onionbagblog

This is rather interesting – all of a sudden and we seem to have some self-styled “Co-operative Councillors” cropping up in Lambeth.

Cripes.

Step forward Councillor Bigham, Councillor Nosegbe and Councillor Bennett, who have all now taken on the dual membership of both the Labour Party *and* the Co-operative Party.

It’s very decent that our Comrades can offer such public support to a political party that holds genuine progressive ideals, compared to the Nu Labour endorsement of the free market in the Rotten Borough.

But what of the electorate? All three councillors stood on May 6th as members of the Labour Party. All of a sudden and it appears that they now represent (and serve) a different political party.

Was this dual support of political allegiance carried out constitutionally? Does it even need to be? I’m not entirely sure to be honest. It just seems slightly strange that Councillors Bigham, Nosegbe and Bennett all had Labour Party agents ahead of the local elections, and now they are publicly calling themselves Co-operative Councillors.

The @lambeth_council website has yet to be updated with this change in political allegiance. Meanwhile Councillor Abram had his Independent Labour status updated overnight after the bodged email hack backfired.

To form a political group at the Town Hall (e.g. to get a desk and back office support) requires two or more politicians from a particular party. Those lovely Lambeth Conservatives (bless) just about managed it with their May 6th return of four Blue Rinse seats in the borough.

Our three new Co-operative Councillors by right should also now also have their own political representation at the Town Hall. That is assuming that they have actually broken away from the Nu Labour sheep.

Bahhh…

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