Havering’s Council Meeting 24th July, 2024 (part two)

The principal activity of council meetings is debating Motions. These are free-wheeling discussions where any councillor can participate. Motions ought to be important and probing.¹ Motions presented to this meeting were, in general, an insult to the electorate.²

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The first motion by the Conservatives was:

A This council agrees to implement a pairing system for members, to ensure that serious illness does not impact the political balance of the Chamber.

Keith Prince (1 hour 31)³was abysmal. He literally hadn’t worked out the implications of his proposition. Keith Darvill (1:34) told him. Prince acknowledged he’d got it wrong. It was drivel.

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The Conservative’s second motion was pivotal. The financial ‘reasons’ for library closures are flakey and legitimately contestable. Perfect territory for intelligent debating:

B Council calls upon Cabinet to maintain the operation of all local libraries, acknowledging the critical social impact of their potential closure, and to encourage the use of financial reserves to ensure their continued funding. (my emphasis)

Keith Prince (1:42) withdrew the motion, which is beyond belief. The Conservatives literally don’t know what an Opposition party should be doing, or, what constructive criticism is.

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The Conservative’s third motion was inconsequential:

C Council agrees to amend the Constitution to allow for 2 follow-up questions during full council meetings.

Keith Prince (1:43) continued his poor form. Once more Keith Darvill dissected the motion. He gained support from Stephanie Nunn and Ray Morgon.

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The final motion came from the Labour party:

D This Council adopts the Co-operative Party’s Charter Against Modern Slavery as shown on the attached.

Katharine Tumilty (1:55) made a very good speech about the horrors of modern-day slavery. Dilip Patel (2:08) shared his first-hand experience when he recounted his involvement in rescuing a young woman. Very moving and inspiring for everyone in the chamber. Barry Mugglestone (2:10) outlined his department’s intervention in illegal HMOs.

It was a long wait but councillors, at last, showed their best side.

Best speech: Katharine Tumilty

Notes

1 There are eight council meetings but there are no motions at Annual Council

2 SUPPLEMENTARY AGENDA 24th-Jul-2024 19.30 Council.pdf (havering.gov.uk) p11

3 Annotator Player (mediasite.com) All times refer to this webcast

Havering’s Council Meeting 24th July 2024 (part one)

Ray Morgon’s first meeting since trashing the coalition with Labour leaves HRA alone – naked and unashamed. Controversial policies like the Data Centre in Upminster are now totally owned by HRA.

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Question Time (began at 46 minutes)

Question Time is the Barry Mugglestone Show.¹Barry is a bit of a bruiser. He said unrectified service defects were the fault of ward councillors. If they’d worked harder informing him he’d have resolved problems immediately. Good knockabout stuff. Tim Ryan (1:06) substituting for David Taylor got the treatment. It was unfair but fun.

Paul Middleton was ambushed by Judith Holt (1:27). A straight-forward question about the upkeep of Upminster cemetery became emotionally fraught. She was asking about the maintenance of her family grave. Councillors can’t demand special treatment but Paul should have been gentler.

Some cabinet members were ill-prepared for supplementary questions. Paul McGeary, Natasha Summers and Graham Williamson disappointed.

Gerry O’Sullivan was absent and deputy-Mayor, Sue Ospreay, substituted and displayed her unique style. Calling Nisha Patel ‘My lovely’ (1:10) was a novelty, which we could have done without.

Oscar Ford (1:08) said Havering was helpless in answer to Keith Darvill about flooding at Brookside Academy. The council can’t do anything because it’s an Academy.

Best tactician: Barry Mugglestone

Councillor Absence

Twenty percent of councillors were absent. Cllrs Benham, Frost, O’Sullivan, Ruck, Taylor, White D., Walker, Wilkes, Williams and Wise

Note

1 Public reports pack 24th-Jul-2024 19.30 Council.pdf (havering.gov.uk) pp249ff The webcast is here Annotator Player (mediasite.com) All times relate to this webcast

Havering’s Councillors: Their Sick Leave Culture

….U.K. the rate of employee absence has risen to its highest level in a decade…[it] has reached 4% in 2023, with an average of 4.8 days lost per employee per year. (my emphasis) Source: Absence trends in the United Kingdom: Strategies for effective management – WTW (wtwco.com)

The 2009 ‘expenses scandal’ revealed how British MPs ripped off the taxpayer. Some MPs were jailed. Nonetheless, parliamentary rules protected their pensions. (see Addendum One) Havering’s councillors are angels in comparison.

