Forum Topic

Assume it's May 7th & Curran and mates have been returned to office

As it stands, Labour will keep hold of Hounslow (and Ealing too for that matter) come 7th May. The fury that Johnson and chums have unleashed will put paid to any chance the normal sensible people in the borough have of getting rid of a council that has had its day. Bar a few upsets in the areas where the LTN's provoked people, they will retain the same sad fools voting nationally without realising that they should be worried about over development instead of restrictive immigration policies. Anyone who was hoping that this year will be better than the two we've been through is sadly wrong.

peter king ● 1688d62 Comments

I wonder what appetite people will have to go out and vote in council elections Could be a very low turnout for many many reasons.

Julian Pavey ● 1688d

I am completely stumped - all my life I have held a strong opinion that if you have a vote then you should use it, sadly I don't think I can this year. Local democracy is being eroded in Hounslow, with too many below par candidates and the insistence of a few people at the top lording it over everyone else and little if any accountability. The cabinet system is broken and does not work at local level. We will have 62 councillors with the boundaries changing, all of them could and should have a part to play, and be subject to annual scrutiny on any positions that they hold, as used to be the case. I cannot in all conscience support the Labour party as I've done all my life, a party I was once proud to belong to and which, with all the questions now about the connections with developers currently ruining our borough with their never-ending building of flats, has huge questions hanging over it. The opposition has never really been up to much either and when you look at the existing occupant of No. 10 it's enough to make you cry.

Vanessa Smith ● 1687d

I find myself in the same dilemma Vanessa. It's at times like these that the Lib Dems traditionally harvest the votes of the disaffected, however on this occasion I fear my cross will be going in the metaphorical  "none of the above" box.

Bruce Hammal ● 1687d

I have similar views to you Vanessa. I still believe everyone should use their vote however difficult. I therefore for some years have been voting Green.

Chris Dakers ● 1687d

I can think of one reason to vote: to make the Labour Party realise that the new parliamentary seat (Hammersmith and Chiswick or whatever it is eventually called) could slip from the status of safe seat to marginal..Beyond that, I think many of our local issues would be sorted with the removal of Boris Johnson as Tory leader. No other leader would retain Andrew Gilligan, and the cycling/LTN agenda would cease to be a priority of central government.

Brendan McCarthy ● 1687d

I agree I have voted Labour most of my life but there is no way I will be voting Labour in May given the way present Hounslow Council is behaving. It will be a bit of a dilemma.

Michael David Rowe ● 1687d

One only has to look at the shape of LB Hounslow to see that there will always be a democratic deficit where Chiswick is concerned, not helped by what I suspect is a certain degree of vindictiveness on the part of our distant rulers. It's like living in the tail of a tadpole.

Colin Jordan ● 1687d

Am I right in thinking Ruth Mayorcas is standing for Turnham Green area? We really need another cycle zealot on the Council don’t we.

Maggie Dodge ● 1687d

Maggie, yes I'd heard that too but has it been verified ? She'll be standing as  Labour candidate won't she ? The last thing Chiswick needs is a Labour councillor who will support the existing administration.

Loraine Pemberton ● 1687d

Your choice in May is simple. There is only one strong voice in the Borough opposing the appalling behaviour of Labour run Hounslow Council. That strong voice comes from your local Conservatives.Last time we polled 28% of the votes caste (Labour just over 50%). We ended up after a by-election with just 17% of the councillors (Labour 83%). Our voice of plain common sense needs and deserves to be heard in the Borough Council - at the Overview an Scrutiny Panel, at Audit and Standards, at the Pension Fund Panel etc.Faced with the climate emergency are you really going to support a council that has been unable to improve on the recycling rate of 34% that we delivered in 2010 (up in four years from the 17%  we inherited). Are you going to vote for a party that had to be told (by us) that its climate emergency plan was a nonsense UNLESS it included at date by when the council would be carbon neutral?Who in their right mind would vote for party whose plans for Hounslow (fully documented and publicly available) will mean more sky-high apartment blocks that will force ever more sewage into the already overwhelmed Mogden Treatment Works?Who ever you elect you will want them to be hardworking and to be efficiently crunching through the casework for residents and getting the answers that they need.Have a good look at the work rate of the candidates who are standing across the borough. How does the performance of Labour councillors compare with that of Conservative Councillors. Oh dear - I am sorry, Labour Hounslow will not publish this information for 'technical' reasons. Never mind you can submit an FOI. Please use your vote wisely - but above all use it. 

