Havering Council Meeting, 27th May 2026

Keith Prince’s Debut Speech as Leader of the Council

Keith is a veteran politician who’s a GLA member. This heightens expectations. So, when he did a *Memory Lane* about being born in Elm Park, I was puzzled. His jog-trot through Junior and Secondary schools was bizarre. It was as if he was overwhelmed. Keith didn’t tell us about his triumphs as a window monitor or school prefect, which was a relief.

My despair deepened by his claim to friendship with Ray Morgon. Keith said he was *Mayor*.¹ Dear, oh dear! Where was all this going? It felt like a train crash.

Keith established that he’s an Essex Boy.² The unspoken statement was that unlike Andrew Rosindell, Keith was the *Real Thing*.³ Andrew was born after Havering was created and is, therefore, a Londoner. Keith had his political steel toe-capped boots on and promptly began using them. He denounced the ludicrous Hexit obsessions of Andrew who wants Havering to leave London and join Essex. Keith’s Reform council wouldn’t spend any time on this.

Keith went further. He said that Hexit would be a very expensive for the people of Havering. (Did I hear silent regret for the Brexit fiasco?) Keith said he’d be using his political energy working to elect a Reform GLA Mayor. This was sly because Andrew is a failed Mayoral candidate.

Reading between the lines, there was more. Keith doesn’t want Andrew to think that he is calling the shots in the Town Hall. Keith wants to be master in his own domain. And! Keith is in power and Andrew is merely a political influencer. There’s a world of difference between being a ‘mover and shaker’ and someone shouting from the sidelines.

Keith said that he has a 100-day plan in his pocket. I’ll be counting the days and looking for the accomplishments. Or not.

Addendum

Keith might want to consider these trivialities for his 100-days plan:

The Waterloo Estate fiasco
Launders Lane contaminated land and air pollution
The data centre on Green Belt Land
£272M of debt to the government at 6%

He could stick with gesture politics, like putting the boot into Gay Pride Month

Notes

1 His speech begins at 1 hour 16 minutes. Go to 1:19:33 in the webcast Annotator Player Morgon was also a ‘friend’ by the way.

2 First mention 1:16:53 A very early signal which I should have picked up.

3 Keith begins putting the boot in at 1:24

Andrew Rosindell ~ Parting is such sweet sorrow

Margaret Thatcher House¹ 83 days AFTER Andrew defected to Reform

Q1) Are the Conservatives hoping Andrew will return to save them on May 7th?

Or,

Q2) Are they too broke to remove Andrew’s legacy?

Addendum: Evicted from Margaret Thatcher House

Andrew lost his legal bid to retain his office² in Margaret Thatcher House BUT amazingly the House of Commons says nothing has changed:

Constituency office

Margaret Thatcher House
85 Western Road
Romford
RM1 3LS

Notes

1 This is Conservative Party Head Quarters. Photos taken on 7^th April 2026

2 Source Contact information for Andrew Rosindell – MPs and Lords – UK Parliament Accessed 8^th April 2026

Havering’s Council Meeting, 18th March 2026

Question Time (QT)¹

Question one² was a political question! Michael White (25 minutes) asked about Havering joining Essex. He was digging out Andrew Rosindell and his Reform UK party.Apart from flags, Andrew is obsessed by the ‘Evil Empire’ that is London. Ray Morgon eagerly joined in, listing the inescapable advantages that the GLA brings Havering. Michael concluded by saying that leaving London was “a risk too far”. Ray was only too pleased to agree.

QT went downhill after this

Questions 3 and 6 were identical (33 and 39). Barry Mugglestone realised that giving identical answers was ridiculous. It didn’t stop him.³ Irony isn’t Barry’s strong suit. He likes being the centre of attention at whatever cost to his dignity.

There were eleven questions for Barry out of 15. QT is a golden opportunity for councillors, but they don’t use it to any good purpose. Red hot topics are ignored. The East Havering Data Centre was unquestioned even though the three HRA ward councillors oppose it. This includes two councillors who are cabinet members. They haven’t resigned. Then there’s the multi-million pounds loan from government. How much has Havering borrowed this year, what’s the repayment period, and at what ruinous interest rate? No-one was interested.

