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.