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Absenteeism amongst councillors is triple the British norm (see Addendum Two). Between 19^th January and 13^th July 2024, councillors were scheduled for 440 attendances at meetings.¹One councillor could have attended 13,² whilst the least number was four.³ (Four meetings equate to one every six and a half weeks.)

Councillors, collectively, missed 58 meetings – equivalent to 13.2%. Non-attendance makes scrutiny of policies weak and toxic policies are sometimes implemented. Absenteeism destroys ‘Institutional Memory’ a crucial factor in good decision-making. Havering’s democracy is weakened by indolence.

Attendance at council meetings is one part of a councillor’s duties. Many councillors are active in their communities.⁴ Obviously this is just one publicly available. Other councillors might be equally assiduous but unavailable for scrutiny.

The principal point is councillors only have a legal duty to attend a meeting every six months. This weakens their commitment.

Addendum One: MPs and their pensions

….former MPs who were jailed in the wake of the parliamentary expenses scandal are also understood to remain entitled to full pension benefits despite their records.

MP pension rules mean there are almost no circumstances under which an MP can be stripped of their pension, with the exception of the most extreme crimes such as treason…. Source MP expenses cheats and sex offenders keep taxpayer-funded pensions (msn.com)

Addendum Two: Council Meeting, 24^th July 2024

The shocking absenteeism amongst councillors reached unbelievable levels at this meeting. Of Havering’s 55 councillors 11 were absent = 20%. This is quadruple the national average.

Source: Agenda for Council on Wednesday, 24th July, 2024, 7.30 pm | London Borough of Havering

Notes

1 Councillors attendance summary, 19 January 2024 – 13 July 2024 | The London Borough Of Havering Legally they must attend one council meeting every six months or they forfeit their seat See also Does Havering have too many councillors? – Politics in Havering

2 Chris Wilkins (He missed two, which is 15% absenteeism.)

3 David Godwin and Christine Vickery (they both had full attendance)

4 ‘The heating and hot water have failed, affecting hundreds of residents. The Council is aware of issues but seems reluctant to fix them.’ – The Havering Daily This report is about the community work of Cllrs McKeever and Stanton in Beam Park

Havering’s Councillors: The Democratic Deficit in Action

Havering councillors are mostly male, elderly, wealthy property owners.¹ Their biases are revealed when setting the council’s budget. The classic example is the 30 minutes free parking policy, privileging motorists above other, non-statutory, priorities. It isn’t hard to imagine what a council with a majority of young mothers, would prioritise. Council tax payers are paying for the biases of councillors, which is the price of the democratic deficit.

Home-owners

Havering’s councillors are relatively old, with a third being 60+, which implies they are home-owners.² Home-ownership is revealed by Register of Interests statements.³ Additionally sixteen councillors (29%) own two or more houses, making them very wealthy.⁴

Religion

Inexplicably Council meeting begin with Christian prayers. 30% of British people say they’re atheist, with only half claiming to be Christian.⁵It’s probable most councillors are token Christians, atheist, or, of other faiths. Prayers are said by a priest offering Divine Guidance.

Diversity

A fifth of Havering’s residents weren’t born in Britain.⁶They aren’t represented in the council chamber. Neither are the under 35s or the disabled.

Allowances

Astonishingly councillors receive an ‘allowance,’ which they qualify for by attending one meeting every six months.⁸ Nine cabinet members are paid £35,000, which is just below the average wage of Havering’s residents. Two get more. Five cabinet members work and their £35,000 is for a part-time role.⁹

Discussion

This is the outcome of Havering’s democratic deficit. No-one is to blame.Very low turnout at local elections is grim proof of the deficit. Active politics is a minority ‘sport’ with few willing to participate, even marginally. Democracy is about who can be bothered. Havering’s council accurately reflects the democratic will of the people.

