A shock result in the Tory ward of Brompton, covering Knightsbridge and South Kensington, saw Conservatives lose 9.3% of their vote in one year, as some life-long Conservative supporters voted Labour for the first time. This signifies a 4.8% swing from Conservative to Labour in a single year, since the June 2011 by-election.

Labour candidate Mark Sautter met dozens of residents and business owners who are furious at the complacency of the Council and the inaction of their ward Councillors.

As Mark said: “It’s all about local issues. We heard again and again that the Council does not listen to residents’ concerns or take them seriously. The Council paved Exhibition Road with £20m of taxpayers’ money, yet they ignore local concerns. We were totally shocked at some of the stories we heard, where residents had been turned away, ignored, or even felt insulted by Councillors.”

Mark and the Labour Action Team quickly identified several issues that were not being addressed in Brompton. These include:
* Road safety at Exhibition Road and at Pelham Street, where a pizza delivery man died;
* The battle between café owners and casual seating areas near South Kensington station;
* Filthy streets and paving;
* Accessibility for those with mobility or visual problems;
* Anti-social behaviour from clubbers;
* Proposed overdevelopment of the station and its potential effect on Thurloe Square conservation area;
* Very high pollution plus road racing around Knightsbridge and South Kensington;
* Advice for older people in social housing, and for home owners struggling with bills.

Mark added: “We worked in Brompton as we work in any ward. We talk, we listen, we publicise concerns and we act. This is evidently not how Brompton Councillors are used to working. It is lazy to assume that because of the area it is full of very rich people with no problems; this is far from the case and Councillors must reach out to those who need them. Complacency must end here.”

Labour Deputy Leader Cllr Emma Dent Coad, who supported Mark, said: “I know the area well and was genuinely shocked at some of the stories we heard. Several life-long Conservatives told us it was refreshing to be able to air their views, and that they would vote for Mark as the ‘listening candidate’. Cllr Barkhordar has a lot of work to do if he wants to impress his new constituents.”

After a bad-tempered Council meeting on 18 April, Kensington and Chelsea Labour opposition councillors have expressed their disgust and shame at the ruling Conservative group’s decision to dilute further the Council’s standards regime rather than introduce additional protections proposed by Labour. Changes to the standards regime are required as from 1 July under the Localism Act.

In the wake of the conviction of former Conservative councillor Andrew Lamont on child and animal pornography charges, Labour argued that it was essential to introduce a more robust system in Kensington and Chelsea to address any possible similar situations.

Lamont, who was convicted and placed on the sex offenders’ register on 2 April, told the Tory Leader and Whip in November 2010 that he was facing accusations of downloading extreme pornography and that obscene magazines had been found in the house by his wife. The Council leadership kept these accusations quiet in view of his protestations of innocence. Almost a year later, Lamont resigned the day before he went to Court. In the meantime he was allowed to continue as a member of the Council, including an appointment as governor of a nursery school.

The Opposition challenged the secrecy Lamont had enjoyed, first through the standards committee and subsequently on review, but were told that the Council had followed the procedures correctly. However, they remain firmly of the view that the failure to address the situation immediately had brought the Council into disrepute.

After Lamont’s conviction, Labour restated their concerns, citing the action of the Mayor of London, who required a colleague in a similar position to resign immediately and in advance of any prosecution. Labour’s view is that more robust standards are now necessary in Kensington and Chelsea to protect vulnerable residents and children.

However, rejecting Labour attempts to tighten up the regime, Council Leader Sir Merrick Cockell insisted that a ’sensible light touch’ is all that is needed, with Deputy Leader Cllr Nicholas Paget-Brown claiming that it was ‘not until Lamont was charged with a criminal offence that any decision could be made’.

Labour Group Leader Cllr Judith Blakeman said: “we are shocked that this Council, which has faced three resignations of Conservative councillors in less than two years on matters relating to child pornography, has nevertheless decide to dilute rather than strengthen its standards regime. We have to question whether the leadership understands the importance of robust child protection in this age of social media.”

However, the Labour Group believes it is time for the Council to review the procedures and protocols covering Councillors who may face criminal charges. As in any other area of public life, a person who has been arrested and faces possible criminal charges should immediately be requested formally to withdraw from his or her duties. This can be done either by resignation or by an agreed suspension of duties. It is simply not enough, as in the case of former Councillor Lamont, to make a private agreement that the individual ceases to attend meetings.

