Forum Topic

So should Curran resign?

Paul Slattery, the anti-wheelie bin campaigner, has made a strongly worded criticism of Hounslow Council's leader after harassment charges against him were dropped.Brentford based Mr Slattery is unhappy with the statement to the police made by Steve Curran and has demanded his resignation as Council Leader. He has also made as complaint to the Police Complaints Authority about the manner of his arrest which he describes as appalling claiming that he was prevented from taking his blood pressure medication.He was joined by over 20 supporters at The Griffin on Friday night as he celebrated his court case being dropped, having been charged with harassment of a person in their own home after a wheelie bin protest outside the home of Steve Curran.The CPS dropped the case after seven months the day before it was due to be heard because "there is not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction".Paul SlatteryMr Slattery said “There was never any evidence in the first place – all the police had was Curran’s uncorroborated statement. I should never have been arrested, let alone charged. The whole thing has caused me untold stress and has cost the taxpayer tens of thousands of pounds."It has resulted in 8 months of hell for me and coincided with the slow demise this spring of my elderly mother who finally passed away on April 3rd. I had to take care of all the post death formalities and arrange her funeral, at the same time having to deal with this spurious criminal charge hanging over me. I was at her funeral on April 21st and at Uxbridge Court on April 25th to plead not guilty to this disgusting trumped up charge“We were having a peaceful, humorous, and legal protest. Curran could have dealt with this in a diplomatic way but chose anger which was what caused any bad feeling.“All the allegations made against me by Curran have been refuted by at least six witnesses who were there on the night. Curran claims that  'Paul came right up into my personal space'.  This is not the case. Curran arrived in his car just as everyone was about to leave, wound his window down and swore at us. He then parked his car near the football ground entrance and came down the road towards me shouting and swearing. It was he that came up to me, everyone saw him."Curran then says in his statement 'Paul walked in front of me...stopping me from getting into my house'. Curran is a big man; it's hard to walk in front of him. I am heard to say in the video seen by the police 'your choice, If you want to go into your house you can go into your house Steve'. I even have a photograph of Steve Curran between me and his front gate."Further on in his statement Curran says 'I told Paul to remove the bins but he did not'. Again all the witnesses utterly refute this - they all saw myself, John Bradley and others remove the bins."At the end of the statement Curran says 'This incident has frightened my family and caused distress to my wife and son'. The house was completely empty until Curran entered the house."Whilst relieved that the case has been dropped I don't feel it's over. Steve Curran must resign not only as leader of the council but also from his council seat and I shall seek a Labour Party enquiry into his behaviour."I made a complaint to the Police Complaints Authority a matter of days after my arrest: my treatment by them was appalling."When the police officers came to arrest me they refused even to let me urinate, then handcuffed me despite me offering no resistance."In the cell I felt my blood pressure increasing and then realised that I did not have my blood pressure medication. When I saw the doctor he told me that at 180 it was extremely high and he said that my medication would be brought for me."Even though my blood-pressure medication had arrived I was still unable to take it before my interview, and it was only after I had left the police station that I was finally able to take it – a good EIGHT hours after I normally take it AND at a time of very high stress."My treatment by the Hounslow Met both during my arrest and time in police cells was humiliating and degrading and almost certainly contravenes Section 5 of the European Human Rights Convention. I am presently taking legal advice about this.”Nick Kilby who was also there on the night and took video evidence says “the treatment of Paul has been a disgrace and the case should never have been initiated. This shows the contempt Steve Curran has for his fellow neighbours and the citizens of the Borough of Hounslow who he purports to 'lead', as the situation could so easily have been diffused. The continuance of the legal process for 8 months with no evidence to convict is shameful. A waste of public money, police time but worse a nightmare for Paul to live through.”All quotes from Steve Curran are taken from his witness statement which was made the day after the protest, after the article about wheelie bins was published on BrentfordTW8.com on 20th November. Councillor Steve Curran, Leader of Hounslow Council, said: “I would like to reiterate again, that I firmly believe in the right to protest. I know people felt and still feel, very strongly both for and against the introduction of wheelie bins.“There is however, an appropriate way to make your feelings known. The protest which took place outside my home of which I share with my family, I felt was not appropriate. It prevented access in and out of my home and was also not fair on my neighbours.“As Leader of Hounslow Council, I take full responsibility for the decisions we make as a council. Once again, if residents feel strongly about anything, we would welcome them to attend any of these meetings and also contact us as their councillors through the appropriate channels and we would always be more than happy to discuss any concerns they have about the services we provide.”Mr Slattery's solicitor from Bindmans LLP has written a case summary looking at the limits to protesting, finishing off with "Paul Slattery’s case reminds us that all reasonable lines of inquiry should be investigated, charging decisions should be carefully considered, and the CPS must be prepared to review its decisions to prosecute – in accordance with its duty – at an early stage. Otherwise, unnecessary costs are incurred, disproportionate damage is caused to lives, and the freedom of speech is curtailed."

