Tag: Keith Prince

Havering’s Revolution ~ Is Keith Prince Superman?

For Havering’s Reform party to succeed, Keith Prince needs to be ‘Superman’. Havering is bankrupt. It faces financial pressures which are horrifying. Keith will have to the square the circle that is Reform’s desire for radical change and the pressures preventing change. Nonetheless:

Keith’s ‘Revolution’ gives him (1) opportunities as well as (2) headaches

(1) Revolutions demand Radical change, and

(2) Central government’s iron fist over local finance.

Opportunities

What do Reform councillors “Really, really want?1 Keith knows Farage’s motormouth slogans are nonsense. Havering can’t ‘Stop the Boats”.  Keith can’t magic Havering out of London to fulfil the ludicrous ‘Hexit’ policy. And, Havering’s Reform councillors can’t vote Starmer out of Downing Street.

Keith must keep his 36 new councillors on board. He must keep thousands of Reform voters on board. What is he going to do? Keith is a class act. He’s been a councillor since 1990. He’s also a senior member of the GLA. This means he knows Mayor Khan very well and politics is the art of adroit compromises. Keith and Mayor Khan might not love each other but they can cooperate. Always assuming it works for all concerned.

Doing what is doable is the centrepiece of political agendas. Keith needs cheap, flashy policies that hit the button. Reform voters like flags. Why not have a flag budget for public buildings like libraries? This would be mocked but would work if the book budget was significantly increased. £50,000 should be enough. Reform vigorously opposed library closures and this would be a statement of difference.

The kiss of electoral death is,

‘Everything is different but nothing has changed.’

Headaches

Havering is bankrupt. HRA borrowed £100m+ to ‘Balance’ the books. That is as stupid as it sounds. But if the government don’t forgive the debt, the taxi meter is clicking along at 6% p.a., which is compounded. This could destroy Keith’s ambitions for a Reform revolution.

The intractable problem is the budget for Adult and Children’s Services. Both are demand led, making for budget instability. Someone is going to have to be very clever to cope with this. And this takes us to the principal headache for Keith.

Inexperienced councillors! Keith’s biggest fear is that his new team is ‘captured’ by officers who impose (ever so nicely) their agenda. His experience gives him a fighting chance of being able to spot talent. People willing to work hard, command detail and do politics.

The Revolution begins….

Note

1 really really want lyrics – Search Amazingly the lyrics of this song reveal Keith’s problem.

Addendum: Turnout increased in every single ward

• Beam Park – 32.63% (2022: 30.8%)

• Cranham – 54.49% (40.83%) (HRA win)

• Elm Park – 47.56% (35.51%)

• Emerson Park – 52.7% (41.11%)

• Gooshays – 35.2% (23.46%)

• Hacton – 51.23% (41.2%)

• Harold Wood – 48.19% (35.6%)

• Havering-atte-Bower – 42.14% (29.16%)

• Heaton – 32.2% (lowest – Reform win) (23.79%)

• Hylands & Harrow Lodge – 50.81% (37.83%)

• Marshalls and Rise Park – 51.8% (41.13)

• Mawneys – 45.03% (33.56)

• Rainham & Wennington – 44.97% (35.12%)

• Rush Green – 39.95% (32.84%)

• South Hornchurch – 42.6% (31.8%)

• Squirrels Heath – 49.78% (38.54%)

• St Alban’s – 43.95% (36.84%)

• St Andrew’s – 50.52% (38.98%)

• St Edward’s – 42.32% (32.87)

• Upminster – 56% (highest – HRA win) (42.3%)

Source Local Election 2026 Results | London Borough of Havering and Local Elections 2022: Havering Council live results | London Borough of Havering

Greater London Assembly Question Time 26th February 2026

The GLA budget is a billion pounds affair. Trivial sums don’t really matter but the West Ham United stadium scandal does empty the pockets of Londoners. It’s a £20m a year debt in the accounts. Keith Prince, Havering’s GLA member, opened the topic – the entire exchange is below – with the Mayor. He didn’t land a blow.

The contract was negotiated by Boris Johnson. It stinks (see Addendum). It’s so bad that an unkind observer might say it was corrupt. Huge losses are paid by the GLA – or, to put it another way: You. The £20m is just under the Havering deficit for 2026-7. That deficit is driving the borough into bankruptcy. £20m is a triviality to GLA accountants but is life-or-death for Havering.

