Brian was a Labour party councillor and Mayor before he discovered he’d never become Leader. Brian switched allegiance and joined the Harold Wood Resident Association (RA). He was eventually elected as an RA councillor. Once more, he found unimpressed colleagues who valued his vote, but not his opinions. So he separated Harold Wood RAs from the RA mainstream and greatness arrived. He became Leader of Harold Wood RAs.
The 2018 election put Brian in poll position. Damian White came calling. Brian straightened his back and accepted the pivotal position of holding the balance of power. Damian didn’t just offer glory. Brian and his two colleagues had their stellar qualities recognised, at last, with all three having remunerated positions of responsibility. For septuagenarian pensioners this was very pleasant, if long overdue.
The allocation of ‘roads’ refurbishment capital stayed in Romford.1 Harold Wood got nothing. Is Brian disappointed? Did he even notice? Harold Wood RAs are an old boys’ clique who’ve long ago forgotten the driving motives behind their movement.
Harold Wood councillors are tied irrevocably to Romford Conservatives. This might not be a shrewd move as Brexit alters Havering’s voting habits. The RAs moved into the ascendency in 2018 at the expense of the Conservatives but what if Harold Wood RAs are tarred with that toxic brush?
1 Living in Havering April 2019 edition p15
Politics in Havering 
He should be asked what happened to the Mayoral chain when he was a Labour Mayor for the first time. There are still people around who know the answer but he should have the bottle to tell the truth.
We wait with bated breath!
It is rumoured that he asked to join the Tory party and was rejected. The Tories held Harold Wood at that time. The then RA group leader was warned that he should not allow Eagling to become a RA candidate but did not listen. He was elected in 2014 as a RA Councillor and after just 3 months joined the Tory administration
When it came to electing the Mayor in 2015surprise surprise this turncoat was elected Mayor. The Deputy Mayor 2014/5, a RA councillor for 28 years in 2015 was stabbed in the back by those who broke away from the RA group and joined the Tory administration. Without traitors to the RA principals the Tories would never have a majority. Although Harold Wood voters were warned about him and his group they were elected as RA councillors in 2018. Surprise surprise he and his sicophants mediately supported the Tory minority administration
Have a look what rewards have been dished out to the 5 who support or joined the Tories. One more from Hornchurch defects to the Tories this year with not even one years service
We wait to see what Chairmanship or other reward she gets in 2020.
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Just have a look and you will see that the turncoat councillor in Elm Park in 2019, just happens to have been given a chairmanship of the law & disorder committee in 2020 , we knew she would get something.. Make what you want to of all these matters but it stinks to high heaven when converts to the local Tories means financial rewards. There are a lot of Tory councillors who have had to make way for the ones elected as RA and switch to Tory. Are there no Tories other than Bob Perry who have got the guts to topple Boy Blunder?
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As you know there have been several blogs about the use of responsibility allowances to maintain support for the Leader, Damian White. And it isn’t illegal. Obviously as you mention the case of Cllr Perry it does illustrate a weakness in that policy (if it is a policy). There are some who feel that they should be rewarded and others who can do quite nicely without the money.
Thank you for your comment.
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Councillors that defect after being elected.
Do you not agree that those elected to represent residents as a particular party or association, should resign and stand in a by-election as the candidate for their new party, rather than kick their voters in the teeth.? If they do not they are breaking every promise they have made prior to being elected. In any business, other than politics, those concerned would be facing fraud charges.
It is a criminal offence to offer a financial reward to a elected person, so they carry out actions they were not elected to do . It is also a offence for any elected person to take that reward. The problem in local politics is that the only real evidence, acceptable in court, of these crimes is from the persons involved and their sycophants. I wonder when somebody at the Town Hall will get the guts to whistle – blow on this subject.
I encourage people reading these comments; just to look at the behaviour of councillors elected under a particular description who have defected to the Tories in Havering, then check what posts they have been given after that defection and make up your own minds as to whether you condone this sort of behaviour.
Post of Mayor – Since the borough was formed, it was always a long serving councillor wherever possible who were elected. Deputy Mayors are allegedly selected by the Mayor. Deputy Mayors always received a small allowance for expenses representing the borough. You will note that suddenly after years of the same allowance, it has been increased to double. Harold Wood councillors elected under the description of RA have for the second time running supported the Tories. Who will be the next Deputy Mayor – you have guessed it, the leader of the so called North Havering RA, a made up name, what was wrong with Harold Wood the correct name. In 2022 voters in Harold Wood, please do not be conned again. In South Hornchurch the man elected as RA switched to the Tories within one week. Surprise surprise, he was made Deputy Mayor and for the 2019/20 became the Mayor. All these backbench Tories must hate this blatant rewarding of turncoats while they are left with nothing. Under a year after she was elected a Elm Park councillor defected to the Tories. She has been rewarded with a chairmanship of a committee with a nice SRA (Special Responsibility allowance).
This Tory administration has turned the election of a Mayor into a farce. In 2015/16. Instead of the Deputy Mayor for the previous year being made Mayor, the Tories, with the help of Harold Wood councillors and other bought votes, the then leader of Harold Wood councillors was made Mayor. You check can check al this.. Instead of each group of councillors having the chance to put a member of their group forward as a Mayoral candidate, it is now a waste of time as only those in the Tory part or those sucking up to them are elected.
The anti-tory vote in this borough was more than the Tory vote but because of these unprincipled party jumpers, Haverihg is ruled by a administration, led by somebody who thinks that only his party has the God given right to run our council. It is normal for a councillor to be Mayor only once, unless there are no other suitable candidates but under Boy Blunder, as long as you take the Tory party whip, this no longer stands. The councillors who will be in these posts over the next couple of years include Brian Eagling (next time will be the third time) and John Mylod (next time twice). When you consider that the extra allowances costs us above £14,000 pa, the job should only be filled by those who have worked, with honour, as a councillor for Havering for many years and not more than once, unless there are no candidates in the 54 councillors..
The next local elections are still 2 years away but please question the candidates and get them publicly to state they are staying a councillor under the banner he/she are elected for the full 4 years.
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It should not be a case as who needs the money and who does not. The posts that are being paid for should go to competent people in all parties, as always was the case when the council was run by sensible people who gave some chairmanships/Vic-chairmanships to different parties. To only give Chairmanships and the office of Mayor to Tory party members is a insult to the intelligence. It was always the case since 1965 that Mayors could be elected from opposition parties. It is only since Boy Blunder became Leader (the blind leading the blind) that this partisan attitude has been taken.
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