The Labour Group challenged the Council leadership through the Standards Committee, and subsequently at appeal, suggesting that existing procedures were not followed, the Code of Conduct was breached and as a consequence the Council had been brought into disrepute. The Standards Committee response, given on 28 February, stated that no further action would be taken as the Council had followed its existing procedures correctly. The response said that the Committee ‘could not establish how matters might have been handled differently, however unsatisfactory this might have appeared to other Members or members of the public’.

However, the implication of this decision is that, should any other Councillor be arrested and face possible charges and subsequent conviction, the alleged criminal could remain as an active Councillor until the day before s/he goes to Court.

Labour Leader Judith Blakeman said: “Residents expect more of the Council. There must now be a thorough review of procedures to put a more transparent process in place. Allowing a possible criminal to stay in post for almost a year and keep it secret until the day before he was charged is simply not good enough.”

Deputy Leader Cllr. Emma Dent Coad said: “Kensington and Chelsea’s lack of action contrasts badly with the Mayor of London, who faced a similar situation and demanded the immediate resignation of his colleague. The Council says it prides itself on openness and transparency; it must live up to this ideal or suffer the consequences at the ballot-box.”

At the meeting Labour was challenged by the Leader Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell who suggested that this statistic had been invented, stating that they “should get out more and drive about like I do”. However, the Council has now released a report on the GLA findings that confirm Labour’s announcement.

As understood by Labour at the time, the report states that in Golborne Ward five out of the total six Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs, which are neighbourhoods of 900 households) are in the worst 10% and the sixth is in the worst 20%. On that basis, downplaying the “severity” of deprivation in Golborne is disingenuous.

Councillor Emma Dent Coad said: “The fact that 99% of the Ward’s population is suffering some kind of deprivation and that the level of deprivation they suffer is likely to place them within the most deprived 10% in London is not a good excuse to do nothing; rather, it is the time to ask ‘why isn’t the Council doing more?’

“We had some excellent proposals in our alternative Labour Budget to improve education prospects and health outcomes, but these were voted down by Tory Councillors and not supported by Liberal Democrats. Our announcement about Golborne was derided then ignored; it seems the Council would rather organise extravagant Olympic events such as Opera Holland Park singing for the Olympic flame, and perhaps more tin elephants and circus acts on Exhibition Road. Meanwhile, children in North Kensington arrive at school without breakfast, and life expectancy among some communities is 18 years less than in Chelsea.

“Kensington and Chelsea is the richest borough in Europe and home to some of the richest residents. The Tories have turned their backs on the reality of poverty in the borough for too long; this is shameful and a disgrace on the Council.”

Councillor Emma Dent Coad, who brought the report to light at a rowdy Council meeting last week, states: “Extent measure is possibly the most devastating as it shows how widespread is the depth of deprivation. K&C Tories may be surprised, but for Councillors working in this vulnerable area who have already seen endless cuts – not to mention those for the coming year – it is no surprise at all. We are seeing appalling dental health in young children, people of all ages economising on food, threats of eviction, debt, ill health and depression.”

Councillor Dent Coad is already working with local groups, who are experiencing cuts themselves, to see how best to work together to target the most needy.

As a longer term measure, at the next Council meeting in April, Labour Councillor Pat Mason will propose setting up a cross-party working group to review how a North Kensington Crossrail station – to be named Golborne Station – can be used to regenerate the area. Building on the ruling Conservative Group’s proposal for a Kensal Crossrail station, Labour Councillors will take this further with a new plan that would inspire real community engagement and enthusiasm.

This plan considers some earlier ideas from Golborne Councillors for a more modest renewal of the former Kensal gasworks, and links them with plans to tackle some of the obstacles that may delay or obstruct the development of the new station.

Councillor Pat Mason said: “The ruling Conservative Group have some broad proposals around the provision of a Crossrail station. We want to push this forward and hope that both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats on the Council will work with us to realise our ambition to improve long-term the living conditions and life chances of North Kensington residents”. The Kensal site is to be used as a worksite for Crossrail until 2018, so there is time for a broad and all-encompassing consultation.

Labour’s regeneration plan includes new social rented housing to deal with local over-crowding, unhealthy dwellings and hidden homelessness. New key worker homes will also be built, along with market properties for sale. The site will include The William Rogers Centre for Health and Well-being, named in memory of a respected local resident who sadly died when Edenham Residential Care Home was demolished. The Sainsbury’s store will be relocated to a better position on the site. Shops and business units to let at reasonable rents will be included for local entrepreneurs, including students who will have graduated from the new Kensington Aldridge Academy, with its focus on developing entrepreneurial skills.