Cllr Sam Hearn ● 1687d

Sam, I'm genuinely sorry that Chiswick's Conservative councillors who seem to me to be a decent bunch (yourself especially!) have to carry the insupportable burden of this dreadful Prime Minister and his reprehensible supporters. Good luck.

Bruce Hammal ● 1687d

I too have a certain sympathy for the Conservative councillors, what with their clown like Leader and the brown stuff swirling around their party. However, it has to be said they really could up the stakes a bit and be a much better opposition. And they could help themselves by campaigning to dump the cabinet model of local governance, which would help them achieve just that by giving them more say and definitely more scrutiny. But, they won't.

Vanessa Smith ● 1687d

Bruce, do you think it's important to remember that local and national politics are different ? Chiswicks Councillors are concerned with local issues that affect our community.

Loraine Pemberton ● 1687d

Of course I do Loraine. Indeed I have in the past voted for different parties at local and national levels. I have also maintained that the qualities of an individual candidate should carry as much if not more weight than the party represented. However given the current circumstances we find ourselves in locally combined with the shameful goings-on in Westminster some lumping-together is inevitable. Traditionally local elections  are used to give an unpopular national government a good kicking and I can't see this time being any different. It's a perfect storm really - an insensitive, arrogant, entitled bunch running (or rather ruining) the country and  another insensitive, arrogant entitled bunch from the other side running (or rather ruining) the local area. It's what is known as "Hobson's Choice".

Bruce Hammal ● 1687d

Except that is not Hobson's choice locally. Abstain, vote Labour or vote for a party with no existing councillors and you are collaborating in the destruction of local democracy.

Cllr Sam Hearn ● 1687d

Bruce, I can't disagree with you on anything you've said. Any ideas on how we get a more representative Councillors on LB Hounslow's cabinet ? Obviously voting for any Labour candidates would be an own goal, voting for Green or Lib Dems is wasting a vote, voting Conservative really is the only option and we do have dedicated hard working Councillors in Chiswick

Loraine Pemberton ● 1687d

'Abstain, vote Labour or vote for a party with no existing councillors and you are collaborating in the destruction of local democracy.'What? And the current system isn't destructive? Allowing a situation that hands so much power over to so few people and virtually shuts your own elected members out is hardly democratic.

Vanessa Smith ● 1687d

I don't have the answer Loraine!As things stand despite all their efforts Chiswick's Conservative councillors are repeatedly insulted and ignored by the Labour majority in Hounslow House and there's nothing to prevent this. I have sometimes wondered if we wouldn't be better off with Labour Councillors who could fight our corner and take on Curran's mob from within.  The problem with this is that it wouldn't be allowed to happen - any Labour candidates would presumably have to toe the Hounslow party line. I will be interested to see the candidates' statements on how they plan to represent our interests - particularly if one of them does indeed turn out to be Ms Mayorcas!

Bruce Hammal ● 1687d

Sam, you know that were the local elections to go well for the Conservatives (unlikely admittedly) the next day The Prime Minister and his crew would be on their hind legs braying about the vote of confidence given  to the government. It's no wonder turnouts are so low.

Bruce Hammal ● 1687d

'IF' Ms Mayorcas is standing as a Labour Councillor then I suspect voting for her, and she's elected, will be a vote for the the existing despotic regime at Hounslow House.

Loraine Pemberton ● 1687d

Quite. I refer you to what I said earlier about needing to take into account the qualities (or otherwise) of the individual seeking election. Single policy candidates should really stand as independents or as representatives of a party espousing that stance not hide under the cloak of a "broad church" established political grouping.