Paul Fisher ● 3312d62 Comments

When a borough resident who in desperation, goes to someone like Mr Curran, who then in front of a witness, and fully identifying with the resident, then makes promises to sort all the issues and take on the bullies that are A2D, you would expect the problems to be resolved. The fact that the resident was also standing up for several other residents whop were all too scared to make a stand was also known.So what did Mr Curran do?  Nothing. Simply went to ground and avoided all reference or  contact with both the resident and his representative.Not such a bully when it comes to dealing with Directors and organisation that have their tentacles down the trousers of so many at LBH and beyond.The real issue is who or whom were colluding with the police and why did the Police not interview or ask for statements from any witnesses?Where is the corruption? With Mr Curran? Other councillors?  The Police?That is what is really grave. The total abuse and hyprocrisy of out democracy.

Raymond Havelock ● 3306d

Sarah Felsted has it spot on!

Steve Taylor ● 3306d

Always feel sorry for people struggling to make ends meet and having to use food banks and the suchlike when they see public money being squandered.  If somebody is a leader then in their footsteps permission is given for others to follow.  Guy, your reply is totally wrong.

Sarah Felstead ● 3306d

"what more can Guy say ?"I guess he could say that he is now going to stand up for his constituent and propose a motion of "No Confidence" in the Leader?

Steve Taylor ● 3306d

I rather feel for Guy, he's going to be in the firing line no matter what he posts on this thread, and personally speaking had I been in his shoes I'd have been sorely tempted to remain silent.At the end of the day this was a private matter between Cllr. Curran and Paul Slattery.  Whilst the protest may have related to the Council's implementation of a policy, the consequences were nothing to do with the Council as an organisation or Labour as a party, but solely related to an alleged incident between two local residents.I have said on this thread that in my view Cllr. Curran's position is untenable, simply because his claims doesn't stack up with the evidence of other witnesses, and the extent of the protest/incident seems entirely amenable/humourous/trivial and not remotely threatening, whereas I had also previously said that I had no issue with Cllr. Curran calling the police if he genuinely felt threatened.And having spent lots of time over the yeas out on site visits and encountering some local residents who were perfectly happy to dish out verbal abuse and threats and on occasion physical violence, I know what it's like to be on the receiving end, although I only felt it necessary to involve the police on 1 occasion and on the all the other occasions it was simply water off a ducks back.Personally I felt it was 'madness' for Cllr. Curran to persist with proceedings unless he really had felt threatened, because inevitably he was never going to come out of this well, and to me if I was in his shoes, the last thing I'd want to do is to make a local resident into a 'martyr' unless it really was unavoidable.  But going back to where I started, what more can Guy say ? - if I was in his shoes I might privately have said to Cllr. Curran "are you sure about this given the potential advere consequences ?" but ultimately it's nothing more to do with Guy than it is with you or me, it is simply two local residents involved in a dispute.

Adam Beamish ● 3307d

"I'm doing my best to serve the residents of Brentford and if I seek reelection in 2 years time I'll stand on my record"Why is it that when Guy posts anything I hear violins have visions of a pouting faced child standing before a Dickensian headmaster?? For Dickensian headmaster, substitute Phil Andrews if you want to :-)

Steve Taylor ● 3307d

"I believe he is leading a good administration, protecting most services at a time of unprecedented cuts in funding and delivering manifesto promises."Here we go again...same old, same old. Do these people not realise that every administration had the  cuts in funding and had to 'get on with it'.  Many administrations cut senior over paid director and senior officer posts. Hounslow could still do a lot more. However that is no excuse for bully tactics and wasting taxpayers money by utilising vast amounts of Police Time and legal expenses. When times are tough and leaders still feel they can squander taxpayers money - something is very, very, very wrong and if Councillors can't see that - God help us.

