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A Labour mayor of the council hit by the Baby P scandal has defected to the Tories.
Alan Dobbie, 42, said his resignation from the Haringey Labour party was not related to the death of Baby P, although he said the council had been in turmoil since the death of the toddler became a national scandal.
He said the council, which was criticised for failing to prevent the death of 17-month-old Peter last year, was run by money-grabbing autocrats. He accused eight senior Labour members of being "out for what they could get" and running the authority as a fiefdom without consulting colleagues.
Mr Dobbie said: "I know I'm going to be hurting and upsetting a lot of people. I won't be putting party politics above my constituents, but there are thousands of voters who finally will have a voice in Haringey.
"After a great deal of soul-searching, I've taken one of the hardest political decisions in my life. One that will probably see friends decide no longer to be friends." The switch means Haringey council has its first Tory councillor in seven years - reducing Labour's majority over the Liberal Democrats to six - and comes just months after council leader George Meehan was forced to resign over the death of Baby P.
Mr Dobbie said: "It was a very emotional time. We were getting phone calls in the middle of the night, yelled abuse at in the streets, but the death of a child is a terrible thing and not something I'd want to play party politics with."
He said he had been advised by fellow councillors to apply for positions because they offered more cash. A place on the scrutiny committee would have paid £15,000 on top of the councillor's basic allowance of £10,500.
Reader views (4)
Is this bloke in the fancy dress the Leader of Tory Party in Haringey? He will split the opposition and Labour will benefit electorally. Lib-Dems should have recruited him. They've missed a chance.
- Namak, London UK
John Oakes is a LD councillor in Haringey. I wonder why he didn't mention the connection? As Cllr. Dobbie has already said, the LDs in Haringey have nothing positive to offer people here. The LDs have peaked. A fresh new start is needed with the Conservatives.
- Justin Hinchcliffe (Local Conservative), London, England
Politicians, principles and polls
How many Labour politicos will discover principles they never suspected they had in the run-up to Labour's upcoming catastrophic defeat?
- The Masked Avenger, hammersmith
Date: 15 July 2009
Commenting on the defection of Cllr Alan Dobbie from Labour:
Cllr Robert Gorrie, Haringey Liberal Democrat leader, says:
“Cllr Dobbie’s choice to become the lone representative of a party that came fourth in the last election in Haringey shows that he is not only turning his back on Labour but also on local politics.
“This resignation must be a wake up call for Labour over allowances – they need to clean up their act and start putting local people ahead of their own financial gain.”
Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, adds:
“Last year’s Mayor abandoning Haringey Labour in the middle of the crisis in Children’s Services and the Borough’s finances is proof of the Council leadership in disarray.
“At the next Council election the choice for local residents will remain between a fresh start with the Liberal Democrats or more of the same with Labour.”
- John Oakes, London UK
