Historically the Liberal Democrats have always had a liberal approach to attending meetings with the worst attendance of any of the three parties represented in the Council Chamber, especially when they are in opposition.

However, on this occasion their absence follows their crushing defeat in the Wembley Central ward by-election.

The Labour Leader of the Council, Councillor Ann M John, OBE lambasted the Liberal Democrats for their absence.

Councillor Ann John said; “Every councillor receives a basic allowance of £7,974 per annum and as a basic minimum they are expected to attend full council meetings. How can they expect to represent their constituents if they are not here?”

Labour says that the decision puts residents lives at risk due to lack of any risk assessment being carried out and having the service carried out by a private company whose overriding motivation is making profits for its shareholders.

Councillor Janice Long, said: “Public safety should not be sacrificed on the altar of private profit”.

The Council will also vote on motions from Councillor Tayo Oladapo (Kilburn), Councillor Roxanne Mashari (Welsh Harp), Councillor Krupesh Hirani (Dudden Hill) and Councillor James Powney (Kensal Green).

Councillor Oladapo’s motion condemns cuts in benefits to disabled people, which even the right wing Daily Mail has condemned as “singularly the most reprehensible attack on our vulnerable – our disabled – that this country has witnessed in many years”.

Councillor Mashari’s motion condemns government cuts in legal aid, which will deny access to legal aid to many lower income groups.

Councillor Hirani has a motion condemning the cuts in government support to local authorities.

Finally, Councillor James Powney has a motion congratulating the Labour administration on achieving ‘Fair Trade’ status for Brent Council, something which former Mayor Rev Peter Lemmon first campaigned for when he was the Brent Mayor 2003-04.

Before the election, the Lib Dems supported Labour in not wishing to cut too fast too soon for fear of a double dip recession. Now they have supported the largest cuts package in the western world. Before the election they described Tory plans to increase VAT as a ’secret VAT bombshell’ but they have since voted to increase VAT to 20%. Before the election, they gave a commitment to universal child benefit but they have since supported scrapping child benefit for some middle income families but not others. For years, they promised to abolish tuition fees; indeed it was the subject of Sarah Teather’s maiden speech. Now they are in favour of doubling tuition fees. In March this year, Sarah Teather berated the Tories for planning to abolish subsidised rents for Council and housing association homes; now they support new council tenancies at 80% of market rents and the abolition of security of tenure for those tenants. During the election, the Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg described the alternative vote system (AV) as “a miserable little compromise”. By September he was saying that “AV is infinitely fairer than what we have at the moment”.

Brent Council’s Labour Leader, Councillor Ann M John, OBE has compiled a brief list of Lib Dem quotes made in the run up to the May election all of which have been comprehensively disavowed in the five months since the election.

Councillor John said: “The Fib Dems are the harlots of British politics. They will say anything and do anything to get into government. In less than six months they have betrayed every policy they fought the election on. They give all politicians a bad name”.

The list which is entitled ‘The Fib Dems in their own words’ is exclusively hyperlinked and available on Labour Matters.

Cleaning up politics
“Don’t settle for low politics and broken promises”.
(Nick Clegg in his introduction to the Lib Dem manifesto 2010)

On deficit reduction
“The speed and the extent of deficit reduction should be decided on how the economy was performing not political sound bites and dogma. The time to start cutting the budget deficit and its speed must be decided by a series of objective tests which include the rate of recovery, the level of unemployment, the availability of credit to businesses and the government’s ability to borrow in international markets on good terms”
(Vince Cable, January 2010)

On VAT
“We will not have to raise VAT to deliver our promises. The Conservatives will. Let me repeat that: Our plans do not require a rise in VAT. The Tory plans do, they come with a secret VAT bombshell”.
(Nick Clegg, April 2010)

On tuition fees
Sarah Teather used her maiden speech on 27 November 2003 to pledge her opposition to all top-up and tuition fees. She even claimed that fees were a particular issue for the Muslim community. She said:

“Top-up and tuition fees are serious issues of concern to my constituents. All the evidence suggests that fear of debt will deter those from lower income families and ethnic minority communities. This is particularly the case for Muslims – a large community in my constituency – whose attitudes to debt are very different. Fundamentally, I believe that this is about whether we want to encourage a world class education system, or a class based education system where students choose universities according to their ability to pay, and universities are judged on the level of their fees”.
(Sarah Teather, 27 November 2003)

“There is no question mark over the policy of the Lib Dems on tuition fees. There is no question about my personal commitment to that policy. The only question is when we can afford to scrap tuition fees”
(Nick Clegg, September 2009)

“The Liberal Democrats are the only major party to have a clear plan to abolish Labour’s tuition fees”
(Nick Clegg, speaking in Oxford, April 2010)

“We will scrap unfair university tuition fees so everyone has the chance to get a degree, regardless of their parents’ income”.
(Liberal Democrat Manifesto for the 2010 General Election)