Steve Taylor ● 3307d

I wouldn't dignify the contributions from Mr. Ayres which are nasty nonsense. I was actually shaking my head with disbelief when I saw Guy's response, what does the Dear Leader have to do before one of these spineless colleagues of his wakes up to what is going on here? This is about integrity, and quite honestly anyone who can embellish what started out as a fairly good natured attempt to bring concerns to Curran's attention, and make it look like the crime of the century had bog-all little of that. It's not confined to the dear Leader though, no comment has ever been made about one of his acolytes being caught lying through her teeth about a local matter by a simple FOI request. Both these councillors are known to tell locals who contact them for some information/help to stop keep e-mailing them! Perhaps if they tried communicating occasionally people would not feel the need to keep trying to get a response? Similarly with the Wheelie issue, you'd have had to been a real dimwit not to know how that issue was getting up a head of steam in a lot of areas across the borough. Why not address that, why leave it until people got so frustrated they felt compelled to try other means to being this to the attention of the Leader? Ignoring people rarely works, it breeds resentment that people you elected in good faith to represent you have got what they wanted and have decided that they know what is best for the rest of us, and when that doesn't work they lie. Even Guy with his throwaway line of - if he doesn't get re-elected well that's just democracy - hasn't grasped what the real problem is here, it's known as trust. For someone who is supposed to be leading the borough council Curran has shown himself to be an insensitive, arrogant, conceited bully, that any elected member should make excuses for this appalling state of affairs just astounds me.

Vanessa Smith ● 3307d

Guy, thank you for your response on this forum. It ‘s great that you do get involved with us here and provide your views and explanations.As for this issue with the Leader and Paul, I believe it’s important to note that the Leader is not an ordinary bloke from Brentford. He is responsible for the life of the borough. In this case a lot of police time and efforts were spent for nothing. Someone has to be accountable for this. We all complain about cuts government impose on police, and we still seem quite happy to see this sort of waste of resources. Surely the time of the police officers and others paid for by the taxpayers could be spent a lot more efficiently. And the Leader should’ve seen to it.

Alex Shpinkov ● 3307d

Yeah, well, obviously I didn't expect such a response from you, Phil :-)You fail to factor in that Steve thought that Paul had transgressed, so why would he withdraw his statement?I don't need any advice from you on what will be remembered unfondly - after all you are far more experienced in that than I am. I'm doing my best to serve the residents of Brentford and if I seek reelection in 2 years time I'll stand on my record: if I am rejected, so be it, it's called democracy and you won't find me blaming anyone else.

Guy Lambert ● 3307d

GuyI have said before that you are different from the others.  Whilst they are happy to keep quiet, remain expressionless and raise their hands idiot-style when thus instructed you always go to some considerable length to see both sides of any situation, subjecting the issue at hand to forensic examination and rigorous scholarly analysis before invariably concluding that your Leader is once again right as always.  As such you lack the totality of arrogance which some of your cohorts exude in such abundance, but it is early days.  You'll pick it up in good time I'm sure.I'm sorry Guy, but it is insulting nonsense for you to suggest or imply that this matter was out of Curran's hands once the police were involved. At any point over the several months in which this case was hanging over Paul he could have expressed his wish that the case against him should be discontinued.  He was, after all, the only witness for the prosecution.  Instead he submitted a witness statement full of inaccuracies, distortions and glaring contradictions in an attempt to talk up the case for the prosecution.  That in the end his testimony did not inspire the prosecution with sufficient confidence to pursue the case is unsurprising, but it reflects no credit whatsoever upon Curran.  He is a nasty, spiteful and insecure bully whose instinct is to use his power and influence to try to silence those he fears the most, which in his case and that of his followers is not his political opponents but everyday members of the community who dare to articulate an opinion.I'm afraid there is no halfway house on this one, no fence to sit on.  His colleagues, and for that matter even his "opponents", who refuse to speak out will be remembered unfondly when this community's favour is sought once again, albeit through gritted teeth I'm sure, in a couple of years' time.  The events which we've been witnessing at Westminster over the past few weeks should tell you that there is no such thing as the certainty of unchallenged, perpetual power in politics.

Phil Andrews ● 3307d

Bit over the top. I don't see how you can blame the dear leader for someone going completely gaga because he has no cavity insulation

Robert Ayres ● 3307d

Absolutely right old boy. Next thing you know one them will wake up and complain to the Local Government Ombudsman

Robert Ayres ● 3307d

Blimey do calm down trees are much more important than Cllr Curran give one a hug you'll feel better

Robert Ayres ● 3307d

I have stayed quiet on this for a reason.For most of the period that this has been in the news it was in effect sub judice and, in my judgment, it was inappropriate to get involved.The day after the case was dropped, Paul Slattery rang me and expressed his opinion that Steve should resign. I told him I disagreed. He later wrote me a long letter, which I have recently replied to. I did not want to comment in a public forum until such time as I had responded fully to Paul's private communications.In my reply to Paul I reiterated that - whilst I was not present at the protest and don't know what was said and done - as far as I'm concerned Steve was quite within his rights to call the police. From then on, this was not a matter for Steve or the council, but for the police and CPS.I was surprised that Paul was arrested and I will happily support him to have his complaints about his treatment by the police investigated. For what it's worth, I thought the prosecution seemed excessive and I am amazed that it survived through at least two hearings before being dropped.I am not the slightest bit scared of Steve and am perfectly happy to stand up to him when I disagree with him and I have done so, vocally at times, as have very many other councillors. But in common with the vast majority of the Labour group I believe he is leading a good administration, protecting most services at a time of unprecedented cuts in funding and delivering manifesto promises.

