Right: it’s time for a final desperate push before the MPA meets on Thursday.
So far, we can update our lists as follows:
5 declared Labour members.
1 Green, Jenny Jones, still hanging on for the decentralised, human-scale virtues of ecologically plugging random electricians on the tube. But we’re getting in touch…
7 Tories and Liberals.
Cindy Butts, Faith Boardman, and Richard Sumray, who are all for various reasons parti pris for the Government.
Damien Hockney is voting no confidence in Sir Ian Blair.
Karim Murji, I’m informed, is voting the Government ticket.
That’s 10 members of the Glock 17 caucus to 8 in the Axis of Reason. Who’s left?
Now see this: looks like MPA e-mail addresses are firstname.lastname@mpa.gov.uk.
Aneeta Prem, media@aneeta.com, webform; “has the top electrical consultants to build your home’s intelligent lighting system,” apparently.
Reshard Auladin: Has “a keen interest in British Muslim affairs” according to the MPA. reshard.auladin@mpa.gov.uk
Rachel Whittaker; rachel.whittaker@mpa.gov.uk,020 7202 0223. Not this one.
Kirsten Hearn “Wishes to describe herself as a stroppy, blind dyke, and proud of it”, apparently, not to mention a professional troublemaker. Surely, surely, surely this woman cannot be planning to vote in favour of the cops randomly shooting people?
E-mail kirsten@flotowers.freeserve.co.uk.
John Roberts. Has “14 years of experience of working with London’s hard to reach communities”, apparently. john.roberts@mpa.gov.ukAnd Peter Herbert of the Society of Black Lawyers, we think, is sound.
If you have any spare time this week at all, and especially if you live in London; can you please take the time to contact one of these people? And if you’ve got a blog, can you please reproduce this? Remember that in a two-horse race like this, every swinger counts double; not just a vote for our side, but one less for them. We’re now 10-9, with 5 votes in play; play up, play up, and play the game.
From your account of the GLA’s vote aboutIan Blair I can’t undderstand what happened,because you assume too much about the reader’s understanding of detail.Pleae can you expalin very simply, did all the Labour members vote NOT to sack Blair ? did all the Liverals and all the Tories vote that he should be sacked ? How did Darren Johnson (Green) vote ?
The GLA press office failed to respond to my e-mail asking more or less the same questions! So I should be very grateful for this information
Anne
I can’t understand from your account of the GLA vote on Blair what really happened. Please explain it more simply, without sarcasm to complicate the issue and without assuming the reader knows the names of all the dramatis personae. Did all the Labour members vote that IB should not be sacked ? Did all the Liberals and all the Tories vote that he should be sacked ? Which wasy did Darren Johnson (Green) vote ?
thanks
Anne
This isn’t an account of the GLA vote; this refers to the Metropolitan Police Authority, MPA, which is a separate organisation. However some of its members are GLA members.
The MPA vote takes place on Thursday.
Err, bugger.
15 for, 7 agin, 1 abstention.
I think the abstainer is Whittaker; her e-mail is set to say she’s away until tomorrow.
Which means Hockney ratted.
I was there for part of the MPA meeting yesterday but had to leave before the vote.
However I think the abstainer was Herbert. In discussion he said that he would probably abstain to register a protest at party political intriguing on both sides but that if the motion looked like it might pass he would vote against it.
Whittaker indicated opposition to the motion.
Hockney pointed out the elephant in the room – namely that the majority view of the elected members would be overriden by the votes of the nomenclatura.
I’m almost certain that the voting went as follows:
Elected members 7 for, 5 against.
Unelected 0 for, 10 against, 1 abstention.
Incidentally there was a preliminary vote on whether to exclude Press and public. The Labour members voted to exclude us but everyone else did the decent thing. Len Duvall’s comments in MPA Press Release 60/07 are therefore rather interesting.