On Council housing – security of tenure
A total of 37 Lib Dem MPs signed an early day motion (EDM) in November 2007 which “actively opposes both the stigmatisation of council housing as housing of last resort and proposals to means test or time-limit secure tenancies”.
(The Guardian, August 2010)

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes today warned the Prime Minister that fixed term council tenancy agreements “in no way represent the policy of the coalition”.
Mr Hughes said David Cameron’s ideas for ending “council houses for life” had not been discussed within the coalition and “certainly do not represent the policy of Liberal Democrats”.
(The Independent, August 2010)

On Child Benefit
“We are not putting child benefit into question. I never have and he (Vince Cable) hasn’t either” said Clegg, giving an unequivocal commitment to universalism and claiming that neither he nor Vince Cable had ever suggested anything else.
(Nick Clegg in an interview with Jeremy Paxman, April 2010)

On Pensions
“We will boost the state pension by immediately restoring the link with earnings growth”.
(Lib Dem manifesto 2010)

On the Alternative Vote system (when Gordon Brown offered a referendum on it)
“A miserable little compromise”
Nick Clegg dismissed the alternative vote (AV) system proposed by the Prime Minister as “a baby step in the right direction”, and said he would not settle for “a miserable little compromise thrashed out by the Labour Party”.
(The Times, April 2010)

Chris Huhne said: “Gordon Brown has undergone a deathbed conversion to electoral reform now that defeat is staring him in the face, but the alternative vote does not give voters enough power.”
(Daily Mail, February, 2010)

“Only the Single Transferable Vote in multi-member seats would abolish MPs’ meal tickets for life, and we will fight to amend this proposal to give people a real choice for a more significant change.”
(Lib Dem Press Release, Feb 2010)

On Social Housing
In a speech to Liberal Democrats’ spring conference in Birmingham on 13 March 2010, Teather said Conservative plans to abolish subsidised rents for Council and housing association homes would be a “total disaster.” She said their housing plans lacked substance, causing them to try and keep housing off the agenda.

She said there was no “bearable” alternative to her party’s aim to invest £1.4bn in bringing 250,000 empty homes back into use.

“The Tories think the only way to solve the housing crisis is to change the law so that it is easier for big developers to stuff vulnerable families in to houses the size of shoe boxes,” she said.

“If you abolish subsidised rents for Council and housing association homes, all that is going to happen is that many more people will end up on housing benefit, and many fewer people will be able to work”.

“Put poor people into worse housing, and make them pay more for it.

That’s it. That’s the Tory big idea.”
(Sarah Teather, 13 March 2010, speaking at the Lib Dems’ Spring Conference in Birmingham)

Brent has a rising school population and a shortage of school places at both primary and secondary stages. Seven of the borough’s secondary schools are in very poor condition, not fit for purpose and require urgent replacement. The first phase of the BSF Funding was to cover the rebuilding and expansion of Copland Community School, Cardinal Hinsley Catholic College, Queen’s Park Community School and Alperton Community School.

The government’s decision means that Brent will not be able to meet the demand for new school places.

The Leader of Brent Council, Councillor Ann M John, OBE, has condemned the government’s action, which, she says, is driven by outdated right wing ideology.

Cllr John said: “This decision means that the future prospects of Brent’s school students are being sacrificed on the altar of an outdated right wing ideology which dictates that debt must be repaid over the shortest possible period irrespective of the damage to public services and to the economy. Moreover, scrapping capital projects like this damage the economy and increases the prospect of a ‘double dip’ recession. Any recovery will be led by growth in the construction industry and this is bad news for them as well.”

The Lead Member for Children & Families, Cllr Mary Arnold, added: “This cut will lead to overcrowding, larger class sizes and a return to the days when Brent kids were taught in corridors rather than in class rooms. The government are creating slum schools of the future.”

In addition to the scrapping of the unpopular £25 charge for bulky refuse collection, Labour will:

* Cancel the sale of the Scout Hut at Oliver Goldsmith School in Fryent ward;
* Seek to cancel the sale of land at Barham Park, on which the previous administration had sought to build a block of flats;
* Bring forward plans for new youth facilities in Chalkhill;
* Bring forward an urgent report on the health and safety issues relating to the dining facility at Byron Court Primary School;
* Investigate sharing services with neighbouring councils in order to achieve the savings needed to avoid cuts in front line services;
* Ensure that low paid staff are protected during the difficult financial times which lie ahead.

The Leader of Brent Council, Councillor Ann John, said: “It is important that we deliver on the promises we made during the election campaign and we will continue to make progress as quickly as we can. We will work closely with our local Labour MPs, Barry Gardiner who represents Brent North and Glenda Jackson, whose Hampstead & Kilburn constituency covers part of the borough, to secure real improvements in the quality of service to local people.”