Like it or not.

Notes

1 Your Councillors | The London Borough Of Havering Councillors don’t reveal their age but the Register of Interests points to 32% being retired. Five female councillors are retired. Collectively 42% of Havering’s councillors are retired. This isn’t definitive and it’s possible the figure is larger, and very unlikely to be smaller.

2 Chapter7olderpeoplechapter7v21.pdf (haveringdata.net)

3 The Register of Interests is a legal document, which is treated with contempt by some councillors. Classically there is Ray Best’s ‘statement’. mgConvert2PDF.aspx (havering.gov.uk) Most councillors fill in their Register statements diligently

4 Housing prices in Havering (ons.gov.uk)

5 How life has changed in Havering: Census 2021 (ons.gov.uk) see also The Church is losing an entire generation. Here’s what you can do about it | Magazine Features | Premier Christianity The other 20% belong to various non-Christian religious faiths

6 loc.cit

7 *Young* is ambiguous and will become more so when the voting age is reduced to 16 years old.

8 Councillors attendance summary, 15 January 2024 – 9 July 2024 | The London Borough Of Havering

9 For the list of principal allowances which are in addition to the basic £10,412 for all councillors Issue – items at meetings – MEMBERS’ ALLOWANCES SCHEME | The London Borough Of Havering Councillors set the amounts they receive through a vote.

Havering’s Election: An Undemocratic Democracy?

Regardless of the destruction of the Conservative Party, Labour came second in Romford and third in Hornchurch and Upminster. Julia Lopez and Andrew Rosindell were re-elected but were rejected by a majority of the electorate.

Julia Lopez

Julia was trounced by the anti-Conservative vote.¹She won her parliamentary seat with 15,260 votes. The other five candidates had 31,651 votes, which is 16,391 more.
Worse, the abstention rate was 37.65% of the 75,421 electorate. Julia became MP with 15,260 votes out of an electorate of 75,421. She won with 20% of the vote.

A stunning 80% didn’t vote for her.

Andrew Rosindell

The same analysis applies to Andrew. He became MP with 15,339 votes and 27,808 actively opposing him. Turnout was 60%, which is 29,492 voters. Active and passive opposing votes = 57,300 voters and Andrew just reached the magic 20% needed for victory.

A stunning 80% didn’t vote for him.

Discussion

Julia and Andrew are blameless. The British electoral system needs to be changed but won’t be. Change comes when winners cooperate and they like systems that deliver power. Meanwhile Nigel Farage’s Reform Party picked up 4 million votes and five seats. They, like the LibDems and Greens, suffer from the system.

Havering’s local elections are worse, much worse. Turnout was in the range 23.5% to 42.3%, in 2022. No ward achieved a 50% turnout. When do elections stop being democratic? Councillors could be elected with 2% of the vote.

Ludicrous as it seems, this is possible.

Note

1 General Election 2024: Results | The London Borough Of Havering

Havering’s Elections, 2nd May, 2024

Havering is Conservative heartland. Although they appear to be in terminal decline nationally, that is fake news.¹ When everything is against them, their ‘tribe’ rallies round. Susan Hall² and Keith Prince³ romped home with substantial majorities against Labour. Grim national polling wasn’t reflected in Havering.

Susan Hall

Even her best friends wouldn’t describe her as dynamic. Her role was to be a sacrificial lamb facing slaughter. Her memorable ‘policy’ was scrapping ULEZ from “day one”. Despite her simplistic politics, she trounced Sadiq Khan by 32,000+ votes.

Keith Prince

He has been a GLA Assembly member for eight years. He avoided campaigning on his record during those years. This was wise. Keith is chair of GLA’s Transport Committee and Havering has major issues. First and foremost is the 50 year old Gallows Corner flyover, which is a blot on the landscape. Keith’s political strategy is wringing his hands in horror. This was unsuccessful with Boris Johnson and Sadiq Khan.

