  It was absolutely clear to any sensible person that having convened this extra ordinary FC meeting, which by the way does cost the council money in both resources and officer time, that Labour and Conservative group members are incapable of even making a concise decision!  I attempted in vain to ask for a point of clarification in order to try avoid a situation where we are forced to convene another extra ordinary FC meeting because it was obvious to me that the decision the Labour group were moving forward with would not provide a conclusion to the purpose of the meeting.  The Speaker of the council did not allow me to make my point, and Mr. Williams did not also allow me to rightly present my point of clarification prior to the shambles of a vote the Labour group forced upon this meeting.  What should have happened is that the recommendation that the Labour group voted for, should have been written or amended so as to allow an alternative course of action in the event that Mr. Halsey does not accept the invitation the recommendation ONLY sought to offer him.  If I was permitted to speak, rather than Labour group bullying the Speaker to abruptly pre-maturely moving to the vote, then perhaps we would not have been in this situation where another extra ordinary FC meeting is being convened due to the incompetence of Labour councillors.  This means more waste of resources and money in lieu of officer time, simply because we have a bunch of incapable idiots in Labour and Conservative groups, obsessed with their personal vendetta against individuals with no regard to wasting taxpayers money, particularly in times of austerity.  Furthermore, officers should have rightly pointed out the consequences of Mr. Halsey declining the offer the recommendation was seeking to achieve, and should have advised FC otherwise in order to avoid a re-run of what should have been easily resolved on the night without the need for another extra ordinary FC meeting on 20 December.

I wish for my comments as above to be recorded within the report or minutes of the FC meeting on 20 December, which unfortunately I will be forced to attend rather than celebrate my Birthday with my family.