Labour Councillors are hoping to work with all parties on the Council to pursue this vision. Councillor Emma Dent Coad said: “The Council has already earmarked some £30m of its reserves for this development and we are asking them to release some funding now to complete preparatory work and ensure that we are ready to go in 2018 when the station site becomes available for redevelopment.”

A £.5m Youth Fund, £5m Housing Benefit hardship fund, £.5m for the voluntary sector to support employment opportunities, and free swimming are some of the highlights of the K&C Labour Opposition Group’s alternative revenue Budget. The alternative capital Budget funds the renovation of Grenfell Tower, creates new social rented homes, researches the feasibility of a Heath and Well-Being Centre in Golborne, and of attracting the Dyson School of Design Innovation, and sets up a shop for the new credit union. All expenditure is fully funded from existing resources.

In advance of the Budget meeting at full Council on 7 March, the borough’s Labour Opposition has attacked many of the cuts this year as “unnecessary and vindictive”, stating that the poorest and most vulnerable residents will be hit “worst and first”. This year for the first time, Golborne in North Kensington has been declared the poorest ward in London for multi-deprivation, jointly with an area of Haringey.

Deputy Labour Group Leader, Cllr Emma Dent Coad, said: “There is no excuse for such depths of poverty in the borough. This Council is so rich that its Reserves have Reserves; this is no exaggeration. Added to that, every year they bump up the running costs and put ‘underspends’ into a Capital Reserve. That may be acceptable in times of plenty, but when government funding is being reduced and our poorest are getting poorer, these practices are indefensible.”

Every year the Labour Opposition Group writes an alternative Budget that focuses on their top priorities, presenting a fully balanced budget from savings made elsewhere and judicious use of Reserves. Rather than the Council’s proposals which cut nursery and early years provision, play services and homework clubs, youth services, adult social care, home care, mental health and learning disability provision – as well as sports for schools – the Labour Group has reversed many of these cuts and bolstered others sorely needed in time of continuing economic uncertainty and unemployment.

The counter these cuts, the Labour Opposition Group is proposing to:

* Pay a one-off efficiency dividend of £50 to Band A to Band D Council Tax payers;

* Set up a £500,000 Youth Fund to replace EMA;

* Set up hardship funds for: those unable to afford community alarm and telecare services, those facing Housing Benefit cuts, and a voluntary sector regeneration fund to help residents into work;

* Reinstate free swimming for children and the over 60s;

* Offer financial help to the poorest families for early years services;

* Enhance some mental health services;

* Renovate Grenfell Tower next to the new Kensington Academy;

* Build new homes for social rent;

* Research possibilities for the William Rogers Health and Well-Being Centre in Golborne ward;

* Work with the Dyson Foundation to find a possible site for the proposed Dyson School of Design Innovation.

Labour Leader Cllr Judith Blakeman asks: “Why are we still planning to subsidise Opera Holland Park to the tune of £1m a year, paying £800 a day to clean Exhibition Road, and running two polluting and extravagant Mayoral cars, while residents in private sector housing are being evicted daily and our young people are economising on food to get to school or college?

“There was room in our Budget to fund a cut in Council Tax, but we decided against as it would have had to be re-instated in future years. Our alternative Budget establishes hardship funds for those most damaged by Coalition government policies that disproportionately attack the poorest people, and reduces cuts to front line services.”

The Council’s most unwelcome cuts over the past two years can be seen on this googlemap:

View Kensington and Chelsea (2011/12 & 2012/13), two years of brutal cuts in a larger map

* Called for a scrutiny of the role of the Council and NSL in this scandal.

* Asked why Hakim Berkani was sacked for apparently refusing to operate an illegal quota system.

* Asked the Council to clarify if they knew that NSL had continued to apply a quota system, that seems to be the implication of the Berkani judgement, despite the government outlawing such a practice in 2008. The Council stated this is ‘a matter for NSL and that they [the Council] have acted lawfully’.

* Asked if the Council signed a contract with NSL requiring wardens to give out 306,000 tickets a year and 10 per warden per shift.

* Asked if the Council was aware that NSL managers discussed taking disciplinary action against wardens who issued less than 9 tickets and hour.

* Asked why the Council is denying that NSL did anything wrong when Judge Jeremy Burns ruled that Mr Berkani was dismissed by NSL due to his opposition to a “clandestine quota system”.

* Asked why the existence of a quota system has been repeatedly denied at the Council’s Public Realm Scrutiny Committee over the years when the question was asked by Opposition Labour Councillors.