Keith didn’t mention Havering. Nothing at all. The exchange between Keith, the Mayor and the Chief of Staff was too pally, too cosy and too complacent. Keith says – with a straight face – that he endorses Reform UK’s slash and burn attitude towards local government finance. Well, he should have linked the WHU/London stadium stitch-up with Havering’s financial situation. Havering’s wallet is emptying by an annual £500,000+.

The London Stadium was the showpiece of the 2012 Olympics. A national treasure. And now? Its current value is ZERO! NOTHING!

There were mealy-mouthed equivocations. No one cares. Keith was on the right track but didn’t, or couldn’t, follow through. Perhaps, he’s still in thrall to Boris ‘Partygate’ Johnson who negotiated the contract?

Solutions? What one bunch of smart-arse lawyers put together another bunch of smart-arse lawyers can undo. Or, the GLA could use hard ball politics. Naming rights were cited as being an ASPIRATION. But what do we see blazoned across the stadium: WEST HAM UNITED. Do they pay for the privilege? Who knows? Who cares? Have GLA lawyers been to the London Stadium? Do they know what is going on? No, they don’t.

The losses will massively increase if WHU get relegated to the Championship next season. Havering will be under more financial pressure from Boris Johnson’s toxic legacy. Meanwhile WHU pay huge amounts of money on players, most of whom are, or become, hopeless.5

London, United Kingdom – November 13, 2024: Stadium of West Ham United Football Club, a professional football club based in Stratford, East London.

The GLA Debate: Keith Prince’s contribution

Keith Prince AM: Thank you, Chair. Good afternoon, Mayor, David, team. Just before I start, I will declare that I am a season ticket holder of the West Ham [United Football Club] Women’s team, just for clarity, because I intend to ask a question relating to West Ham. Mr Mayor, LLDC sold the London Stadium to GLA Holdings. Could you explain the reason for that move, please?

Sir Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London): Firstly, before I ask the Chief of Staff to respond, I hope we are still talking after Sunday. It is a big game on Sunday for both of our teams!

Keith Prince AM: I am very much hoping we will be talking. I will settle for a draw. How about you?

David Bellamy (Mayor’s Chief of Staff): This is part of the transition that took place at LLDC as it reached — we say LLDC is now in its third phase. The first was the run up to the games [2012 Olympics]. The second was the period after the games and then, with so much progress made, it is time to transition. With LLDC becoming a smaller organisation, the conclusion that we reached was that rather than E20 – as it was then called – being a subsidiary of LLDC, in turn a subsidiary of the GLA, it would be better done just to be a standalone company directly underneath the GLA.

Keith Prince AM: I will ask another question of the Mayor, but I am quite happy for you to answer, David. As we know, the deal cost GLA Holdings £1. That reflects the fact that London Stadium makes a significant loss each year. Who is now going to bear the burden of that loss, and what moves have been made to reduce that loss? (see Addendum) As people will be aware, for the last ten years, I have been encouraging LLDC to engage with West Ham in order to find a naming rights sponsor, which most people estimated would be of a value of around £4 million. Because it has not engaged with West Ham and because that deal has not been done so far, one could reasonably presume that it has lost £40 million. Either Mr Mayor or David, will there now be encouragement for the new holding group to engage with West Ham and to have a joint venture in relation to the naming rights? It cannot be done solely by GLA Holdings because of the rules around the Premier League.

David Bellamy (Mayor’s Chief of Staff): In answer to the first part of your question, Assembly Member, in terms of the losses the stadium makes as a consequence of the deal that was done by the previous Mayor, it routes differently. It used to route through LLDC, and it now routes through the GLA Mayor budget but, ultimately, the Mayor’s overall budget has to bear the consequences of that loss. What we do is we work hard to minimise that loss. There are clearly a number of aspects to that. There is the efficient running of the stadium. There are invest-to-save projects. For instance, over the years, we have replaced a lot of the seating in the lower bowl so that it is cheaper to move seats for other events. We have held additional events. There are commercial deals. In terms of naming rights specifically, it is a difficult market. You can see that with some other notable stadiums not having successfully secured naming rights. Any deal has to be one that will work for us and will work for West Ham as well. It is not accurate to say that this is something we have never worked with West Ham on, and there are there are discussions with it going on at the moment and, clearly, we always want to work well with West Ham –

Keith Prince AM: A quick question, please. Also, as part of the scaling down, Mr Mayor, you know that the planning powers have now been returned to Newham. I understand why that is done, but do you think that is sensible? Newham is the fourth worst borough for planning applications. Would that put at risk any developments coming forward?