Keith Prince (35) asked Q4 about mislabeling staff agency costs as telephone expenses.⁴ The amount was £262,000. Apparently ‘mistakes’ happen and ‘lessons have been learned’. Keith accepted this. This is amazing. The ‘mistake’ is so bizarre it needs a vivid imagination to think how it could have been made. Keith’s fatal lack of probing curiosity is characteristic of councillors who literally don’t know how to do scrutiny. Everything is accepted at face value regardless of how ludicrous.

The 2022-26 HRA Council finished with a whimper.

Notes

1 (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Council, 18/03/2026 19:30 p325 for all printed questions See Annotator Player for the webcast All times relate to this webcast

2 Can the Administration please confirm which services will be lost and what the approximate financial impact would be on the Borough should Havering withdraw from the Greater London Authority area? It shouldn’t be forgotten that Andrew tried, and failed, to become the Conservative Mayoral candidate.

3 Groundhog Day – Wikipedia

4 In the interests of transparency can the Leader explain why, who and what amount is being referred to in the Standard article which says Havering Council has tagged payments to one of its recruitment and workforce suppliers as “telephone expenses”.

Havering Council Meeting: Budget Setting, 4th March 2026

There is a legal requirement that Councils have a balanced budget. This is impossible because Havering is bankrupt. Its statutory commitments can’t be funded from revenue. The strategy is to add to debts to pay revenue commitments. This is fiscal insanity as the interest can’t be paid.

Enter Chris Wilkins, Cabinet Member for Finance (13 minutes).^1,2 He declared the budget will be legally balanced because…..he’d organised more debt. The debt mountain will be £229m by 2029. Chris gives an excellent impression of being a nodding donkey. He doesn’t seem to understand what he‘s reading. A debt of £229m means interest payments will be 30% of the budget by 2029. Chris didn’t mention interest charges during his 13 minutes speech. Philip Ruck (1:31) noticed and was outraged at the sheer folly of it. Annual (unpaid) interest payments would be about £17m and would be added to the capital. Credit card maxxed out!

Keith Darvill (25) introduced the Labour amendment³ self-consciously. He was ultra-defensive and apologetic – as if he was speaking out of turn.

Michael White (36) gave a masterful speech. He demonstrated his command of the subject and critiqued HRA’s four years in a probing, forensic way. The principal highlight was his remarks about the GLA budget, which amounts to nearly 25% of the total Council Tax bill. He made play about the lack of a medium-term plan for the dire budget pressures. He worried about the impact of the Israel-USA-Iran war on interest rates. Michael made obvious remarks about relying on loans for revenue expenditure. Thus, he successfully trashed Chris’s blissful optimism.

Martin Goode (53) denounced the reliance on long-term debt to fund current expenditure. He demanded that the Council throw in the towel and face facts. He wants Government Commissioners to take over the Council. Gillian Ford (1:00) said only the section 151 officer could ask for Government assistance like this. That ought not be a problem as she had previously stated HRA was following an unsustainable strategy.

Keith Prince (1:01) has a curious flippant style, which mostly falls flat. He worried about debt and the borough’s future Council Taxpayers. Interestingly he claimed the borough’s woes were turbo-charged by the lack of detailed scrutiny. This is theoretically likely but Havering’s culture of absenteeism⁴ by councillors means more scrutiny is unlikely. Unlikely because it involves doing homework and turning up.

Ray Morgon (1:28) indulged in chit-chat. Judith Holt (1:34) pointed out special skills were needed to read a budget book 1070 pages long. Nisha Patel (1:40) did a good review of Michael’s speech reinforcing some points. Gillian Ford (1:42) had a breathless shopping list of achievements. The concept ‘strategy’ appeared many times. Brian Eagling (1:45) said that football pitches had seen fees rise yet again and that sport should be promoted. Oscar Ford (1:48) used fluent management speech. This didn’t always coincide with reality. Barry Mugglestone (1:51) was combative, which livened the meeting up. He and Keith Prince exchanged pleasantries about the Freedom Pass. They were both right, which made it more entertaining.