Councillor Pat Mason, RBKC Labour Transport Spokesperson said; “I am absolutely furious that the Council are still supporting a parking contractor found guilty of unfairly sacking Mr Berkani for refusing to operate an illegal parking ticket system. We need to know if the Council leadership secretly sanctioned this quota system and then hid it from Councillors and residents”.

As the £25 million Exhibition Road streetscape scheme opened in South Kensington, North Kensington Labour Councillors criticised the Council’s extravagant spending on a scheme aimed at tourists.

A short bus ride away are four of the poorest areas in the country. In Golborne Ward, 51% of the children live in poverty, residents endure high levels of disability and ill health and life expectancy for men is 71 years, compared with 89 in the richer parts of the borough. Exhibition Road is sited in Queens Gate, the most affluent ward in the country. Labour is incensed that the North Kensington residents they represent consistently fail to get a fair share of funding from Kensington and Chelsea Council to provide services and support.

Labour Leader Cllr Judith Blakeman said: “we are facing a brutal package of cuts. One pensioners’ health and social care centre has already shut down; mental health day centres are closing, a Children’s Centre is to go and nursery provision will be “rationalised”. The Council is ruthlessly cutting sports for schools, homework clubs, youth centres and the vital voluntary organisations that help vulnerable residents to live independently. Despite holding reserves of over £170 million, Kensington and Chelsea Council, chooses to spend its money on Exhibition Road rather than the poor and vulnerable of the Borough. That says it all.”

Labour planning spokesperson Cllr Emma Dent Coad said: “Spending £25 million on a paving scheme and £175,000 every year just to keep it clean would be obscene at any time. To do so when savage cuts are being made to essential services in the north of the borough is indefensible. The spectacle we have seen today is a slap in the face for our poorer residents, many of whom can’t even afford the bus fare to the Museums. The performers alone must have cost more than the after-school clubs that have been cut; how appropriate that a white elephant is on parade today. There can be no justification for this level of frivolous spending in these difficult times.”

The site selected for the HS2 station, near Park Royal, will be a major new transport hub. This is not only the ambition of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, but is enshrined in HS2 route planning and includes a future link with HS1 (Eurostar) via Euston:

‘Leaving Euston, the route would descend into tunnel for about four and a half miles, surfacing at a new interchange station at Old Oak Common in north-west London . Passengers would be able to interchange here with Crossrail, the Heathrow Express, the Great Western Main Line and other local public transport. A direct link to HS1 would also run from the main high speed line at Old Oak Common,’ the HS2 website says.

This news comes at a time when the high-profile campaign by Council Leader Sir Merrick Cockell for a Kensal Crossrail station has been under intense scrutiny by opposition Labour Group Councillors.

Labour Deputy Leader, Councillor Emma Dent Coad, said: “A number of serious concerns were never addressed. The Council offered to pay for the station itself, using at least £30m of Council taxpayers’ money. This would be repaid by ‘planning gain’ from the market housing development planned by site owners, Ballymore. But the station would be built at the expense of desperately needed affordable and social rented housing. The Borough could then have ended up with a massive private development and a station, but not one single extra affordable home for our overcrowded families. That is not regeneration, that is gentrification at its most cynical.”

The Gasworks site will now be a Crossrail ‘worksite’, operating 24/7 a lot of the time. Works are expected to start in summer 2013 and last for five years. These, with the threatened work at the Big Table site next to Westbourne Park station and 12 years of construction at Wornington Green, mean that the next decade will be particularly difficult for Golborne Ward, which has the poorest residents in the Borough.

Golborne Councillor Emma Dent Coad added: “It seems that residents in severe housing need will not benefit at all from Crossrail and we know that Wornington Green won’t deliver one single additional social rented home. Despite all our hard work on the Council’s Local Development Framework for the future and constant requests to the Council, there is no Plan B for Kensal Gasworks. Golborne Ward will be a massive building site for the foreseeable future, with little or no benefit at the end of it for local people. We will be working hard to mitigate the potentially disastrous effects on the local community and businesses. This is the result of bad planning by the Council and no amount of spin can counter that.”

While Moylan did not declare this conflict of interest, he left the Chamber during the debate and vote. Labour Councillor Todd Foreman, who proposed the motion, asked Moylan afterwards for his position on the issue. Moylan refused to answer, saying this was “none of your f****** business.”

Councillor Foreman said; “It is disgraceful that Kensington and Chelsea Tories are happy to pay some Council staff poverty wages. Councillor Daniel Moylan is Deputy Chairman of TfL, which is proud to pay the London Living Wage. Rather than insisting that his Council does the same, Moylan avoided the issue and swore at me when I asked him to explain his position. This hypocritical behaviour shames the whole Council.”