Punch-ups at Hounslow
Brentford TV to Brentford Today & TV: #Debate Not Hate#7tSponhsodaregd · OPEN WARFARE ERUPTS ON COUNCIL: VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE IN STEVE CURRAN PROPOSED BY CHISWICK CONSERVATIVES. A degree of antagonism is to be expected between councillors but the recent traffic schemes have stoked it to a new high, going from smouldering to red-hot. It has now crossed a line and got up close and personal. It has turned from mere hostility into undisguised fury, a state as close to open warfare as councillors can get without carrying arms.At the heart of the matter are the changes on Chiswick High Road, Turnham Green Terrace and Devonshire Road. It is not just their physical implementation, good or bad. It is about whether the Labour Council – with overwhelming Labour votes from Brentford to Feltham – really cares sufficiently about the relatively well-off Tory bastion on its eastern fringe. Backers of Cllrs McGregor and Biddolph believe it doesn't, that consultation has been minimal to non-existent, and that all this is evidence of political malice and class warfare, aggravated by a cultural chasm. It is Chiswick v the Rest.At first glance there seems little chance of the motion passing – Labour has a big majority – but it could trigger a process in the Labour Group itself to vote on Cllr Curran's leadership. The Group meets on Monday, the day before the Council meeting. When elected to his position, Cllr Curran won by one vote. Other Labour councillors could now offer themselves to the Group as an alternative – and there are a number of possible contenders: Amrit Mann, Katherine Dunne, Tom Bruce, Shantanu Rajawat. This is what happened in the Ealing Council Labour Group in similar circumstances recently, also centred around traffic changes – and their leader, Julian Bell, only just scraped home. The Hounslow Group doesn't have to follow suit but it could if it chose to do so. At this stage, it would look disloyal to step forward but the option remains open. If that happened, Cllr Curran would need to round up and secure support with various promises. He is a strong personality who loves his job and he would not give it up without a hello of a fight. He sees himself continuing for a number of years.The council debate itself offers a platform for the Tory rump to put the blame where they believe it belongs: on Cllr Curran and his Cabinet colleagues. They argue that he has used the current crisis to ram through major changes without the need for discussion and against the wishes of many locals. They will stake their position ready for the next council elections – under Cllr McGregor, an old bruiser – hoping that voters elsewhere may join them in their opposition to Cllr Curran's style of leadership. In response Cllr Curran will no doubt say the new restrictions were brought in at the behest of the Tory government, are on trial and will be independently reviewed in time. The Tories will say the High Road cannot wait, that he is "destroying Chiswick".It's the sort of row which would best be relished in the Council Chamber itself, where others can join in with a bit of shouting and jeering. Instead it will be online and not so entertaining. On the other hand it will be accessible and there will be many, not just in Chiswick, who might tune in for the big fight and savour the thumping even if there is no chance of a knock-out.
Vanessa Smith ● 1270d4 Comments