Jane Keane (1:56) did a Hollywood Oscar’type speech praising the Council’s staff. David Taylor (1:58) is a class act who will be badly missed. His nemesis, Andrew Rosindell, was given a quick going over. Andrew has consistently voted for the bankruptcy of Havering. Luckily he was in the chamber to enjoy David’s speech. James Glass (2:01) was demob crazy and is a loss. What he lacks in accuracy he makes up for with boyish enthusiasm.

Best speech: Michael White

Most sincere speech: Brian Eagling

Notes

1 Annotator Player All times relate to this webcast

2 Group spokesmen had 20 minutes for budget speeches. Astonishingly, Wilkins only used 13 minutes.

3 This Council calls on the Administration to introduce and promote an SME Support Package, initially, funding such a proposal from unspent UKSPF (and/or other unspent grants) seeking partnership for such a support package with organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Adult College. (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Council, 04/03/2026 19:30 p1073

4 Havering Councillors and Their Attendance – Politics in Havering

Havering Councillors ~ ‘Carry on Defecting’

Ray Morgon created the Havering Residents’ Association (HRA).¹ They filled the power vacuum left by the Conservatives in 2022. Ray’s still in power in 2026.

The political comedy show ‘Carry on Defecting’ began immediately.

Sarah Edwards, Jacqueline McArdle and Sue Ospreay joined HRA a few weeks after being elected as Conservatives. The voters of Rainham weren’t consulted.

Jacqueline McArdle changed her mind and re-joined the Conservatives.

Phillip Ruck left HRA creating a new political party² with John Tyler. The voters of Cranham weren’t consulted.

Paul McGeary left Labour and joined HRA. He got a transfer fee via a £25,000 cabinet position.

Robby Misir joined HRA after many years as a Conservative councillor. The voters of Marshalls and Rise Park weren’t consulted.

Christine Smith joined HRA from the Conservatives, without consulting her Hylands and Harrow Lodge voters

John Crowder with his wife Phillippa Crowder defected from the Conservatives to HRA. The very first husband and wife defection in Havering’s history.

Keith Prince did ’Double-Bubble’. He joined Reform UK from the Conservatives. In one deft move he changed Squirrels Heath AND the GLA Havering and Redbridge constituency into Reform UK. Two defections for the price of one! Not everyone can do that.

Christine Vickery, also Squirrels Heath, joined Reform from the Conservatives. The only explanation was a TV opportunity with Nigel Farage.

Robert Benham, Rush Green and Crowlands, defected with Christine to Reform also from the Conservatives. He too had 15 minutes of fame and glory.

Parliament

Andrew Rosindell joined Reform in January 2026 after 25 years as a Conservative MP. His Reform constituency office is in Margaret Thatcher House, Romford just as it was when he was a Conservative.³ So, no change there then.

Politics in Havering

This is the 360^th weekly blog about Havering’s politics and it’s still difficult to understand the complexity of the political scene. Virtually none of the ‘political’ action is political in any meaningful way. There are six political groups for 55 councillors.⁴ Thirteen councillors, the GLA member and Romford’s MP have defected during the last four years. No by-elections have been called. Meanwhile the borough is bankrupt. This hasn’t been caused by stupidity but by inexorable financial pressures. Looming on the horizon are Farage’s opportunistic acolytes with their ludicrous Elon Musk version of his ‘thinking’.⁵

The democratic deficit is alive and well in Havering.

Addendum: Andrew Rosindell ~ Definitely, Maybe

Six weeks after Andrew’s defection he is still advertising the Conservative message. Perhaps he’ll follow Jacquline McArdle and change his mind? Perhaps he’s waiting for Farage’s millionaire sponsors to fund the dismantling? Who knows?

