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Will Boris’s victory boost Camden Tory prospects? |
Bruised Labour may turn to Greens for Town Hall pact
• Defeat prompts talks of a progressive left alliance • Ken’s vote holds up in Camden • Highgate by-election bucks trend • Is Glenda in trouble?
THE Labour Party and the Greens are flirting with the idea of forming a power pact in the wake of Boris Johnson’s election as London mayor and amid Labour fears that once safe territories on the electoral map could be at risk.
The New Journal has learned the two parties have begun sounding each other out about working more closely not just in the London Assembly, but also at the Town Hall.
More than one Labour source at the London elections count at City Hall on Friday night suggested that the two parties needed to form stronger links following a Conservative surge across London.
The warning comes despite consolation among many Labour members in Camden that the vote in their neighbourhoods appeared to have held up better than in other parts of the capital and elsewhere in the country.
Former deputy mayor Nicky Gavron managed to ratchet the Labour vote up in Camden and Barnet by 3.59 per cent at the expense of the Liberal Democrats, though the party was outflanked by the Conservatives.
While there is misty-eyed sadness about Ken Livingstone’s defeat – many of the veteran Labour members in Camden recall his days as a councillor at the Town Hall with varying degrees of fondness – several were this week putting a brave face on the results, insisting that Camden voters did their bit to try to save Ken and citing an improved showing in the Highgate by-election.
But the sight of Mr Johnson striding around City Hall and Brian Coleman’s emphatic result for the local London Assembly seat – greatly extending his majority to nearly 20,000 – has been a shock to the system.
It is now a priority among rank and file Labour supporters to firm up support for Frank Dobson in the Holborn and St Pancras parliamentary constituency. But even more critical work is under way to give Glenda Jackson a fighting chance of holding onto the new Hampstead and Kilburn House of Commons seat.
The idea of some form of Labour and Green alliance is gathering pace and one well-placed Labour source with Cabinet experience was briefing colleagues shortly after the results were published that “the idea of a hostile alliance with the Greens to fight the Tories wherever they get in is something that needs serious consideration”.
Mr Dobson was philosophical about the result: “I think people have a low expectation of Boris Johnson so whatever he does will seem better than they expected, so he will have a glow of success. It was a very strange election with members of other parties saying they would vote for Ken.”
He did not go along with rebel MPs who blamed Prime Minister Gordon Brown for local losses, adding: “Most of his problems are inherited from the policies of his predecessor and the Blairites want him to stick to those policies. They don’t seem to realise that they were unpopular. I hope he will be his own man.”
Asked whether discussions with the Greens might be accelerated by Tory advances in the capital and Labour’s poor recent electoral record in Camden, Mr Dobson added: “When it comes to elections you have to vote for one party or another.”
Even so, the term “progressive left alliance” has been used repeatedly in the past few days. Some believe such a move could fix Lib Dems tighter into their arrangements with the Conservatives and possibly make them less of an attraction at the next elections when both sides of the partnership will be seeking overall control of the council.
“Any agreement with the Greens is a long way off but it has been thought about and discussed,” said one Labour insider. “I think it was realised in the campaign that Labour and the Greens had a lot of common ground. We have worked together in different individual issues in Camden before but it can’t just be the Labour party doing all the work.”
Camden’s Labour members could be forgiven for dreaming of new strategies, having lost control of the council two years ago, been defeated in three by-elections that they had realistic chances of winning since, and seen the mayor’s office turn blue.
The Greens may be unsure on how closely they should nuzzle up to Labour, but they were definitely discomfited by Mr Johnson’s election and openly questioned his green credentials.
Green group leader Councillor Adrian Oliver said: “When he talks about building airports in the Thames Gateway, the alarm bells start to ring.”
Green mayoral candidate Sian Berry, who lives in Kentish Town, admitted at City Hall on Friday night: “This has been a very difficult election for anybody not in the Labour and Conservative party.”
Labour’s Murad Qureshi, a former Quintin Kynaston student, who was returned for a second term in the London Assembly, said: “I was sad about Ken. In the time I knew him he went from an old leftie to a Green leftie.”
The Conservatives in Camden may have lost the Highgate by-election (see page 2) but they are buoyed up by Mr Johnson’s win. But there is still fear among some Tory stalwarts that Mr Johnson’s personality pushed him over the line and that the victory will not necessarily translate into future ballot box success without considerable work.
Conservative councillor Andrew Marshall, who is due to meet Mr Johnson later this week, said: “I think Boris will be a more open mayor than Ken was. I think he will listen to what the boroughs are saying.”
The breakdown of votes which will remove guesswork among parties about where their support came from, is likely to be released next month. That will give the best assessment of whether Ms Jackson is in trouble. The indication is that while Barnet rejected Mr Livingstone wholeheartedly, he had more success in Camden.
Cllr Marshall said: “It will be interesting to see how we fared in the breakdown. The thing we are encouraged by is Brian Coleman’s victory. The size of his victory suggests our share of the vote went up in Camden. Labour didn’t do all that badly despite the headlines and there is still work to be done.”
Liberal Democrat leader Councillor Keith Moffitt said: “There was a squeeze because of the Ken against Boris interest. It is early to say how these results affect Camden until we have the breakdown.”
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Alex Proud, owner of the Proud Gallery:
“I’ve got a sad feeling that, somewhat like Ken, Boris will be a complete non-event for Camden.
“He came up and looked baffled and buffoonish for all of about 10 seconds. I suspect we won’t see him again for another four years
“Right now Camden Town really needs a friend in the mayor.” |
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Sir Jonathan Miller, writer and theatre director:
“There’s nothing to indicate that Boris has got any qualifications of any sort at all. I’m not exactly happy about it but I don’t want to pre-empt the possibility that he might surround himself with a lot of very efficient people. The question is whether he would be able to recognise a good team.” |
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Martin Morton, chairman of Camden Civic Society, former leader of Conservatives on Camden Council:
“I had a sign in my window during the campaign which said ‘Balls To Boris But Who Else?’.
“Boris will no doubt review planning policies, particularly on tall buildings. We will have to wait and see. It will be more personality than policy though.” |
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Raj Chada, former Labour leader of Camden Council:
“Boris Johnson will be an absolute disaster for Camden.
“He has no appreciation of the communities that we live in.
“Let’s hope that he does not withdraw the money for decent council homes that Ken Livingstone was going to give to the people of Camden.” |
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Dame Beryl Bainbridge, author, lives Camden Town:
“I admire Boris Johnson, I think he’s a very educated man. I was going to vote for him but when I got to the voting booth I couldn’t not vote for Ken. But there’s not much difference between Conservative and Labour now. Ken’s done a marvellous job but maybe it’s time for a change.” |
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Huntly Spence, former Conservative councillor in Hampstead:
“I’m absolutely delighted.
“I’ve read through the points of what Boris is planning to do and if he does all those things it’ll be marvellous.
“He enjoys fooling around a bit but I don’t think we shall see the clowning much when he’s mayor – it’s too serious a job.” |
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Fiona Millar, journalist:
“I’ve never seen any hard policy statements from Boris that indicate to me that he understands the root causes to the problems he’s seeking to solve, such as youth crime. I think it’s very disappointing that Ken has lost and I don’t understand why people think that Boris was a credible alternative.
“I’m not convinced, I’m afraid.” |
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