Sir Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London): Let me just say, it was always the intention to give back to the councils the powers that had been taken from them. There were five boroughs involved in terms of the original LLDC. All of them now have their planning powers back. Do you think it would be wrong if we carried on in perpetuity the planning powers? Each council is in charge of applications in its respective borough.

Minutes – Appendix 2 – Questions to the Mayor.pdf

Addendum: The contract Boris Johnson *negotiated* with West Ham FC

1 Notably, West Ham United pays a relatively modest rent of £3.6 million per season, which covers none of the stadium’s upkeep costs such as heating, cleaning, or maintenance. This situation is compounded by the fact that West Ham retains all ticket revenues and a portion of the catering income, further skewing the financial equation in favour of the club. Source: Report: West Ham’s £20.9m London Stadium Loss Hits Taxpayers Hard | OneFootball see also London Stadium – Wikipedia Obviously there is more. The small matter of a 99 year contract, which Boris ‘Genius’ Johnson managed to saddle your great-grand children with https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-london-assembly-does/london-assembly-members/bassam-mahfouz/Boris-bombshell-july24

2 The annual loss is £20.9m which the GLA finds out of its budget. Source loc.cit

3  This financial situation has led to the venue’s long-term value being assessed at zero by independent experts, a stark indication of the economic challenges it faces. Source loc.cit

4 All emphases throughout this blog are mine.

5 West Ham United – Record arrivals | Transfermarkt

Greater London Assembly Question Time, 15th January 2026

The Beam Park Station fiasco illustrates the importance of the GLA’s regional role. The proposed station involves multiple agents. Obviously the railway system is impacted with freight trains and the passenger network affected. Timetables across the entire route will need adjusting. Then there is the economics of the station. Will there be enough additional traffic for the extra costs?

Beam Park is a massive regeneration project, which Johnson’s government shunted into oblivion along with the housing. The station is pivotal for 4,000 houses. Havering always misses its GLA housing targets and the houses would be ‘manna from heaven’.2 But: No station, No house building. The ultimate Catch-22.

In a surreal bureaucratic moment, a planning application was made for……..A ticket office (November 2025).3 Not a station: Just a ticket office.

Keith Prince used his six minutes allocation at Mayor’s Question Time to raise the Beam Park Station issue.4 Amazingly there was an actual discussion. It’s amazing because most questions aren’t questions at all. They’re tetchy, sarcastic or rude comments. The layout of the chamber doesn’t help (see below).

Keith described the impasse: No station, No housing. The Mayor conceded Keith’s point. He said the non-station was “perverse” “ridiculous” and there was a need to, “get this done.” In a moment of joy for democrats, Keith and the Mayor agreed a temporary solution. And the solution was?

Havering’s new SuperLoop  service is scheduled to begin in Rainham. Keith proposed Beam Park. The Mayor pounced on this positive proposition. The new service would alleviate part of the problem, though it isn’t a solution. It isn’t a ‘done deal’ but it sounded promising. And this is sharp improvement on the normal negativity of the Mayor’s Question Time.

Notes

1 London Assembly (Mayor’s Question Time) | London City Hall Times refer to this webcast

2 Havering faces punishment for failure to reach housing target This is a typical under-shooting and a key reason why so many Havering families are broken up as ‘children’ move to cheap areas in Essex

3 Fresh Planning Application Submitted To Havering Council For Ticket Office For Proposed Beam Park Station. – The Havering Daily

4 From 1 hour 40 to 1:44 The question was: Can you provide an update on the delivery of Beam Park Station? Keith Prince is the GLA councillor for Havering and Redbridge.

Greater London Assembly Question Time, 18th December 2025

John Stuart Mill, the 19th century philosopher and MP, said “….the Conservatives are the stupidest party….”1 Obviously a cheap abusive quip doesn’t have resonance 159 years later. Or does it? Romford’s MP thinks Havering should leave London and join Essex. Havering existed before he was born. He’s suffering from pre-natal nostalgia – a new disease – for which there is no cure

Question Time in Havering can be dire, focused on the ultra-parochial. Barry Mugglestone leaps up and down brushing off question after question but still they keep coming. Expectations are higher for the GLA’s elite politicians. Expectations which turn to dust as their questions are read.2

The GLA Question Time is a major monthly event, “….as part of their role to hold the Mayor and other bodies to account.3 All 25 councillors ask the Mayor a question and he is the sole responder. It should be intimidating as he sits alone inside an arc of 25 councillors.