Notes

1 HRA = Havering Residents Association

2 Cranham Residents Association Independent Group

3 Andrew Rosindell: The Cuckoo in the Nest? – Politics in Havering

4 Thirteen is 24% of the total council.

5 This is a decent example of his ‘thinking’;
Reform would “attempt” not to borrow more if it took control of the cash-strapped Havering Council, Nigel Farage says. Reform Would Attempt Not To Borrow If It Takes Control Of Havering. – The Havering Daily

Andrew Rosindell’s Political Journey, 1980-2026

Timeline

Andrew was a councillor between 1990 and 2002. He spent 12 years getting control of Romford Conservatives and has been a backbench MP since 2001. Andrew panicked when his majority collapsed by 82% in 2024.¹

Political Calculations

The Reform party is the first viable third party since the 1920s. Unlike Farage’s UKIP and Brexit, Reform is the real thing. In 2024, Reform’s unknown candidate got 9,624 votes in Romford. Romford is now a marginal seat, and Andrew doesn’t have a ‘job for life’.

But what is Andrew joining?

Nigel Farage owned the Reform Party until recently,

“….[it] was founded in 2018 as a private limited company, with Farage holding the majority of shares.²

Reform doesn’t have policies. Farage’s previous efforts were pressure groups in drag. Reform’s current policies mimic Trump and Musk. Musk’s DOGE policy³ was endorsed in their 2025 local election campaign. Successful Reform groups tried, and failed, to implement DOGE.⁴

Reform voters were seduced by a slick PR campaign. The reality is more-of-the-same with ex-Conservative councillors in control. This is disappointing for voters hoping for a novelty.

Andrew knows this.

So, what happened in January 2026 to get Andrew to risk everything? Perhaps Suella Braverman offers a hint. She

“…..referred to homelessness as a “lifestyle choice”, who called pro-Palestinian marches “hate marches”…..who suggested asylum seekers were “pretending to be gay” to claim protection, a hard-right Conservative has joined Farage’s ‘people’s party’.⁵

She’s joined Reform. Reform don’t have policies but do have a direction of travel and Andrew wants to go there. He approves of Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick.⁶ Andrew wants red-meat right-wing policies, which persecute people he doesn’t like.

And that’s a lot of people.

The Downside

Andrew believes Romford’s voters voted for him. He’s oblivious to the implications of the 2024 result. Andrew ‘lost’ 9,624 votes to a complete unknown and 13,876 to Labour. 2029 will be a three-way election. Andrew is an ex-Conservative who won’t have the support he’s used to after 36 years of belonging to the Romford party and electioneering is his comfort zone. Campaigning in 2029 as a Reform candidate will be a challenge for him. And it isn’t difficult to imagine the leaflets by ex-colleagues who think he is treacherous.

Farage relies on charisma, which has a shelf-life. His money-grubbing tactics repel many voters. Voters resent politicians who line their own pockets. Andrew works hard and has a great reputation, but he’ll be tarred with the Farage brush. Reform is an abnormal political party. It’s a fiefdom. If Reform get critical mass, Farage will have severe problems because he isn’t a team player.

Conclusion

Andrew’s political journey matches that of Britain. The 1980s saw Margaret Thatcher’s policy driven Conservatism, which has shaped Britain ever since. Her Conservatism has been replaced by shameless ‘Get-rich-quick’ opportunists. Andrew is a hard-working MP. Farage rarely goes to his constituency and is wedded to Donald Trump’s utter disdain for morality.

Notes

1 General Election 2024: Results | London Borough of Havering

2 Nigel Farage gives up ownership of Reform UK – BBC News

3 Elon Musk’s cost-cutting at DOGE has been a colossal failure. But he has achieved something more dangerous | The Independent

4 Reform’s “DOGE” is a superficial response to deep problems in local government | Institute for Government

5 Former home secretary Suella Braverman defects to Reform UK | Suella Braverman | The Guardian

6 Robert Jenrick claims cartoons mural removed from asylum centre were ‘not age-appropriate’ | The Independent He wanted to make an asylum centre for children more threatening and less welcoming.