Guy Lambert ● 3307d

Steve Curran has been informed directly from many residents of the appalling treatment received by A2 Dominion Housing Group and he has done nothing to help, not even engaged. He was also very well aware of a case of a man forced to live in a poor condition at a property owned by A2 Dominion Housing Group with no insulation, that has affected his sanity and brought him into counselling for years.Steve Curran could not care less of anything as he's untouchable: no Cllrs would get involved as they are all sleeping in the same bed. He's been selling up each yard of this Borough to developers, transforming Brentford into a dormitory.Do we have to wait for him to create even more damage?

Emanuele Sozzi ● 3307d

I agree with that Steve - but we voted for councillors and the majority group pick the Leader from among their members, and frankly Curran has shown he's not up to the job. His attitude seems to have spread among other Labour group members except for a few. I also agree with you on Cllr. Lambert, but I was also somewhat gobsmacked to see on Chiswick W4 about one of the Tories worried about flowering Cherry trees! What is wrong with these people do none of them see a problem here? We can't even rely on the so-called opposition to take Curran to task, are they all on something? It's like some old sit-com, they merrily blunder about, without the slightest clue of how bad things are. If the referendum showed anything - it showed that people can get seriously p*ssed off enough to use their vote to devastating effect, there's a lesson there if anyone cared to come down off their cloud long enough to take any notice.

Vanessa Smith ● 3307d

Sready on - Cllr Lambert has been very, very, very busy viewin the revised plans for the cycle lane on Boston Manor Road which is a main subject of discussion with other Cllrs. Surely he can't also be expected to speak up against the leader on behalf of a pesky resident. This would be unheard of and would set precedents. The next thing will be that many more residents will want Cllrs to engage on their behalf.

Steve Taylor ● 3307d

Yep but the bottom line is that they were voted in democratically with a landslide victory so the majority must love them or really, really, really hate the conservatives

Steve Taylor ● 3307d

"No . Life is to short to take all this political bullshit seriously"REALLY are you serious?? We have to take it seriously when it affects people's life's. And when Councillors are paid to represent everyone in their constituency but refuse to do so and instead cause grief for them and are supposed to work with Resident Groups but try to destroy them.

Simon Anderson ● 3308d

And still not a peep from the opposition or any of Currans comrades including Cllr Lambert who is happy enough to tell us how many doors he knocks on each week to engage with residents but has by the look of it been ordered to stay quiet on this matter as have his colleagues

Paul Fisher ● 3308d

"No . Life is to short to take all this political bullshit seriously"Are you for real? So it's alright for a person who is supposed to represent the local community to act like some latter day Flashman? I wonder how you would feel if it had been you on the receiving end? No wonder these people get away with so much if you're an example of the 'don't know, don't care' brigade. Good job we've got people with spines prepared to challenge Curran's outrageous behaviour.

Vanessa Smith ● 3308d

Theo Dennison certainly seemed a bit scared of upsetting him at the 2014 hustings.

Ian Speed ● 3308d

The political bullshit is that Steve Curran, a nasty, bullying, vindictive, liar who prefers confrontation over consultation is leader of the council and caused me eight months of hell. That he is still leader is an indictment of all the poor saps who suck his backside. He probably bullies them too.

Paul Slattery ● 3308d

No . Life is to short to take all this political bullshit seriously

Robert Ayres ● 3308d

Exactly the same sadly now in Ealing.Really the government needs to start looking a little more closely at the antics and absurdities of local councils, but as the core problem is political parties and Little Hitlers and Stalins and their brown nosing acolytes all toughing together there is little chance of any sort of reform.

Raymond Havelock ● 3309d

That sums it up nicely. Those within the party are too frightened to stand up to him and the opposition don't really give a monkey's. They are quite happy to allow Hounslow to be 'run' in a state of chaos while they get paid to sit on the opposition benches and laugh at the ridiculous situation.

Steve Taylor ● 3309d

I am tempted to ask - what opposition? Anyone with half a brain would be all over this and making hay - this is politics, so what is up with them? It's a gift.