Luckily the Conservatives put him at his ease. This humdinger came from Bromley’s finest councillor, Thomas Turrell: Is the Mayor on the side of Londoners? Turrell was hoping Sadiq Khan would collapse. Maybe he’d say, “No – as a matter of fact I can’t stand Londoners”. Perhaps he’d add, he liked getting on telly and picking up a big salary. John Stuart Mill – Triumphant!

Alessandro Georgiou, another Conservative, piled in with, Are you a good negotiator on behalf of Londoners?5What answer was he expecting? This is the sort of probing forensic question a Year 3 Primary School child might ask a Prime Minister who was looking for a caring photo to help his image.

Keith Prince (Reform) asked a question which drew a lengthy answer from the Mayor. Keith asked, What are you doing to improve safety across the TfL network?6 It turned out, to everyone’s amazement, that the Mayor is dynamic in this respect.

Notes

1 JOHN STUART MILL AND THE CONSERVATIVES.. [To ms EDITOR OF » 28 Oct 1882 » The Spectator Archive

2 (Public Pack)Agenda Item 5 – Questions to the Mayor Agenda Supplement for London Assembly (Mayor’s Question Time), 18/12/2025 10:00

3 Questions to the Mayor | London City Hall

4 Question No: 2025/4535

5 Question No: 2025/4326

6 TfL Safety Question No: 2025/4300 You can view the answer and subsequent question here London Assembly (Mayor’s Question Time) from 18/12/2025 It’s about 3 minutes long

Havering’s GLA Member: Keith Prince (Reform)

Havering has two important regional issues. The first is the nine-month closure of the Gallows Corner flyover. This is causing local and east London disruption. The second is significant  damage to London’s housing strategy. This is the result of the non-funding of Beam Park station by the Treasury.

Keith isn’t interested in Beam Park but is fascinated by Gallows Corner. He has asked Mayor Khan two questions in three months about Gallows Corner (see A & C in the Addendum). Why is this Keith’s priority?

The Gallows Corner fiasco1 will finish despite repairs making glacial progress. Then the chaos will stop. Keith focuses on Gallows Corner because it’s obvious.

Beam Park is a more challenging. There aren’t easy answers and it’s of critical regional importance. Beam Park’s housing development must have a station built.  This looks easy because it doesn’t need new track or a realignment of the east London network. Unfortunately, governments are hypnotised by Treasury orthodoxy. Their grim reductionist thinking means they won’t fund the station. And that means thousands of houses won’t be built. The government’s housing policy is collateral damage to a wrong-headed economic analysis.

Housing is a government priority and Beam Park station will unleash a bonanza.

“….there’s been a mix of recriminations and negotiations about how and why the station, which could serve as many as 20,000 homes, wasn’t authorised to be built.”2

Mayor Khan has approved £32.747m to make Beam Park happen.3 And the Treasury is stalling. Mayor Khan is fighting hard for Beam Park but what is Keith doing?4 He asked a question about bus drivers getting hot in their cabins. (see Addendum B).

Question C at the November meeting (see Addendum at 3 hours 20) was developed by Keith who asked for a period of temporary reopening for Christmas. This positive proposal will help traders if implemented. Unfortunately, the principal barrier is Essex and Suffolk Water, which is out of the Mayor’s control.

Keith was directly elected and should be laser focused on critical local issues.