Keith Prince and the Reform Party

Keith is a career politician. He’s spent his life making political calculations which were for his party, the community and himself.¹ In local political terms he’s been very successful.² Keith earns £66,390 as a GLA member plus his Havering allowance of £10,750. His calculation is probable oblivion with the Conservative Party, or, a Reform Party triumph.³

Keith is a career politician. He has his eyes on the Rosindell fiefdom, which is the Romford constituency. Keith licked his lips at Andrew’s nail-biting *victory* in 2024. It was the beginning of a trend. The tectonic plates of British politics have shifted and destroyed old certainties.⁴ The shift will destroy politicians who aren’t agile enough to go with the flow.

ULEZ and Brexit showed the powerful undercurrents of dissatisfaction in Britain. People are taking back control from career politicians who have failed them since 2010. The colonization of lamp-posts for the St George flag is another powerful symbol of a desire for fundamental change. People are tired of career politicians pivoting around focus groups.

Radical change is hated by career politicians. Their cute sound-bites are destroyed and they have to produce a new narrative, which sounds insincere to a sceptical public. Career politicians are a disaster. They live in a bubble, which is self-reinforcing and ignores the wishes and desires of the public. Well now they have a wake-up call.

Keith has gambled and Andrew is a born-again Thatcherite.⁵

Notes

1 Keith Prince vs Damian White: 2022 Conservative Leadership Contest – Politics in Havering

2 Salaries, expenses, benefits and workforce information | London City Hall

3 Havering’s election is in 2026 and the GLA in 2028

4 Julia Lopez and Andrew Rosindell ~ Back from the Brink, July 2024 – Politics in Havering

5 Andrew Rosindell and the Reform Party – Politics in Havering and see also BREAKING: Havering Has Its First Reform Councillor As Keith Prince Defects. – The Havering Daily

Andrew Rosindell and the Reform Party

Margaret Thatcher divided Conservatives into two groups: One of Us and everyone else. The first group were rewarded. MPs became ministers and received a peerage after loyal service. Everyone else was shunned.

The five Conservative Prime Ministers from 2010 to 2024 worshipped Thatcher and behaved accordingly. They went to Oxford. Andrew went to Marshalls Park comprehensive. He wasn’t One of Us and didn’t get a glittering prize.

Andrew’s been an outsider for 24 years, unlike Julia Lopez.¹ This is soul sapping. A ‘toe-in-the-water’ with the Brexit party and UKIP was by-passed as he judged them to be flaky. Farage, with his third political party, has struck lucky. Reform are storming the polls with Conservatives languishing in third place. Andrew thinks they are finished,

“I think Conservatives and Reform supporters should be engaging with each other and unite …. there is no certainty that the party will bounce back easily and we cannot risk another five years of Labour after the next election.²

Andrew doesn’t believe the Conservatives will get even a ‘dead cat bounce’³ in 2029. He must decide. Leave the sinking ship or cling on? But has Farage peaked too early? That’s the crux of Andrew’s problem.

Decisions! Decisions!

Notes

1 Hornchurch and Upminster’s MP: Julia Lopez – Politics in Havering If she flirted with Reform then the Conservatives really would be in a death spiral.

2 Romford MP Says Its Time Tories And Reform Unite To Defeat Labour. – The Havering Daily

3 Dead Cat Bounce: What It Means in Investing, With Examples

Andrew Rosindell: Parliamentary Speech, 7th May 2025

Andrew’s lengthy speech discussed Havering and Greater London. His speech was autobiographical and historical. He began with a long list of Havering’s Essex roots.

Havering is an Essex region with long historic connexions. He cited his home address, St Edward’s church, Essex county cricket club, and the water supply from Essex and Suffolk amongst many other examples.

Andrew outlined the baleful impact of Greater London, which has led to, “60 years of muddle, confusion and constant debate about whether Romford and Havering remain part of Essex or not.”²

Andrew says Havering is paying too much for too little because it’s a London borough. He airily remarked it cost, “…tens of millions of pounds per year.” Andrew didn’t say how much Havering pays, though the data is readily available. Assertions should be supported with facts.

Andrew claimed ULEZ should have been avoided.He believes ULEZ is a ‘Bad Thing’- people with respiratory illnesses probably disagree. Andrew added that his constituents disapproved of Greater London but provided no polling data.