Barry Gardiner, Member of Parliament for Brent North, said: “Ann John has lost no time in getting the Council back to work for the people of Brent. These dramatic initiatives are precisely what people voted for last week. Voters will be delighted that she is moving to deliver real change so quickly.”

Son of a Welsh miner, Dai began his teaching and political career soon after coming to London in the 1950s, where he joined the Communist Party. He met his Australian wife, Monica, who became his lifelong partner in the struggle for teachers’ rights and socialism. Fortunately for us, the Australian government refused him entry because of his CP membership. In those ‘Cold War’ days, card-carrying members of the CP, were also banned from promotion to headships of schools, which energised Dai into the campaign to remove the ban.

Dai was a leading figure in the Brent Teachers Association for many years, in which role he helped to negotiate some of the best teacher/pupil ratios in the country, as well as premium terms and conditions for all teachers. As well as his union activities, Dai became headteacher at Oakington Manor in Tokyngton (having previously taught in Wembley High and other Brent schools). He was a school governor at Byron Court for many years also. In the late 1970s, he became the full-time NUT North London Regional Official.

Dai joined the Labour Party in the 1960s, soon becoming a key activist. He served in most of the key party offices assisting generations of young activists like the late Paul Daisley, Ann John and me to develop. His passion, (apart from his family, his native Wales, rugby and cricket – he was a keen rugby player as a young man), was, of course, education policy and what he regarded as its natural corollary, socialism. He was one of the stalwarts who helped the party back from the brink in the 1980s. He stood for the Council in a number of ‘unwinnable’ wards and on retirement from the union, for Tokyngton in 1992, which we narrowly lost.

Mon and Dai retired to Wales (Chepstow) in 1996 and enjoyed some happy years there until Mon sadly died in 2002 leaving the hugely impractical Dai alone, as all their three children had made careers in Australia and the Far East. A few years ago, he contracted Alzheimer’s Disease and had to go into a home in Somerset, where he died recently. At the funeral service in Melksham recently, which, due to short notice and the election campaign, only a small number of friends from Brent were able to attend, a tribute was made on behalf of all Brent people, with the promise to have a local memorial service in the borough shortly. He was an outstanding example of the best that the tempestuous Brent educational and political scene has produced over the last five decades. Dai is survived by his sons, Andrew, Paul and daughter, Cathy.

Obituary written by Jim Moher, 9th May 2010

Labour has taken power in Brent following a landslide victory in the local elections. Labour made a staggering nineteen gains winning seats in wards like Barnhill, Northwick Park, Preston and Sudbury for the first time ever. Casualties of the Labour tide included Lib Dem Education Chief, Bob Wharton, veteran Tory councillor Irwin Van Colle and the Mayor of the borough, Jim O’Sullivan.

The new Labour group of councillors is the most representative in the history of the borough, 57.5% are of African, African-Caribbean and Asian heritage and 7.5% were born in Ireland. Councillors from the Somali and Tamil communities have been elected for the first time. Labour’s councillors include representatives of all major faith groups including Christian, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish. 40% of Labour’s councillors are women including, of course, the Leader of Council, Councillor Ann M John, OBE.

Councillor John, said: “Last November I predicted that we would win the local elections and become the first multi racial borough in the country in which the controlling group truly reflects the diversity of the community it serves. The face of the Labour Group is now the face of Brent.

We have worked hard for our victory and now we will need to work just as hard to protect local services during the difficult times which lie ahead. We intend to keep the key pledges we made during the election campaign starting with the abolition of the £25.00 charge for bulky refuse collection (the Dumpers’ Charter).”

Mrs Daly said: “This is nothing to do with the environment but the Liberal Democrats simply want to commit highway robbery wherever they can. Motorists are the victims of a punitive and unreasonable tax”.

Labour is committed to free parking for the first hour in all council owned car parks to encourage ‘local shopping for local people’.

The Leader of Brent Council’s Labour Opposition, Cllr Ann M John, OBE, who represents Stonebridge Ward has written to the Chief Executive and Director of Environment about the poor quality of street lighting in Stonebridge in general and Sapphire Road in particular. Cllr John has been lobbied by Hillside Housing Association, which has repeatedly contacted the Council about the poor quality of street lighting only to be told that, whilst the Council accepts that the lighting is inadequate there is no money in the budget to upgrade it.

Meanwhile, Cllr John had first-hand experience of the effects of poor street lighting when she tripped on a poorly lit and uneven pavement outside the Hillside Hub on Monday 8 March and broke her wrist. She is now unable to drive and will have her arm in a sling for at least six weeks.

Councillor John said:

“The only people who benefit from cuts in the street lighting budget are pickpockets. Meanwhile, the Council is paying out over 30% more in claims from people like me who sustain injuries as a result of broken pavements, pot holes and poorly lit streets. If the Lib Dems spent less money on consultants and more money on basic services, our streets would be much safer.”