Notes

1 Andrew Rosindell, Boris Johnson and Gallows Corner, 2014-20 – Politics in Havering

2 Delayed Beam Park railway station moves forward with new planning application

3 DD2452 Beam Park Station | London City Hall

4 Margaret Mullane MP for Dagenham and Rainham has been more proactive Beam Park station update – Margaret Mullane

Addendum: Keith Princes questions to the Mayor: Sept-Nov 2025

  1. Gallow’s Corner Question No: 2025/3095 Keith Prince Can you provide an update on TfL’s current timeline for the development project at Gallow’s Corner?1
  2. Freedom of Speech Question No: 2025/3385 Keith Prince What steps are you taking to ensure Londoners have the right to freedom of speech?2
  3. Gallows Corner (2) Question No: 2025/3693 Keith Prince What consideration have you given to a compensation scheme for businesses at Gallows Corner who have been disrupted by the closure of the flyover and roundabout?3

A (Public Pack)Agenda Item 5 – Questions to the Mayor Agenda Supplement for London Assembly (Mayor’s Question Time), 11/09/2025 10:00

B London Assembly (Mayor’s Question Time) | London City Hall

C Keith’s question was given a full reply by the Mayor London Assembly (Mayor’s Question Time) | London City Hall

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

Council Meeting, 15th January 2025 (part one)

Attendance

Nine councillors (16%) were absent. Absenteeism like this is a *Red Flag* demanding action.1 Item 7b gave permission to a councillor be absent because of serious illness and that is right and proper. But what of the other eight?

Question Time2

Keith Prince (13 and 22 minutes)3 asked two questions about libraries. Gillian Ford didn’t show leadership in either answer. Keith wondered what additional work Gillian had done to garner community support and extend the commercial side of the library estate. She hadn’t done anything. *Proactive* is forbidden territory for her.

Dilip Patel (45 minutes) highlighted the tragic case of an 85 years old lady who’d been without heating for a month. Paul McGeary mumbled. His gravedigger voice buried this annoying triviality and the moment passed.

Webcast

The quality is poor and worsening. Gillian’s answer to Keith’s second question featured the brooding figure of Barry Mugglestone. At 37 minutes Natasha Summers disappeared altogether being replaced by Luke Phimister’s name. David Taylor’s question wasn’t filmed at all and Jane Keane’s question was truncated. Computer King Paul Middleton should solve this shaming problem. It makes the council look incompetent.

Notes

1 Councillors attendance summary, 25 July 2024 – 17 January 2025 | London Borough of Havering Six (11%) have 50%, or fewer, attendances and that doesn’t include the member who is seriously ill.

2 Council Questions 15 January 2025.pdf

3 Timings relate to the webcast Annotator Player

Havering’s Council Meeting, 20th November 2024 (part two)

Militant trade unionists in the 1970s dragged meetings out to exasperate ‘ordinary’ members who left long before the end of meetings. Extremist motions were then agreed ‘democratically’. Keith Prince has watched the videos with enthusiasm.

Motion B (see addendum one) implies huge expenditure and Havering is bankrupt. Keith Darvill (2:07)1 said ‘every park is different’, with the main difference being some parks can’t be economically fenced and gated. He cited Upminster Park. Barry Mugglestone (2:04) missed the point at length. The proposer Tim Ryan (2:00) was sincerely misguided. And that was the debate.

Enter Comrade Keith Prince (2:00) and (2:17).

Keith likes procedural points. His speciality is nit-picking. Unlike militant trade unionists, he can’t add two hours to a meeting. Whatever extremist motions he’d dreamt up – the Peoples’ Republic of Romford? – were unheard. Keith was posturing against the clock and a legal officer enjoying the limelight.

Keith had support from Michael White (2:20). Michael mocked the fact that the HRA demanded that their amendment be presented to council. HRA don’t realise THEY ARE the Administration and they don’t need motions presented – to themselves. The HRA motion was piffle.

Jane Keane (2:14) was outraged that the motion to discuss the safety of women was binned (see addendum two). Soothing words were spoken but there was a nasty taste in the mouth.  

Best Moment: Dilip Patel’s (15) anecdote about former councillor Pam Craig

Addendum One: Conservative Motion B

Chamber recognises Havering has reached unacceptable levels of antisocial behaviour in our parks. Council calls on the Administration to produce a detailed plan to reduce levels of antisocial behaviour and to resume the overnight locking of parks, and to present this proposal at the meeting of Council.2

Addendum Two: Labour Motion C

This Council condemns violence against women and children and recognises the particular challenges of finding emergency refuge accommodation for mothers with boys over the age of 12 years old. This Council calls upon the Administration to work with refuge organisations to find solutions to the lack of available refuge places.2

Notes

1 Annotator Player All times refer to this webcast

2 Motions (Public Pack)SUPPLEMENTARY AGENDA Agenda Supplement for Council, 20/11/2024 19:30