Vanessa Smith ● 3309d

Appalling though it has been, Curran's treatment of Paul Slattery has been by no means the only demonstration that we've been given of this man's unfitness to lead Hounslow Council.Back in April Curran, through his Political Assistant, invited members of the Labour Group to submit expressions of interest in serving on the ruling Cabinet for the coming year.  About three weeks later he wrote to the same members advising them that there had been 15 nominations and attached the forms for all of them to see. He then casually declared his intention to simply continue with the existing members in the interests of "continuity" and to arbitrarily disregard all the new applications which he had received!  In doing so he had clearly misled all his own non-Cabinet colleagues and had pointlessly wasted the time of seven of them who had taken the trouble to submit themselves for consideration.The make-up of Curran's Cabinet - appointed by him - is interesting in itself.  Whilst the Feltham & Heston constituency has 30 Labour councillors and the Brentford & Isleworth constituency only 19, 7 posts on the Cabinet are held by Curran's B&I cronies and only 3 from F&H.  In spite of the Labour Party's oft-stated commitment to equality and diversity there is a clear bias against Black and Minority Ethnic party members, with only 2 Cabinet posts being offered to BME applicants and 8 to councillors who are white.A cursory glance at Curran's appointments makes it utterly obvious that he does not offer promotion on the basis of ability, far less on the basis of personal honesty or integrity.  It is high time that decent members of the Labour Party in Hounslow, and I know there are some, got a grip on this situation.  Muttering "you know what I think" whilst looking to the ground and doing nothing is not an option.  If you are not a part of the solution then you really are a part of the problem - and that goes for the silent "Opposition" every bit as much as for the party in power.

Phil Andrews ● 3309d

Can you please be more specific?

Anne England ● 3309d

It is also a shame that other Cllrs bully residents and Lie and take credit for others works not to mention try to ruin Resident groups who are making a difference.

Simon Anderson ● 3309d

It does really make one wonder about the type of human being who willingly submits themselves to this level of organisational straitjacketing.It's akin to volunteering for the chain gang.  What a truly miserable shower of sub-humanity.

Phil Andrews ● 3310d

http://petitions.hounslow.gov.uk/This is the link.

Vanessa Smith ● 3310d

No mention of the matter on Currans weekly Hounslow Leaders blog or Cllr Lamberts of course so pretty obvious they wish for this to just be swept under the carpet.Unfortunately too many of the local councillors are in Currans pocket and are receiving highly paid Special Responsibility Allowances in return for total support for him so none of them will turn against their master

Paul Fisher ● 3310d

It amazes me that Ruth Cadbury is willing to help bring down the leader of her own party - Jeremy Corbyn - who may not be to everyone's taste but at least he's a principled man.  At the same time both she and the local Labour Party have done nothing about castigating Steve Curran for lying to the police and making false statements which had me arrested and charged with harassment and made my life hell for eight months.  She and the local party seem quite content with Curran's lies which are totally refuted by at least 15 independently interview witnesses. It's time pressure was heaped on Ms Cadbury to ask her if she wants to support a bully and a liar or does she want to hear the truth. Curran must resign NOW.

Paul Slattery ● 3310d

Let us all know if you start one - with a link to find it.