Policing is a major issue. Andrew says Havering suffers as a London borough. He said, “….if you speak to my constituents, they will tell you that they believe Havering residents are in effect subsidising inner London areas…” Amazingly Andrew didn’t remark that Havering, who are bankrupt, pays an additional £1 million to the MetPolice to guarantee local policing.

Leaving London would mean Havering losing the beloved Freedom Pass. Pensioners adore it and they are reliable voters. Andrew wants the Freedom Pass extended to contiguous counties. This means TfL would take control of links into London. TfL will become far larger if Andrew’s proposition is supported, which implies a ‘levy’ on the new areas.Will they be pleased to pay the price?³

Andrew’s heart-felt sincerity came through loud and clear and was praised by the minister, Jim McMahan. He said, “I pay tribute to the hon. Member for championing his area and for the very clear passion that he has for the place he represents.”

Notes

1 Bing Videos and Havering Borough and Essex Devolution – Hansard – UK Parliament

2 All quotes are from the Hansard report of the speech

3 The Freedom Pass isn’t free. Havering pays £8m p.a. for access to the system.

Andrew Rosindell’s Question to Keir Starmer, 29th January 2025

Andrew says,¹

“…the population of this country will rise to 72.5 million by 2032….which is unsustainable.” (my emphasis).

In 1945 the UK’s population was 48 million. When Andrew was born, in 1966, it was 54.6 million.² People living in 1945 couldn’t have comprehended the 2024 British population, which is 44% higher than it was.

Why is another three million unsustainable? “Turkey has…(3,181,222‑ individuals) [immigrants] who have been granted temporary protection status.” Most are from Syria and are the majority of a 4.6 million immigrant population. Turkey is poorer than Britain but accepts its responsibilities.

Keir Starmer’s answer was interesting “…we will bring those numbers down.” Why? British politicians are obliged to be anti-immigrant. Positive, heartwarming stories are buried in anti-immigrant bile.

Rishi Sunak’s parents were born in east Africa. Nassar Hussain, Essex and England cricket captain, was born in India. In literature, T S Eliot was American and became a British Nobel prize winner. Marks and Spencer’s shopping chain is an immigrant success story. And this is a tiny sample of immigrants in Britain building a better wealthier country.^4,5Both the question and answer are disappointing. Asylum seekers should be accepted. Economic immigrants are critical to the well-being of Britain because they’re motivated to succeed. They should be welcomed.

Addendum: Andrew Rosindell’s question with Keir Starmer’s answer

Rosindell The Prime Minister should know that my Romford constituents are shocked, angry and dismayed by the suggestion by the Office for National Statistics that the population of this country will rise to 72.5 million by 2032—that is 500,000 people a year, which is unsustainable. Who voted for that, and will the Government do something to ensure that the population of this country is sustainable going forward? There is no mandate for such a colossal increase in immigration to this country.

Starmer I think the hon. Gentleman should talk to his party leader. Net migration went through the roof under the previous Government—by nearly 1 million; it quadrupled—and who was cheering it on? The Leader of the Opposition. The hon. Gentleman’s constituents are right to be concerned about the loss of control by the previous Government. We are taking control; we will bring those numbers down. But the record is absolutely clear, and it sits right there on the Opposition Benches.Engagements – Hansard – UK Parliament

Addendum: West Ham United

The WHU squad, 2024-5 has 15 nationalities represented. Only ten of the 27 man squad are English. West Ham United FC Squad Information 2024/2025 | Premier League

Notes

1 Engagements – Hansard – UK Parliament PMQ’s 29^th January 2025

2 https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-kingdom/1966/ In1966 it was 54.6 million Demographics of the United Kingdom – Wikipedia

3 number of immigrants in trukey – Search

4 Grooming gangs and ethnicity: What does the evidence say? – BBC News Focusing on criminals is a demonisation concealing the facts of the case.

5 Boris Johnson was born in the USA and could have stood for president. Nigel Farage had a German wife and his children presumably have dual nationality.