First Labour Party win in Portsoken

[GENERAL COMMENTS & QUERIES]

The Portsoken Bye Election was won by William Campbell-Taylor on the first Labour Party candidate standing on a Party ticket.

Astonishing really when candidates usually stand as Independents no matter their real allegiance or interests.

Sign of changing times?

[nathan]

William Campbell-Taylor has promised to make improvements to the neglected and shabby Petticoat Square Estate, and investigate issues around the way lease holders and tenants there were kept in the dark concerning  the development and the building of new flats on top of the flats already there, and the building of new flats on top of  and the loss of their large garden podium.

Maybe there is hope for some of the residents on Golden Lane Estate that they might get  a  voice and a chance to have a say on estate matters, and redress the  balance on the estate.

[nathan]

Beware, falling Masonry, lol

[Andrew Brian Hickman]

We do hope so.

I am Secretary of Middlesex Street Estate Residents' Association.

www.msera.org.uk

[nathan]

Financial Times

March 21, 2014 4:07 pm

Labour win raises questions on City of London’s independence

By James Pickford, London and Southeast Correspondent

The City of London’s centuries-old independence from party politics has been brought into question after Labour won its first seat on the Square Mile’s local authority.

William Campbell-Taylor, an Anglican priest who has campaigned for higher ethical standards in the City, became the first political party candidate to be elected to the common council after winning the by-election for Portsoken, a ward near Aldgate, on Thursday night.

The City authority fiercely guards its tradition of independent councillors, arguing that its freedom from the hurly-burly of party politics allows it the latitude to make decisions in the long-term interests of the financial services hub.

But the Labour win raises the question of whether it can preserve its apolitical culture, particularly if Conservatives and Liberal Democrats follow suit and put up candidates in the next City elections in 2017.

Tony Travers, a professor at the London School of Economics, said the result was “a minor revolution” in London politics. “The City will be pretty uncomfortable with even one non-independent councillor. At the margin it will no doubt buoy Labour in the run-up to the London local elections in May. And if there’s any sense that Labour will make further inroads in City politics, even if only in the residential fringe, I think the Tories will have to take part.”

Abutting Tower Hamlets, Portsoken is the poorest of the City’s wards, contains its largest council estate and has a high residential population compared with other areas. Many believe it is likely to remain an outlier in local City politics. “It’s the only ward where Labour would stand a chance of winning – they’d never get traction elsewhere,” said one person at the City of London Corporation.

Labour first fielded candidates in City elections in 2009. Mary Durcan, secretary of the City of London Labour party, said: “We think people should be honest about their political affiliations.”

She added Mr Campbell-Taylor’s victory would “come as a shock” to existing councillors. “The idea you could win standing as a party candidate has always been dismissed.”

Mr Campbell-Taylor said: “We want to use the ancient institutions of the City for the common good.”

Mark Boleat, policy chairman of the corporation, downplayed the historic significance of the poll. “One member out of 125 does not mean the City now has party politics,” he said.

With just over 8,000 permanent residents in the City, elections can sometimes be decided by a handful of votes. In a field of seven candidates, Mr Campbell-Taylor won 137 votes – 37 per cent of the total – with the next candidate, Marie Brockington, getting 98.

Tom Sleigh, a councilman for the neighbouring ward of Bishopsgate and a member of the Labour party, said the City’s political independence remained a valuable asset to the capital. “Like many councilmen I am a proud supporter of a party nationally, but in the interests of Square Mile being seen as a neutral voice for the City we put our national politics to one side. It’s worked well for hundreds of years.”

The Square Mile’s non-political culture is unusual among global financial centres such as New York, Hong Kong and Singapore, a fact Mr Boleat said provided greater stability and better governance. “It’s not vital but we think it helps.”

But London’s credentials as a finance hub came under scrutiny last week as lost its top slot for the first time in a global survey of finance professionals. Respondents to the Global Financial Centres Index cited uncertainty over Europe, financial scandals and regulatory creep as factors behind London’s fall, which saw it overtaken by New York

[Steve Daszko]

Interesting article. 

[Steve Daszko]

Discussing politics or religion........always dangerous on a public forum!

[nathan]

Be careful what you say, the all seeing eye at the guildhall will be monitoring this web forum

[Steve Daszko]

Better order "Citizen Smith" on DVD now then ha

[Steve Daszko]

P.s. What I meant Christine is that I don't discuss politics and religion with friends on a public forum, only in person. Tried that on FBook and it went pear shaped haha!  Power to the people though. 

[Andrew Brian Hickman]

Not being careful what we say, is how Labour got elected in Portsoken.

We have gone past our allocated Councilman, who perhaps thought they could buy elections with a few fish suppers for the pensioners.  Rid your Residents' Association of internal distractions, find something to coalesce the residents behind and attack the City of London on it. We chose security and the (Phase III) development plan.

I am not saying Labour would be right for you. I am saying if your Councilman has to stop just claiming credit for the parting of the seas and has to have built the dam that did it.

Having started the rot in Portsoken, I am looking to encourage other estates to stop being careful.

secretary Middlesex Street Estate Residents' Association.

[nathan]

If you lived in Crescent House you would be dead sooner , what with the cold, the damp, the wet and the mould spores.

[Andrew Brian Hickman]

Christine Clifford: " There again I am all for Tenant Management!"

I have not brought that to my RA yet, but that is where I am heading.