Hazel Dakers ● 3310d

Interesting that the Hounslow Code of Conduct does not include several of the items relevant to the Bindmans article.I thought the bits fromhttp://www.hounslow.gov.uk/constitution2015.pdfthat seemed most pertinent were :"Members and co-opted members of the London Borough of Hounslow have a responsibility to represent thecommunity and work constructively with council staff and partner organisations to secure better social, economicand environmental outcomes for all.In accordance with the Localism Act provisions, when acting in this capacity members are committed to behavingin a manner that is consistent with the following principles to achieve best value for residents and maintainpublic confidence in the authority.Selflessness: Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.Integrity: Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people ororganisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act ortake decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or theirfriends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.Objectivity: Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, usingthe best evidence and without discrimination or bias.Accountability: Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actionsand must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.Openness: Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner.Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for sodoing.Honesty: Holders of public office should be truthful.Leadership: Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour. Theyshould actively promote and robustly support the principles and be willing to challenge poor behaviourwherever it occurs............Members of the London Borough of Hounslow’s conduct will in particular address the statutory principles of thecode of conduct by:Championing the needs of residents – the whole community and in a special way my constituents,including those who did not vote for me - and putting their interests first.Dealing with representations or enquiries from residents, members of our communities and visitorsfairly, appropriately and impartially.Not allowing other pressures, including the financial interests of myself or others connected to me, todeter me from pursuing constituents’ casework, the interests of the London Borough of Hounslow orthe good governance of the authority in a proper manner.Exercising independent judgement and not compromising my position by placing myself underobligations to outside individuals or organisations who might seek to influence the way I perform myduties as a member/co-opted member of this authority.Listening to the interests of all parties, including relevant advice from statutory and other professionalofficers, taking all relevant information into consideration, remaining objective and making decisionson merit.Being accountable for my decisions and co-operating when scrutinised internally and externally,including by local residents.Contributing to making this authority’s decision-making processes as open and transparent as possibleto enable residents to understand the reasoning behind those decisions and to be informed whenholding me and other members to account but restricting access to information when the wider publicinterest or the law requires itBehaving in accordance with all our legal obligations, alongside any requirements contained withinthis authority’s policies, protocols and procedures, including on the use of the Authority’s resources.Valuing my colleagues and staff and engaging with them in an appropriate manner and one thatunderpins the mutual respect between us that is essential to good local government.Always treating people with respect, including the organisations and public I engage with and those Iwork alongside.Providing leadership through behaving in accordance with these principles when championing theinterests of the community with other organisations as well as within this authority.......17. The Monitoring Officer may take the following into account in deciding whether to investigate thecomplaintis the matter serious enough to warrant the time and expense of further investigationdoes the complaint appear to be politically motivateddoes the complaint appear to be malicious, vexatious or otherwise an abuse of the processIs the complaint in respect of a decision of a body, rather than the conduct of a memberis it about something that happened so long ago that there would be little benefit in takingaction nowis the outcome including the availability of any likely sanction sought by the complainantone that the Authority is empowered to deliverif proven, would a finding of breach of the Code assist the Authority in its duty to promoteand maintain high standards of conducthad the Member acted on the advice of an officer or the Independent Person in relation tothe conduct complained ofdid the conduct arise from lack of experience or traininghad the Member apologised for the conduct or was he or she willing to apologiseis the subject matter of the complaint being dealt with through any other complaints, legalor regulatory process....."

Tim Henderson ● 3310d

A online petition can be started on the council website

Gill Hutchison ● 3310d

"Presumably the opposition will table a vote of no-confidence in Steve Curran."You are a wag, Dan.

Phil Andrews ● 3311d

Very interested thank You Vanessa

Simon Anderson ● 3311d

http://www.bindmans.com/news-and-events/publications-and-update/when-can-the-law-remove-a-councillor-without-an-election

Vanessa Smith ● 3311d

Can i ask a question please.Is there a law where residents can sack their Councillor?

Simon Anderson ● 3311d

Sadly there are 'habit' voters and also those easily intimidated else there would never have been a re-election of the total incompetents running Hounslow and Ealing councils.Curran and Julian Bell are of the same mould. Bullies without an ounce of 'scruple' between them.

Luke Deslas ● 3311d

So Hounslow is a sheep following other councils?  wheelie bins require investment not only in themselves but also in special trucks. Abandoning all the existing householders' own bins is a terrible waste of resource.  when they can, binmen lift out bags from wheelie bins rather than taking the extra time necessary to load the bins on the trucks. So Hounslow Council is an unthinking sheep.People choosing to take on public office know that their whole lives are going to be impinged upon by that decision.  Like so many small demos, this one was at least as much a photo opportunity - apparently similar to that used by Curran himself outside Phil Andrews'home.It seems to be nationally understood that there is widespread bullying in the Labour Party. Is there evidence that this does not extend to bullying of council members, officers and the police?

Hazel Dakers ● 3311d

They are also living in a fool's paradise if they believe that there are many, if any, 'habit voters in this day and age. I was a Labour party member for just over 30 years and I have to say there is no way I will support them if this lot are all that's on offer again when the local elections roll around. With few notable exceptions they have shown themselves to be self interested, arrogant, venal and lazy. The whole ethos of public service seems to have well and truly died. I wonder how many of them actually subscribe to the aims and purpose of the party they claim to represent? When did being a councillor cease to be one of advocacy for local people and listening to, and working with, local groups become something that they would only pay lip service to?As with the Labour party nationally who seem incapable of mounting any effective opposition to the government, the Tories in Hounslow are similarly afflicted, and therefore tainted by the shambles. Any opposition worth its salt would certainly be making hay with the Wheelie fall-out, not sitting mutely to one side which seems like tacit support.Contributing on this forum they might not do,(probably under orders not to lower themselves) but they do read it, they also might kid themselves that it's only a vocal few of us banging away - again, that isn't true, many people keep up to speed with these forums without necessarily commenting. Perhaps they haven't heard of a silent majority?

