Keith Prince (1 hour 10):1 [Havering will be] “A ‘super suburb….” This is Keith’s 2040 Plan, which is full of hyperbole and ignores the perilous financial situation the borough is drowning in.
Bystanders hearing this would, in the normal way of things, give Keith an aspirin and tell him to lie down in a dark room until he felt better. But! This is an insight into his leadership qualities. Later in the meeting Graham Day (31) showed adherence to Keith’s boosterism.
This cabinet meeting was important. Reform councillors aren’t the *New kids on the block* anymore. They’ve been in office for 131 days. They should have command of their departments by now. Alas and alack that wasn’t the case.
Kevin Gill (8) and Terry Brown (23) floundered and dithered and called for help from officers. They hadn’t done their homework and were caught out. Likewise, Robert Whitton (1:04) who made inept political points, which weren’t an introduction to a stellar performance. He relied on officers and was paralysed by the occasion. All three councillors need mentoring. (see Addendum)
Graham Day (31) is garrulous but used his material well and spoke with enthusiasm. His enthusiasm led to over-statements. He denied that Adult Services were flawed in any way and described them as “Superb”. This is Keith’s Havering.
Sue Benjamins (1:24) hadn’t prepared her opening remarks and attempted to speak to the papers. She should have followed Barry Mugglestone’s excellent tactic of thorough preparation. As a consequence, she put an odd ‘gloss’ on the £54.2m government loan facility, saying it reflected an underspend. What she actually meant was that the overspend £11.7m less than anticipated. This reflects Keith’s delusional economics.
She offered an interesting example of where a capital underspend is a bad thing. The SEND transport budget could be trimmed if the Balgores site was open. And outcomes would improve, which is a double win.
Best Scrutiny: Barry Mugglestone – ably supported by Martin Goode and Matt Stanton
Addendum: Cabinet responsibility
“Council calls upon the Executive Leadership Team to support the Cabinet in achieving these outcomes.” Reform’s amendment to Motion C Council Meeting 2nd September 2026.
I assumed this was an aberration when I wrote the relevant blog2 but after this meeting I’m not sure. It reflects the reality of this Administration’s relationship with Chief Officers, which is subservience.
Notes
1 Annotator Player All times refer to this webcast
2 see Havering Council Meeting, 2nd September 2026 (part two) – Politics in Havering
Politics in Havering 
Go back twelve months. How many of the current Cabinet even had ambitions to be councillors? No wonder that they are floundering and having to leave things to officers who may have different priorities.
it makes the sidelining of Robert Benham (who can at least find his way round the Town Hall without a guide) inexplicable.
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I don’t agree. They aren’t up to speed because they haven’t put in the hours. Or, they might not be lazy they could be incapable of understanding what they are supposed to be doing. Prince must mentor them because they are hapless. Worse: Prince permitted the amendment go through here they explicitly said that they were *asking* the CEO to cooperate. This is gruesome.
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It is painful, and I’d argue that the “lack of homework” started when people agreed to be candidates- how many of them had the faintest idea what being a Cabinet member for a London Borough involved? Either in time or amount of information to process?
Hence the trend (which hasn’t reached Havering yet) for new Reform councillors to walk away because it’s all too much.
Established political parties have people who have been around the block enough, and have reached peace with their ambitions enough, that they can mentor the newbies. Prince doesn’t really have anyone like that, and he wears so many hats that he can hardly do the job himself.
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I think that you are too generous. Everyone of the Reform councillors are middle-aged or OAP. They know what is needed to fulfil an obligation. They’ve had 131 days and that’s enough lead in time. They underachieve because they like the money but dislike the work.
And don’t forget the nasty stuff hasn’t started yet.
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