Susan Hall takes over Harrow

In her speech, Hall justified her challenge to the leadership of Thaya Idaikkadar with the assertion that the 9 members of the current cabinet were overstretched and the evidence of this was that residents keep getting in touch with her to say that the streets are not clean enough.

This somewhat thin argument was enough for the Tory sycophants behind her. One of whom gave a supporting speech describing her in terms that made her sound like the Virgin Mary.

On the other side, the Labour David Perry had little to say for himself, but simply said that Labour would be supporting the motion to unseat Idaikkadar. Looking like a cross between a builder and a used car salesman in a tight suit, Perry got little articulate support from his team either.

A debate never happened, and so directly to the vote.

The evenly balanced main parties dutifully voted for their leaders. The sole LibDem  and independents abstained, with the exception of James Bond who voted for democracy and therefore David Perry as representing the Labour Party which had won power at the last election.

Surprisingly therefore, it was not the independents but the splinter Labour group which held the casting vote, and they (with one abstention) voted for Susan Hall. Such a determined display of political suicide may never before have been witnessed in the Council chamber.

And thus the Conservatives have taken the reigns in Harrow without the need for an election. Presumably the voters won’t mind, so long as they get cleaner streets.

The Lady Mayor was in combative mood as she presided over this meeting of the Harrow Council which voted away a large part of the constitution before the main event, in front of a noisy public gallery which included vociferous persons from outside of the borough and at least two people in joke wigs.

To add to the zoo-like conditions, the Lady Mayor called for a vote from the audience too, Any Questions style, but sadly there were no cameras present to record this inauspicious farce for posterity. It was a colourful evening that was funny in a tragic sort of way.

Whatever the voters come to  think of Susan Hall’s leadership, Labour have ensured that they are unelectable following the still very acrimonious split in their group. And the result of the Hall coup d'état will be that even fewer people will bother to vote at the next election. 

Bananas democracy at its best.

Bananas Democracy - Harrow Style

Harrow voters, locked out of their public toilets, are also locked out of the political process.

Tonight they will have to wait on the sidelines while their councillors argue and vote on whether the Conservative Susan Hall should be allowed to wrest the leadership from Thaya Idaikkadar.

It would be a travesty of democracy if squabbling Labourites allowed her to snatch the top slot, despite the public having voted for a Labour majority.

Harrow’s “strong leader” model of government is ideal for the strident self-publicist Hall who would be able to appoint Cabinet and make all the key decisions herself.

She has long had her sights on the leadership and democracy is not going to stand in her way.

Her challenge for the leadership is on the agenda of tonight’s (Monday, 16^th September) meeting in the Civic Centre Council Chamber. Be there, or don’t be there. There’s nothing voters can do about it.

Harrow humans are less important than Harrow dogs

Hundreds of people use Harrow Recreation Ground, the popular park  on the edge of the shopping centre, to play sport, walk, sit, and picnic every weekend. On a sunny Bank Holiday weekend the numbers multiply. Many people spend many hours in the park. But they have to go home if they need to go to the toilet once.

The absence of such a facility for such a popular destination is shameful.The more so, because a decent facility was built at great cost. But it has been locked for months.

For dogs there is no such problem. Unlike the human users of the park  who may be "caught out" but have nowhere to go, dogs are taken there specifically to exercise their bowels. And unlike the humans who may be desperate, the dogs can take their time and choose their spot. While for humans there is no place, dogs can use the whole place.

While there is nowhere to change a nappy, nowhere for a child to do the necessary, nowhere for older people who may be needy, dogs can stop as often as they please before their owners usher them home to frolic in their unsoiled garden.

While the law prescribes that owners pick it up, (not the urine of course, urine is fine, so long as it is not from a human), that does not clean the soiled area. If anything it makes it more dangerous because there is less to see. And leaving aside the obvious unpleasantness of soiled footwear and clothing, a curious toddler's hand to mouth contact with faecally contaminated soil can lead to blindness and even death.

Despite this, dog owners in the leafy borough, most of whom have gardens, are encouraged to use the parks as dog toilets with the incentive of a special collection service for their dog deposits. The £35,000 that this costs every year is not being spent on caring services for the elderly and the infirm, and is coming from the pockets of all Harrow taxpayers.

This is barking mad.