Vanessa Smith ● 3311d

A large percentage of Councils in England have introduced wheelie bins and Hounslow's public consultation on the matter was probably no different from most local authorities in adhering to the letter of the law whilst ignoring the spirit. You also need to acknowledge that the Council have been moving in the right direction with public notices now published on this site and, in an unheralded move, consultations in the borough are now appearing in the newsletter. Lessons from this debacle appear to be being learned.However, the rights and wrongs of wheelie bin implementation and the protest are not really that relevant. My view remains that protesting outside someone's house is effectively the politics of intimidation and, if Steve Curran has done it to others as you allege, then he is a hypocrite but attention needs to focus now on the content of his police statement.That the police haven't prosecuted Steve Curran for making a false statement would indicate that they don't he has done anything criminal. On the other hand given that his evidence was the entirety of the case against Paul the fact that on analysis it was deemed 'insufficient' basically means they didn't fully believe him.The borough council is due to meet on Tuesday. Presumably the opposition will table a vote of no-confidence in Steve Curran. If his party colleagues back him they will owe us an explanation as to why.

Dan Evans ● 3311d

With the exception of Guy Lambert (who himself always manages to concur with his Leader and the Party Line), none of them will demean themselves by engaging with local people on this forum.  But they do from time to time use the services of sockpuppets.One of them recently, commenting on the Church Street thread, scoffed that this forum was not widely used by the general public.  In doing so he gave us an insight into the mentality of these people - there is no need for them to engage with us here, they believe, as their majorities sustained largely by "habit" voters are large enough to allow them to ride the storm.It is up to us as a community to do something about this, because they are categorically not going to change themselves.

Phil Andrews ● 3311d

Silence indeed.Strange how whoever writes the "Leader's Blog" for him managed to post 426 words about the protest but how many did he post about the fact that the case was dropped as there was no evidence to convict?The whole of Hounslow Council should hold their heads in shame for ignoring what has happened.

Nick Kilby ● 3311d

But who is going to have the debate?  As you can see from the lack of engagement on this forum the policy of the Labour Group is to unite behind their Leader, ignore his misconduct and treat residents with utter contempt by keeping their heads down and waiting for it to blow over.Of course there is always the alleged "Opposition".  Does anybody know whether they have a view on the subject, or do they view users of this forum and other residents with similar disdain?We're waiting...

Phil Andrews ● 3311d

The council does not give two hoots about petitions. The best thing is to say it and say it loudly "CURRAN MUST RESIGN NOW".He is a disgrace, it's unbelievable that this nasty, vindictive bully is even a councillor let alone leader. The Labour Party should castigate him then dump him - he's a utter liability to them I would have thought.

Paul Slattery ● 3311d

Can't we start a petition calling for his resignation then get it debated in the council chamber

Gill Hutchison ● 3311d

One can fully understand the sitting on the fence of fellow councillors and the restraint of opposite numbers while the case was pending.But the truth is now out, the witnesses free to talk and the facts are laid out.Certainly Mr Curran, as I've said before, was well within his rights to call the police. Except it was all over in a flash and, true to form, the police turned up way too late.But clearly Mr Curran subsequently either lied to the Police or at the very least laid it on thick, probably to avoid getting a dressing down for wasting Police time. Bullies are usually also Cowards.But who cooked up and colluded with the Police to single out pick on Mr Slattery ?Was it Curran or was it someone with a vested interest? Maybe someone feeling uncomfortable about the backlash and exposing of the flawed Wheelie Bin initiative.Has Curran been used?  Were the Police manipulated?Anyone with any sense of Civic Honour and fairness should be demanding a full investigation and explanation.There are parallels with the same issues now in Ealing. The fortnightly collections are turning once smart Ealing , into a selection of smelly and dirty streets. So is it other Councillors? Officers? The members of the over secretive West London Waste Authority?Labour in Denial needs to wake up and put it's house in order.And the other Parties ought to do likewise rather than close ranks underlining the depths local politics have sunk to.Mr Slattery should stand for election as a local independent. He would win hands down.

Raymond Havelock ● 3311d

The ban on Labour Party meetings is extremely recent. This saga has been going on for many months. At any moment during this period local Labour Party members could have stepped in and called Curran to account.

Hazel Dakers ● 3311d

...is how I have been describing the reported incident and it has caused much discussion especially as people are so fed up with how some politicians behave.  It is a shame that our Police were used in this way and a dreadful shame for Paul and his family.  But from what you are all saying Mr Curran knew this and did not stop our Police by even explaining that there had been a mix up.  Has anyone done one of those freedom of information requests to find out the costs to LBH and tax payers?