Speculation

Conservatives should be worried about the Reform party – aka UKIP. They got 19,696 votes as a name on a ballot paper. Reform is popular in Havering, being right-wing without policies. Their voters think they can make a difference and they’re right.

Damian White lost in the 2019 general election because of UKIP.⁴It’s impossible to know the impact on Andrew Rosindell but his majority is 17,893. If there’s a general election swing and a right-wing party, then he might be caught in a pincer movement. Julia Lopez’s majority is 23,000+ and only a political tsunami will shift her.

Notes

1 Since 2022 there have been seven defections from the Conservatives to HRA

2 havering_and_redbridge_mayoral_results_2024.pdf (londonelects.org.uk)

3 GLA Elections 2024: Havering and Redbridge Constituency Member results | The London Borough Of Havering

4 Damian White Scuppered by Nigel Farage! 12th December, 2019 – Politics in Havering

Havering’s Impending Bankruptcy: selling carparks

The Council borrowed £54m to pay its bills in Spring 2024 (see Addendum). They are also selling carparks to avoid (postpone?) bankruptcy. Four are going.¹The Romford Recorder ² says they’re worth £9m and that’s why they’re being sold. The other reasons are,

“…they are underused and the aim is to have a better use of the land that can help the council reduce its waiting list backlog for affordable homes..”³

“Underused” is slippery. Two figures need stating, (1) target income, and (2), how big was the shortfall? How long will it be before the lost income equals £9m and, will the council tax from the new properties compensate?

Why is this important?

Finance is paramount when facing bankruptcy and trumps other considerations.⁴ Will the sales help or hinder the council’s problems? £9m is 11% of the shortfall over two years: it’s a drop in the ocean. And the revenue is gone for ever.

Selling income generating assets to fund revenue is insanity. The government is privatising Havering by the deliberate under-funding of statutory services.⁵ Voters will notice when quality-of-life assets are lost. But by then no-one will be able to do anything about it.

The government is forcing Havering to sell assets. The government doesn’t want to fully fund statutory services which Havering must provide. They don’t like the truth that: Taxes are the price we pay for a civilised society.⁶

Addendum: The Loan

This is a government drawdown facility for unfunded statutory⁵ bills. The loan is charged at 7% for 20 years. The interest for 18 full years is £68m. In brief, it increases Council Tax until 2044.

Notes

1 Issue details – Site Disposals under the Asset Disposal Programme 2022-2028 | The London Borough Of Havering

2 Romford Recorder 26^th April 2024 front page

3 loc.cit

4 The massive negative response didn’t see it like that at all. p18

5 Statutory services are those that the council must provide before anything else.

6 Taxes Are What We Pay for Civilized Society – Quote Investigator®

Havering’s Cabinet, 10th April, 2024

The Climate Change debate, Item 7,¹ is critical for Havering but was trivialised. It’s difficult to believe cabinet members had read the agenda. The council intends to make cross-department responses through nine ‘petals’, whatever they are. Apart from Keith Darvill and Ray Morgon, none of the cabinet offered any comments. The report updated the 2021 position.

The ‘debate’ was surreal. Rainfall is increasing by 3.5% a year and Keith Prince (18 mins) decided the solution to the overwhelmed drainage system is water butts. (A 3.5% increase doubles Havering’s rainfall in 20 years.) Keith loves water butts and wouldn’t give it a rest. Martin Goode (29 mins) winged it and offered a rerun of his numerous ‘Golden Oldie’ speeches. Unusually he hadn’t done his homework.

A consequence of greater rainfall is flooding. The management of flooding is expensive both in capital and revenue. Less obvious are significant increases in insurance costs for the council, businesses and householders. Some flooding is due to driveways and forecourts not having drainage points, which are an obligation. The council have insufficient enforcement officers so the obligation is ignored. Blocked drainage grates are a perennial problem in water management. The contract needs better management.

Interestingly there are a considerable number of grants available. Havering has received £3.5m in grants (see 30 minutes).²

Keith Darvill (25 mins) summed up by saying flood alleviation is very expensive. He appears to mean the existential crisis that is Climate Change is too expensive to solve. Humanity should take in on the chin! And disappear.