Bruce Hammal ● 1687d

As far as I know, Ruth Mayorcas is no longer a member of the Labour Party and hasn't been for some time.

Anne England ● 1687d

Thank goodness. Maybe it was old news. I’m very relieved

Maggie Dodge ● 1687d

Also from what I know Labour's selection process has been delayed as they've had so many appeals from people they turned down for the list of candidate, and had to sort them out first.

Vanessa Smith ● 1687d

I think there is a direct correlation between the level of hatred between the Conservative and Labour councillors and the crap treatment that Chiswick gets.We seem to have had Conservative councillors in all Chiswick wards for about a thousand years.They have been relentless in their opposition of the Labour council. Opposing everything and making it as difficult for them as possible.Yet, still the Labour run council seems to hate us even more.....I am voting Lib Dem and think you should too.The Lib Dems have track record of working for the community no matter who's running the council. I think a constructive approach might be better than fighting.The conservatives are rotten all the way down.The Lib Dems could win.

Richard Potts ● 1687d

Where are the Independent Community Group (ICG) when you need them ?

Richard Greenhough ● 1687d

They were the ISEWORTH Community Group, so wouldn't be much use to Chiswick anyway. Disbanded some years ago - but if only we could persuade a few interested, sensible individuals who aren't power crazy and care about the borough to stand as independent candidates, it might just concentrate a few minds - Hope springs eternal!

Vanessa Smith ● 1687d

Yes, that's correct. Members, apart from those involved in the application process, do not know who is going forward for selection as yet.

Anne England ● 1687d

The conservatives have done nothing to oppose the ridiculous LTNs and unused cycle lanes.  They have failed miserably to be an effective opposition. Pointless voting for any of the mainstream parties. Voting Labour will be especially bad because it will send the wrong message to the Leader that despotism is ok. It will also show your apathetic acceptance  of litter, filth, potholes, weeds, unkempt and dangerous pavements, graffiti, lack of parking, fly-tipping, traffic chaos and high pollution!

Steve Taylor ● 1687d

https://www.facebook.com/BrentfordTV/photos/gm.1113191712775923/1942483352593195/?type=3

Steve Taylor ● 1687d

Without in any way wishing to express support for the Conservative Party per se I'm not really sure what more Chiswick's councillors could have done in their opposition to these measures. Hounslow's cabinet style of local government means the power over major decisions rests with a handful of Labour councillors who don't represent our part of the borough, have vested interests and can simply choose to ignore opinions they don't like. Too much power is never good for politics at any level - as we are witnessing now. I lived for many years with Hammersmith & Fulham as my local authority and never experienced the blatant disregarding of residents' opinions that I have seen under Hounslow. I have no doubt this is because whichever party was in power in LBH&F could never take re-election for granted so had to avoid seriously pi**ing off the voters. I won't quote Lord Acton at you - I'm sure we are all well aware of his "power" quotation and there is no doubt he got it bang on.

Bruce Hammal ● 1687d

Agree with Anne.If she rejoined Labour it would seem like shenanigans. I don't think she lives here full-time. As for cycling, she refused to participate in a meeting on the topic when all other candidates of all parties did. For my money, that tells you all you need to know.

David Lesniak ● 1687d

“ if she rejoined Labour it would seem like shenanigans. I don't think she lives here full-time.”It would be fantastic if she stood for election. She only has half a dozen supporters so she would lose so badly it would send a clear message to the anti car Stasi that their days are numbered.

Steve Taylor ● 1686d

“ I'm not really sure what more Chiswick's councillors could have done in their opposition to these measures.”They could and should take legal action to force undemocratic rulings to be overturned. Instead they sit back and allow the Labour despots to behave with impunity.

Steve Taylor ● 1686d

"They were the ISEWORTH Community Group"I believe they began as the Isleworth Community Group, but subsequently changed their name as they put up candidates in other wards.