Sarah Felstead ● 3311d

"This is not a man who has suddenly decided to impose wheelie bins on people because he thinks they were marvellous. He will have been presented with number of unpalatable options and chosen the current one reluctantly."Do you know something we don't? Where was the proper public consultation? You will be aware the council also ballsed-up the garden waste collection service - and are also proposing stackable recycling boxes - again where is the consultation? Curran is either a thick dictator or he is being led by the nose by officers/consultants, either way he has forgotten he is not a councillor for himself he is there to represent the residents of this borough. I have nothing against Wheelie bins but where I live they are ideal, but that is NOT the issue, other people have different circumstances and legitimate concerns which were over-ridden without so much as a thought. It is arrogant,  ignorant and intolerable, you forget that Curran is no stranger to protesting outside a political rivals home himself, then denying he was aware of that fact - tosh! This started as a light hearted protest to try and impress on Cllr. Curran that people were fed-up with being ignored, that fact it has escalated the way it has is down to Cllr. Curran and his ego - no-one and nothing else.  It was a vindictive, bitter overreaction and the fact that the Labour Group are silent on this condemns them all.

Vanessa Smith ● 3311d

I had sympathy for Steve Curran when all this kicked off. I think protesting outside someone's house is a bad idea. This is not a man who has suddenly decided to impose wheelie bins on people because he thinks they were marvellous. He will have been presented with number of unpalatable options and chosen the current one reluctantly.However, whether the protest was justified or not I don't think that this justifies the statement he made to the police which seems to contain at best a significant number of inaccuracies which would tend to make a prosecution of Mr Slattery more likely. I think the Labour party should undertake an enquiry as to whether these could be construed as deliberate and malicious falsehoods. If they are his position as a Councillor, let alone the leader of the Council is untenable. I appreciate that currently the Labour party is finding it difficult to organise meetings let alone an enquiry.

Dan Evans ● 3311d

I believe that Steve Curran's colleagues on the Labour Group should consider a vote of no confidence in him as Leader which should spark his resignation from that role. He has brought the Labour party into disrepute by his malicious and ill-judged action, and wasted public money to settle scores with a member of the public who would not be dictated to. He has also made Hounslow look a laughing stock. It may come as a surprise to Cllr. Curran but we do still live in a democracy where peaceful protest is commonplace. Surely to God there is someone in the ruling group with a spine and a brain who can see that this situation is intolerable? If Curran and his ilk seriously imagine that those of us who live here, and who sometimes take issue with them, are just going to be scared off by their bully-boy posturing then they have another thing coming. They seem to have lost sight of the fact that we are the electorate and this shameful episode has shown that we can organise ourselves too, perhaps they'd like to give that some thought? I have never known a council in this borough to be as reviled as this one. The personal cost to Paul Slattery should not be underestimated, to have something hanging over your head for months on end, after being treated like some master criminal is incalculable. Surely someone will have the good grace to feel some sense of shame?

Vanessa Smith ● 3311d

Sadly, Paul, bullies survive because not enough people stand up to them.He took you on because you dared to criticise him in public -  and he used his 'powers' against you. We need more people like you. But while the pathetic creatures in the council do his bidding, he'll get his way.Have you considered standing as a councillor?

Steve Allen ● 3311d

Steve Curran is a vindictive bully and I have spent 8 months in hell because of his vile temper, and his spiteful and shameful statement to the police. Every single person who was at the wheelie bin protest on the 19th November last year will refute this statement. He is a disgrace and his position as leader of the council and as a councillor is now untenable. He must resign immediately and the local Labour Party must have an enquiry into his behaviour and ask itself how a man who values confrontation over consultation ever managed to get to such a high position in local government.

Paul Slattery ● 3312d

This whole incident is indicative of the way Hounslow Council appears quite happy to immediately push things to the limit of the letter of individual laws and consider that as being perfectly acceptable. Regardless of what individual laws state, there is an over-riding precedence to always be 'fair and reasonable' in behaviour. Having someone arrested for putting some bins in your drive as a protest is not really very reasonable. It was a good protest against some very silly bins.Some of the other unreasonable behaviour I've recently noticed ranges from the current steamrollering of development after inappropriate development through the approval process to overwhelm public opposition, to the automatic rejection of driving or parking violation disputes along with a note that says you can go to arbitration but then the full fine will be payable. All-in-all it's not a very British way of doing things. North Korean perhaps, but British certainly not.About time the council was bought to heel and reminded they exist to serve the public and not dictate to it.

Lorne Gifford ● 3312d

Curran has brought shame and disrepute both on the position of Leader of the Council and upon the Borough of Hounslow as a whole. I am amazed that his fellow Labour Party members can live with this.

Hazel Dakers ● 3312d

I should think the chances of Curran resigning are virtually nil.He's far too arrogant to even consider he may have been wrong.If Paul has video evidence of what took place, and witnesses to back up the video evidence, then taking legal action against both Curran and the police may be necessary to achieve the desired result.

Andy Pease ● 3312d