No Confidence Challenge For Hounslow Council Leader

Labour says Tory call for Steve Curran to go sowing discord when unity needed

Hounslow Council leader Steve Curran in front of political map of the borough
Hounslow Council leader Steve Curran in front of political map of the borough

The Conservative Group on Hounslow Council are to present a motion of no confidence in Steve Curran at the next borough council meeting.

The 10 councillors, nine of whom represent wards in Chiswick, say the challenge to the council leader is due to ‘his reckless disregard of local residents and retailers, their neighbourhoods and livelihoods, and their views.’

The motion, proposed by group leader Cllr Gerald McGregor and seconded by former group leader Cllr Joanna Biddolph, is on the agenda for the virtual Borough Council meeting on Tuesday, 10 November.

The opposition group says that the move is a direct response to what they claim is the huge level of anger expressed by residents, particularly in Chiswick but also throughout the borough, about the imposition of road closures and an untested cycle scheme

Cllr McGregor said he believes trust in Hounslow Council has been lost adding, "The anger in Chiswick is so great, we felt a drastic move was our only option. It is reflected elsewhere in the borough but nowhere else has had so many road schemes imposed on them, and certainly not in such an exaggerated and concentrated way as here in Chiswick. We could not treat this borough council meeting as if it were normal council business, subject to the usual Labour charade of tabling earnest and worthy motions, or seeing opposition motions amended to meaninglessness, having Labour councillors wallow in self-praise,"

"We wanted to show the level of seriousness with which we view the impact of these massive structural changes on our lives and neighbourhood and the impact they and the council's actions are having on our residents, retailers, businesses and incoming workers. The only available option has been to show that we have no confidence in the council leader and his cohort of cabinet members who follow their leader without challenge. If he won't reverse these schemes, he must go."

The Conservatives claim that the changes have had a very damaging impact on local shops. Cllr Biddolph said, "I've applauded our retailers, especially our one-off independents, for struggling through the tricky retail climate that existed before COVID-19. Then the pandemic hit, lockdown forced many to close and others to work even harder to attract some trade to try to cover their overheads. And now this: closing roads and removing parking says one thing and one thing only – the council does not value our retail economy.

"What about freedom of expression? Very few retailers support these schemes and those who object to them are extremely worried not only about their effect on trade but also about expressing their views. They have real fears of bricks through their windows and threats of boycotts if they admit their views, or display a poster in their window. It is everyone's right to express their opinions. The way in which these single issue campaigners are behaving shows that the only voices they want to hear are their own."

Speaking about the schemes in the west of the borough, in Bedfont and Feltham, Cllr Kuldeep Tak has said, "It is no surprise, given the incompetence that has been a symbol of the Feltham Bridge project, that local schemes here have generated such anger not only in Brentford, Isleworth and Chiswick but across the Borough of Hounslow.

Chair of the Labour Group for Hounslow Council, Cllr Salman Shaheen, said, “As Boris Johnson’s government leads us back into another lengthy lockdown that could have been avoided had it not dithered and delayed, it is once again up to our council to offer residents and businesses the support they need.

“We are proud of our record in helping 22,000 shielding residents and coming to the aid of over 2,500 businesses across the borough in financial hardship. We have provided temporary accommodation to around 300 homeless households. And we stepped in to provide free school meals to children in Hounslow who needed them during half term while the government slunk from its duties. Where were our local Tory opposition during all of this?

“We utterly reject the Tories’ attempts to sow discord when unity is needed. Now more than ever, people in Hounslow want to see councillors from both parties working together to support them in these unprecedented times. It’s a shame that in bringing forward this motion the Tories are putting their own interests above those of our residents. We would much rather be working with them to support our most vulnerable residents and protect the 40,000 jobs that could be lost as a result of the threat to the airline industry. Instead, the Conservatives are more interested in acting the Nasty Party. They are, as always, behind the curve.”

The Labour group has a substantial majority on Hounslow Council and the motion would only pass if a significant number of its councillors voted in favour. At this stage there is little indication that any intend to do so.

A petition has been set up calling on Hounslow Council to reverse the traffic measures implemented in Chiswick which so far has over 3,000 signatures.

The borough council meeting will be held on Microsoft Teams. The agenda for the meeting can be found on this link. Other items to be discussed include the newly revised local plan and the medium term financial strategy (MTFS).

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November 8, 2020