Forum Topic

Ealing Councillors Not Standing Down When Elected MPs

It seems to me totally indefensible that two Ealing Councillors are hanging onto their seats and claiming allowances after being elected MPs. The presumption would be that there is some political rather than financial advantage to be gained by Joy Morrissey and Alex Stafford doing this but then the local Conservative party should explain themselves. It is surprising there isn't a rule compelling people to stand down.

Gordon Southwell ● 2184d32 Comments

What about Joy Morrisey?

Tricia Arbuthnot ● 2166d

"Who can object to this sensible approach?"The Local labour Party can, and probably will, vociferously, because it IS, errrrr, sensible!!!      😂

Rosco White ● 2166d

I've just received the Ealing Broadway Conservatives newsletter, where its announced that Councillor Alex Stafford is standing down and that Julian Gallant will be the candidate at the next by-election.So as promised, by not holding an immediate by-election £80k has been saved and in the meantime Alex Stafford has donated his allowance to local good causes.Who can object to this sensible approach?

John Blue ● 2166d

It is quite clear that even when only doing a few hours a month both councillors do a 100% more for their constituents than racists like Acton Central Ward's Dan Crawford because the only time anyone has even had a response from an email from him is when he defends the lies he told at the 20 November planning committee that voted to make Black Londoners homeless.

Martin Cain ● 2181d

"I'm not sure if Rosco White will get the point"" - trust me, I DO. And I am nowhere near confused about BellEnd, it is YOU who doesn't "get it" about The Dear Leader.    😂

Rosco White ● 2181d

That would be a perfectly reasonable position to take but it begs the question why are they not telling people that is their intention. Rosa Popham's post raises some interesting questions. While it is generally better that Councillors either live or work in the communities they serve her husband's evident commitment to the role clearly outweighed the geographic handicap. By the same token, while it isn't ideal that someone serves both as MP and councillor, if it is for the same area it probably means that the constituents are not deficiently represented. I'm not sure if Rosco White will get the point that most councillors have jobs in addition to their role at the council. It is not an issue that Julian Bell has two jobs, it maybe that he is getting confused with him having two houses which is a different matter altogether.

Gordon Southwell ● 2181d

I assume the two MP Councillors will stand down in time for the 7th May Mayoral elections. If they had stood down immediately they were elected as MPs, we would have bi-elections in say late February and we would "gain" from their 100% focus for just 2 months. Is it really worth 2 x £40k = £80k for that additional 2 months? They are still supporting us for this period, as evidenced by Councillor Staffords attendance at the Ward Forum yesterday.With Councillor Staffords generous commitment to donate his allowance to local good causes, the Central Ealing area will further benefit from 5 x £1.5k = = £7.5kWhat's not to like?

John Blue ● 2181d

I assume the two MP Councillors will stand down in time for the 7th May Mayoral elections. If they had stood down immediately they were elected as MPs, we would have bi-elections in say late February and we would "gain" from their 100% focus for just 2 months. Is it really worth 2 x £40k = £80k for that additional 2 months? They are still supporting us for this period, as evidenced by Councillor Staffords attendance at the Ward Forum yesterday.With Councillor Staffords generous commitment to donate his allowance to local good causes, the Central Ealing area will further benefit from 5 x £1.5k = = £7.5kWhat's not to like?

John Blue ● 2181d

Still, you have to stand back in sheer admiration and be awestruck at the spectacle of his impressively MASSIVE swinging cojones in admonishing two Conservatives, for the temerity of each having two jobs.  🤣

Rosco White ● 2181d

Must be ruddy difficult for the 'Dear Leader' then as he serves four masters with his four jobs, although some might think that he actually serves no-one but himself.

N V Brooks ● 2181d

I think 99% of Ealing/Acton would be Cock-a-Hoop if BellEnd resigned from being Dear Leader tomorrow!    😂

Rosco White ● 2181d

One cannot serve two masters,the rule must change and they must resign as of now.