Richard Greenhough ● 1686d

Half a dozen votes might get somebody close to being elected to the council given the general apathy that usually attends local elections! And that's before you add in the current revulsion against politicians who treat the opinions of  their fellow citizens with such contempt.

Bruce Hammal ● 1686d

“ Half a dozen votes might get somebody close to being elected to the council given the general apathy that usually attends local election”True, but it may stir up sensible people to actively vote against her to demonstrate their disgust in what she stands for.

Steve Taylor ● 1686d

Well, we don't even know who's standing yet and under which banner so probably best to keep the powder dry.

Bruce Hammal ● 1686d

Our local Tory councillors have spent years opposing everything. It's got us nowhere.The "not one tree" campaign ensured that we lost our bus lane rather than some excess pavement, and ended up with a crappy cycle lane. It was always coming but total opposition meant that a considered scheme had no chance.If you've witnessed any of the zoom meetings involving the council you will see the utter lack of respect that Labour & Tory councillors have for each other.Nothing will ever be done for Chiswick with this approach.There comes a time in any "conflict" (that's what it feels like) that the only way forward is to work with your enemy. Voting Lib Dem will deliver a new face and, from other councils, promises to deliver a track record of working "with" rather than "against".I am not a member of any party. I have voted for all 3 main ones.  Leaving aside the moral corruption of the Conservatives and purely on a local level - their approach has not worked and the Lib Dems came close last time. So we could change it.

Richard Potts ● 1686d

One never hears anything from the Lib Dems until election time. I don't recall them ever even getting a question in at PMs Question Time. They are pretty ineffective. However, when they had a coalition with Cameron they were an absolute disaster all the way, especially on Environment. They are too weak and wet to mount any effective opposition in LBH. 

Steve Taylor ● 1686d

That's right Steve. Keep on banging your head on that brick wall. You miss my point but I guess that it would be lost on you anyway.Continual fighting has got Chiswick nowhere with LBH. If our councillors actually worked with LBH they might achieve something for Chiswick. That is impossible for you to understand. The Lib Dems have done this in countless councils across the land why not here?

Richard Potts ● 1686d

I agree with Richard Potts! Conservative Councillors are utterly ineffectual in Chiswick and their empty promises of things they cannot possibly control or even influence for the May elections are testimony to how entirely clueless they are.Local Lib Dems are useless too mind.Vote Green for a protest vote that really would cause problems for the Labour Council.

Paul Campbell ● 1686d

Because the Lib Dems are inarticulate. They don’t get their point across because they don’t really know what their point is. So their point is lost on everyone. That’s why they lost almost all their seats in the last election and all their seats in LBH.

Steve Taylor ● 1686d

From Brentford TV Debate not Hate:COUNCIL LEADER DEFENDS ACCEPTING HOSPITALITY. "I'm glad that (Brentford Today & TV) has acknowledged that there is no breach of the rules and the Code of Conduct has been followed." – Cllr Steve Curran at last night's Isleworth & Brentford Forum. He was responding to whether it was a good idea for him to accept hospitality from property developers and others in the Borough, including at Lord's cricket ground and Twickenham, and whether such meetings would be better if held in more formal settings. Although the question was posed to all the Councillors present, only Cllr Curran replied. The others remained silent on the matter – Cllrs Tony Louki (chair), Mel Collins, Corinna Smart, Sue Sampson, Daanish Saeed, Katherine Dunne, Richard Eason, Guy Lambert and Salman Shaheen.Cllr Curran said: "It's incumbent of me as Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Planning and Regeneration to promote the Council wherever I can."That was done in 2010 under the leadership of Jagdish Sharma and we've had a very ambitious house building programme since then and that continues today. It's not just Brentford, it's Feltham, Chiswick, Hounslow town centre. There's an enormous amount of development going on and that's really important. We are a destination borough now. We've moved from ten years ago when we were a borough people just drove through or flew over to a borough where people want to live and work, demonstrated by the amount of investment we've attracted since 2010."That's really important. People want to come and live in Brentford, to work in Brentford, to stay in Brentford, they want to bring up their children in Brentford and for them to be educated here – we just announced this week that all of our schools are good or outstanding. We were voted Council of the Year."We're a borough that steps forward and we're backed, we've got a very clear agenda about sustainable jobs, sustainable homes, being carbon neutral by 2030, so I go anywhere and meet anyone at any time to ensure we meet our targets to build more family homes."Last week in Feltham I had the privilege of meeting two care leavers who had just moved into their first flats, and a single mum with her child, and it was humbling to see how grateful they were to the council. The single mum said she cried when she got taken round that home."I make no excuses about making sure against stiff competition from other boroughs in London who are all banging the drum to get multi-million pound investment so they are sustainable for the future. I am absolutely comfortable with the way this council manages its affairs around planning and regeneration."Fair comment welcome. Defamatory comment is made at your own risk.