Absent Oscar Ford, Gillian Ford and Barry Mugglestone

Notes

1 Public reports pack 10th-Apr-2024 19.30 Cabinet.pdf (havering.gov.uk) Item 7 p85ff

2 Annotator Player (sonicfoundry.com) Times relate to this webcast.

Havering Council: The Merry-Go-Round

Ray Morgon cobbled an administration together from Havering’s many Residents’ Associations (RAs) in 2022.¹ They were rebranded Havering Residents’ Association. His second coup was a coalition with Labour. He’d filled the power vacuum left by the Conservatives and took power

And then the Merry-Go-Round began.

Sarah Edwards, Jacqueline McArdle and Sue Ospreay joined HRA a few weeks after being elected as Conservatives in 2022. Ray Morgon doesn’t care why. What’s important is they landed in HRA. The voters of Rainham weren’t consulted.

John Tyler is a Refusenik. He dislikes Labour and didn’t join the coalition, opting for ‘independence’ (or at least that’s how the story goes). Cranham is a hotbed of dissatisfaction. Phillip Ruck left HRA creating a political party² with John. He wants the Finance cabinet post and won’t get it, so why not rock the boat? The voters of Cranham weren’t consulted.

Robby Misir joined HRA after many years as a Conservative councillor. The end of Damian White’s pot-of-gold politics might have been a push factor. Who knows? Could self-interest have motivated him? The voters of Marshalls and Rise Park weren’t consulted.

St Andrew’s ward has stopped being boring. Paul Middleton, Gerry O’Sullivan and Bryan Vincent have fallen out. Paul isn’t in RA newsletters any more but remains in the cabinet. Is HRA strong enough to impose discipline on these apparently warring factions? Voters will be consulted in 2026.

Addendum

Three Romford Conservatives have joined HRA, this week, to escape that toxic zone. They are husband and wife team John and Philippa Crowder along with Christine Smith. Is this a reverse take-over by Romford who lust for power but can’t get it? This makes it seven Conservatives fleeing their party since 2022.
Notes

1 HRA = Havering Residents Association

2 Cranham Residents Association Independent Group

Havering Council Meeting, 27th March 2024

The Conservatives had a humdinger of a motion for debate (see Addendum). It challenged the HRA/Labour *solution* to the budget deficit.¹This naïve commentator waited for fireworks from political heavyweights debating the future of Havering.

What should have happened

Keith Prince would denounce the £54m loan as reckless folly, mortgaging the future. He pointed out that £54m @7% for 20 years creates a stonking £68m² in interest payments, more than doubling the original debt. Keith could continue that the loan ‘kicked the can down the road’. In 2026 everything would be the same with Adult, Children’s Services and Homelessness turbo-charging the deficit. What, Keith thundered rhetorically, would Ray Morgon do then? Borrow another £54m?

Ray Morgon would angrily riposte that defending government funding was bizarre. In 2010, Havering’s grant was £70m and in 2023, £1.9m. Meanwhile, after 14 years of government mis-management, inflation added 47% to costs.³ Therefore, Havering needs a £103m grant just to stand still! Additionally, the council had unfunded responsibilities. Homelessness came from government policies with enormous costs for the council. Ray might finish by saying everything will be different in two years’ time.

What did happen

Ray Morgon and Keith Prince agreed not to have a debate and went home two hours earlier than usual.

Addendum: Conservative Motion

This chamber calls on the council to release to the public the full letters, from the Government Ministers and from the Leader, regarding the Capitalisation Directive. The chamber calls on the Government to provide the funding as a grant instead of a loan.⁴

Best speech: None

Runner-up: None

Best sarcasm: Barry Mugglestone

Notes

1 Havering Council: Budget Setting – 28th February, 2024 – Politics in Havering

2 It might not be, we haven’t seen the T&Cs yet. Actually the money is ‘drawn’ down over the next two years so the £68m is calculated for 18 full years of interest.

3 Inflation calculator | Bank of England

4 Public reports pack 27th-Mar-2024 19.30 Council.pdf (havering.gov.uk) p117