Dr John Stolworthy D.Sc ● 2181d

Well, the 'Dear Leader' is hardly going to criticise the hypocrisy of Sharma in not standing down is he given that the MP for Southall (does he actually know where Ealing is?) is one source of his income?
'Dear Leader' is a paid researcher for 'The Southall MP'.

N V Brooks ● 2181d

Nice posting Ms Popham.  😊

Rosco White ● 2181d

First of all, when the then councillor Sharma was elected MP he did not resigned his position as councillor. It was Ok for a Labour councillor to retain his seat whilst also being MP but not the other way round. Their hypocrisy has no bound!Personal or working circumstance mean that sometimes councillors have to move out of the area they represent. As long as they attend at least one council meeting every six months, according to the rules, they cannot be asked to resign during their term of office.When the company my husband was working for moved us out of London my husband, who was a local councillor in Richmond Council, had to travel back from Suffolk whenever he was asked to attend meetings by the group leader or every six months.

Rosa Popham ● 2181d

Oh for a return to the days of Jason Stacey who actually gave up his full-time job at the Local Government Association when he was made council leader in order to focus on the needs of the borough. Talented guy who is now a senior executive in policy and research at the YMCA.

N V Brooks ● 2181d

Well, I've heard of one senior Labour councillor - a cabinet member, no less - who now lives in north London rather than in Acton. This is against Council rules apparently.Seems his partner owns a property there and it's more convenient for her for work. He's keeping very quiet about it of course.What is being overlooked is the ending of ward forums from this April. Some of our nicely remunerated councillors don't even hold surgeries, so residents have to rely on them to respond to email. Of course, if it's a matter that they don't want to deal with they will simply ignore it. I'm not sure that really serves the local community much, even if they are in the borough most of the time.What's interesting is the lack of transparency from most of our councillors about their income from non council work. I was told by J Bell that the generous allowances they receive are vital because it means that anyone can become a councillor. However, most of them don't give up their day jobs, so they are effectively part time representatives anyway.

Simon Hayes ● 2181d

Not sure I believe this notion of them wanting to save taxpayers' money. There clearly must be some tactical reason for them wanting to cling on for the time being which they are not telling us about. This could be a major misjudgement. At the moment they probably would hang on to both seats reasonably comfortably but later on when Brexit still isn't done but we know more of its consequences and Keir Starmer is leader of the Labour party they might be at risk of losing. They must know that themselves so their obduracy is quite intriguing.

Andy Jones ● 2181d

I'm sure he won't nor will many of the constituents of Ealing Broadway who will now go without full and effective representation until the next local election in 2022. If Alex Stafford performs the minimum of his responsibilities as an Ealing councillor the constituents of Rother Valley will also be short changed.The notion that this is to save public money is an insult to our intelligence. Not having election is the most expensive thing you can do in a democracy. The only explanation for them dodging this by election is that they are worried that they will lose.As for whether Julian Bell is being a hypocrite IN THIS CASE he certainly would be if he or a councillor from his party had a job which required them to be outside the constituency most of the time. If you can give me an example of this happening I'd be happy to concede your description of him is correct.

Mark Evans ● 2182d

The Dear Leader, will not be amused.    😆

Rosco White ● 2182d

Good news! Alex Stafford was at the Ealing Broadway Ward Forum this evening, where he declared that there will not be a by-election, due to the cost which would be £40k. Instead he will give away his Ealing Councilor allowance to local causes. He mentioned the Friends of Victoria Hall as being one of the first causes he will support. He has decided to retain the allowance, so that he can spend it wisely, rather than leaving it to the Council.

John Blue ● 2182d

Yep, the Local Tory Party is beyond useles & ineffective, unfortunately we are only too aware. Headless Chickens.And "Don't really see any hypocrisy in this case from Julian Bell." ............. Oh Mr Evans, REALLY???!!!!  😂

Rosco White ● 2182d

I despair for the local Tories who need a solid 'kick up the pants'.
If they cannot make gains against the shambles that currently form our local administration, there is no hope that we will see any form of responsive council any time soon.