Vanessa Smith ● 1685d

He's a twat. I think that's a fair comment.

Basil Finnis ● 1685d

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear......democracy is all well and good - except when it doesn't do what 'I' want.The present Labour Council, like it or loathe it, was VOTED IN by a democratic system.  The arguments against them in this thread read more like the politics of Donald Trump.  Any moment now someone is going to say that Labour stole the votes of the Conservatives!Rather than trash the present Council put your ideas forward backed by some relevant evidence or belief.  By all means disagree but what puts people off engaging in reasoned political debate are character assignations and simplistic arguments.A low turnout is a message for all participants to get back to, if we ever had it, some agreed consensus - that elusive thing called the Social Contract where we have more things that unite us than divide us.So if the poor should be helped with a liveable wage, the ill treated free at the point of service, that there should be homes for all and we should all be safe on the streets how come in the 21 Century no political leader or party has been anywhere near successful?Answers and remedies on a postcard........

Martin Weaver ● 1683d

“ that elusive thing called the Social Contract where we have more things that unite us than divide us.”This Administration may have been voted in democratically, but once they were, democracy stopped. The leader became a despot. Decisions were made, and still are being made, totally undemocratically and against the will of the people. Majority votes by residents are ignored. Community Engagement, put in place by the Conservative / ICG coalition, was cancelled. There is now zero community engagement.  People can put their wonderful ideas on post cards as you suggest, they will go straight into landfill because this Council can’t even get its Environmental Dept together. The Borough has become a filthy cesspool. Character assassinations of this lot is extremely important because it is the individuals concerned who have destroyed the Borough on so many levels. It is not the hardworking Council staff. It is individual Councillors and undemocratic leadership.

Steve Taylor ● 1683d

For what it's worth, turnout in Chiswick is usually about the 45,% mark in local elections. Neither the Greens or the Lib Dems have come anywhere near to winning a seat in the LBH part of Chiswick in the last 20 years. Since the referendum there has been an increasing shift from Conservative to Labour. I've been out canvassing for Labour every weekend this year. The voters seem to live in a different Chiswick than some of the people on this forum thread. For what it's worth I've met a lot of Tory voters who have switched to undecided. Some have made the switch to Labour. If I was a Tory activist I'd be contacting every Tory MP of even the slightest acquaintance and telling them Johnson must quit now.

David McLoughlin ● 1683d

David, really? Most people I've spoken to are sick of Johnson and sick of Starmer. And that's people from all walks of life. Come to my door and I'll read you every one of Starmer's promises before he became leader of the Labour party. Then dropped them. Hardly anyone can name any of the non entitys in the Labour front bench. They're pathetic.I don't believe Corbyn had it in him to be PM but Starmer is nothing but a spiteful little coward.

Basil Finnis ● 1683d

"sick of Johnson and sick of Starmer" That is about it in my circles and i know a lot of people in chiswick.

Julian Pavey ● 1683d

I too am sick of both of Johnson and Starmet, but to get out from the undemocratic rule of Citizen Curran et al do not vote labour or any  side line party.

Loraine Pemberton ● 1683d

The phrase you quote is not one I or any other Labour canvasser has heard on the doorstep. Of course we don't move in the rarefied circles that Julian or Basil move in.

