| Topic: | Congratulations to Labour's new councillors for Isleworth and Syon wards | |
| Posted by: | Phil Andrews | |
| Date/Time: | 08/05/10 13:03:00 |
| I would like to congratulate Mindu Bains, Ed Mayne and Sue Sampson on their election to the local authority as members for Isleworth, and Steve Curran, Theo Dennison and Jason Ellar who were elected in Syon, and to wish them all the very best for their term of office. I would also like to extend my congratulations and best wishes to forum contributor Dave Hughes, who was elected in Hanworth. Naturally I am disappointed that my Community Group colleagues and I were not re-elected. The only "excuse" I have to offer is the obvious one - that like the other independents who were defeated and indeed the Liberal Democrats we fell victim to the massively altered conditions that holding the general election on the same day brought about. It could reasonably be argued by the victorious candidates that a mandate from over 60% of the electorate has more standing than the mandate we had previously enjoyed from 36-37% in our wards. Conversely one could protest that the outcome of a council election has essentially been determined by voters who have no interest in council elections, and who turned out to vote only because a general election was being held on the same day. Whichever way one looks at it, we are where we are and the new (and not so new) councillors should be given the opportunity to settle in, and to do their best to serve their new constituents as I've no doubt they will. I sincerely hope that they are successful and that they find their new roles fulfilling and enjoyable. Obviously the victorious party made a number of promises during its campaign which it will be expected to fulfil, and assuming it does so residents of the borough can look forward to 100 new police officers on the beat in each ward, lower Council Tax, reduced salaries for Executive members and other key office holders, and homes for those who have been promised them. It is reasonable that they will be held to their promises and I have every confidence that they will do their best to deliver them. As for the Community Group, our situation is of course a different one now and we will not automatically assume an adversarial position to the new councillors or to the new administration. It is my honest and sincere hope that they learn from the mistakes of the past and adopt an approach to community engagement that we can support rather than feel the need to counter. In spite of our best efforts we did not get as far in this department as we would have liked to. We believe the senior management team under the coalition administration had a "twin track" approach to Conservative and Community Group priorities and this was a situation we failed to deal with before our time ran out. It would be an irony, but a very welcome one, if the incoming Labour administation was to take this agenda forward in a way that we were unable to. |