N V Brooks ● 2182d

Don’t forget old Julian Bell also benefits from a housing association property that e ‘needed’ because his elderly mother in law couldn’t possibly live in the house he actually owns in Acton. As I understand it his mother in law died some time ago but I believe Bell still uses this housing association property and rents out his own house. Nice little earner to supplement those taxpayer funded allowances.However, the two Tories should stand down. They won’t be able to effectively respond to the needs of voters in their wards in Ealing because MP role is more demanding than they perhaps realise.I suspect they are hanging on because there is a fear of Labour taking those seats as a reaction to the Tory gains at the general election. Ealing conservatives are a shambles, though. They simply cannot score any points against Labour despite the huge and obvious cronyism and (alleged) corruption practiced by Bell and co.

Simon Hayes ● 2182d

Rosco, if it was only two jobs from the public purse.
Leader of Ealing Council  (£41,800 +expenses)
Researcher to Virendra Sharma (unknown)
Chair of London Councils Transport Committee  (c.11,000 +expenses)
Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation Board member (£14,000 + expenses).
All figures are in the public domain.

N V Brooks ● 2183d

Most councillors have a job as well - but they generally wouldn't be ones that required them to be based out of the borough for most of the time. Don't really see any hypocrisy in this case from Julian Bell.Aren't these councillors in wards that the Conservatives are likely to retain the seats? If they are then I can't see why they would put themselves in this embarrassing situation.

Mark Evans ● 2183d

Good ole "Two Jobs", Mr Hypocrite himself.

Rosco White ● 2183d

Not disagreeing that it is a bad idea it is just the sheer hypocrisy of the source of the suggestion.

N V Brooks ● 2183d

Exactly. Being an MP is more than full-time job and it is impossible for someone to provide an 'acceptable level' of participation as a councillor in one area and be an effective constituency MP for another. This is particularly the case in Ealing where the council is providing an unprecedented challenge to the way of life of local people and committed and available councillors are really needed to counter this. We don't seem to have heard from Joy Morrisey or Alex Stafford on how they will be managing their time but one or both sets of their constituents are likely to be short-changed. They should stand down immediately — just because Julian Bell is demanding this, doesn't mean it is a bad idea.

Gordon Southwell ● 2183d

If that really is the reason for them sticking around then they should say so. However, given the seriousness of the situation which you rightly highlight, wouldn't it be better for residents to have the opportunity to elect councillors who would be able to give proper attention to the issues you raise?

Andy Jones ● 2184d

I think what is ridiculous is Julian Bell pulling this up as an issue when myself plus 100s of others have written to him regarding planning policy in Ealing and yet to receive any meaningful response.  Can he and his 'cabinet' have the time to respond to us please?The council is adopting the 'draft' London plan wholly wrongly - and going gung ho in developments that are sky towers that belong in Dubai that will blight our area for years to come.  He is being advised by Peter Mason (Council Lead on Planning and Regen) who is a student of town planning and has nowhere near the level of experience, expertise or skill to undertake such a programme - yet this is Labour, put your hand up and you're an expert.At least the Conservatives councillors are responding to constituent concerns on this, they are in the minority in the local Government and we need more of them to help defend the area or we need a truly independent local party that will protect and promote our Borough properly.Thank you Cllr Morisey and Cllr Stafford for staying in there - I would rather your participation than leave Labour completely unchecked - which is effectively they are already and this is the big imbalance that I think needs addressing.

Steve Young ● 2184d

But oh the bitter irony that it is Julian "four jobs all financed by the public" Bell that raises this. Not indefensible at all in the case of Joy Morrisey who will be putting in an acceptable level but Alex Stafford should consider whether 10 hours per month is adequate (it is not).

N V Brooks ● 2184d