David McLoughlin ● 1683d

'Rarified'? Just because I won't vote for an untrustworthy sack of crap like your glorious leader? Foxtrot Oscar chump.

Basil Finnis ● 1683d

That is correct.  The ICG was formed in 1994 as the Isleworth Community Group.  I can't remember precisely when the name was changed (whilst retaining the initials, which were already in common usage) but it would probably have been prior to the 2002 local elections when the group put in a serious challenge in the new Syon ward, which was roughly evenly split between Isleworth and Brentford.  Indeed it went on to win Syon four years later.The group was also a serious contender in Hounslow South (similarly split between Hounslow and Isleworth) at the by-election of 2002 and again at the local elections in 2006.The ICG agreed to disband after an unsuccessful attempt in 2014 to regain seats which had been lost four years previously.

Phil Andrews ● 1682d

Untrustworthy crap? Fair enough. I guess you’re quite the expert in identifying untrustworthy crap having vote for Johnson already.

Stewart Jones ● 1682d

Sam Hearn, a Conservative councillor writes: "Last time we polled 28% of the votes caste (Labour just over 50%). We ended up after a by-election with just 17% of the councillors (Labour 83%). Our voice of plain common sense needs and deserves to be heard in the Borough Council"This statistic clearly shows the need for Proportional Representation (PR) to replace the First Past The Post (FPTP) voting system and yet both Labour and Conservatives oppose PR and the current Government is even talking about getting rid of the small proportional system we have for electing The London Mayor and Greater London Assemby members.On the wider issue discussed on this thread - if neither Labour nor Conservatives rock your vote, then consider voting for Planet Earth and voting Green Party in the coming local elections!

Dave Wetzel ● 1674d

Chiswick branch of the Labour Party has supported PR for a long time as has our Constituency Labour Party along with 80% of CLPs at the last LP Conference. I expect that the Trades Unions will move to support PR at the autumn Conference. As to who can best 'save the Earth' Labour has a Green investment plan that dwarfs anything put forward by the Tories. A vote for the Greens or LDs in Chiswick Gunnersbury will split the environmentalist vote and let Madame Cherrygate continue to interfere in community initiatives.

David McLoughlin ● 1673d

Blah blah blah

Basil Finnis ● 1673d

David, given there is zero PR on an all-Labour Hounslow cabinet - nothing proportional about 100% now is there - I'd much rather have someone stirring the pot and "interfering" on behalf of those of us who remain under-represented. Seems you've missed the irony in your own post.

David Lesniak ● 1673d

David, the interference I was referring to was that into the internal affairs of the Friends of Turnham Green. When there is a disagreement in a community group, the role of a Cllr should be to conciliate. Instead Cllr Biddulph chose to intervene in the most heavy handed way possible. At some cost to  the public purse. It is possible she will scrape in as a Cllr in May because B is near the top of the ballot paper. I would not bet on it though.

David McLoughlin ● 1672d

No, David, Cllr Biddolph did what she is supposed to do and represented her constituents concern. It was LBH who had and used the authority to put a halt to proceeding in order to sort things out.As to the cost, surely you're more concerned with the monies being spent needlessly on LTNs such as Stavely Road? What was that estimate? £200,000? Not to mention the inane waste at LBH because they simply have no clue how to run proceedings efficiently.Councillor Biddolph has and will continue to have the support of her constituents come May. She'll excuse me for saying so and my apologies to all, but she has bigger balls than all of you combined. That's why she'll win.Meanwhile, Labour can't get its act together to put up candidates. Tick, tock, David. Tick, tock.

David Lesniak ● 1672d

There's a disgraceful smear campaign being attempted, but failing, regarding Cherrygate. Cllr Curran could and should have sorted this out.  As David says Cllr Biddolph was just doing her job, with no agenda.  I have always known there are several factions in Chiswick, all ganging up, playing dirty tricks.  They can't win by fair means so they go down the foul route.

Maggie Dodge ● 1671d