Open revolt threat in Coventry Labour as ‘Lucas loyalist’ Lynnette Kelly imposed as candidate

[dutchman]

Labour party infighting in Coventry is threatening to become open revolt after a former council cabinet member was parachuted in to the Sherbourne ward by party bureaucrats as its candidate in May’s elections.



Former leading city councillor Lynnette Kelly – who stood down as a councillor in 2014 in an unsuccessful bid to become Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington last year – has been imposed as the Labour candidate for Sherbourne by West Midlands regional officials.

She is considered to be an ally of council leader Ann Lucas, who is expected to face another rebellion and leadership challenge among fellow Labour councillors after May’s council elections.

The balance of elected councillors who are either for or against Coun Lucas’s leadership after May’s council elections will be crucial in any renewed attempts to oust her as leader.

Left-wingers in the Sherbourne ward party hostile to Coun Lucas are furious that the local democratic process has been by-passed with Mrs Kelly being imposed on them from above – denying local party members the chance to vote for their own candidate.

If she wins the seat, she will replace Coun Alison Gingell – who stood down for health reasons.

Local party members had voted for a shortlist of two before West Midlands Labour party officials stepped in to suspend the local democratic process amid allegations from rival factions of procedural errors.

Outraged party members wrote to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn calling on him to intervene in the debacle before Mrs Kelly’s candidacy.

One Sherbourne party member, who did not want to be named, said ahead of a ward meeting tonight: “Ward members could refuse to work with Lynnette Kelly.

“She has been imposed on us by unelected officials, despite re-assurances we would have the democratic right to choose our own candidate.

“They wanted someone favourable to Ann Lucas.”

The regional party says its own “selection panel” staged its own selection process for the Sherbourne ward, and had interviewed Mrs Kelly and other unsuccessful applicants last week.

It follows a similar row last year when council cabinet member Damian Gannon was subsequently re-elected as Sherbourne councillor.

Mrs Kelly had been unsuccessful in her bid to become the candidate in Lower Stoke following the death of late cabinet member Phil Townshend in October last year.

It is alleged by several party members that she aggressively lost her temper with some fellow members on being defeated at a Lower Stoke selection meeting by Rupinder Singh – and that regional officials have been notified of this.

It is alleged she swore at one party member and claimed Mr Singh was only voted in by the Asian vote

Mrs Kelly, speaking with the Observer, said it was “the first she’d heard” of those allegations, adding: “There’s no way I would have said that about Rupinder Singh.”

She did not deny telling another member to “**** off”, admitting it was language she used on occasion. Asked again if she had, she said: “Not as far as I recall.”

She added: “I’m delighted to be selected for the Sherbourne ward I was born in and went to school in.

“It’s not a safe Labour seat. We only got it back in 2012. I look forward to sitting down with Sherbourne members and discussing how we can win the seat in May.

“I don’t know why the process was taken away from local party members. I’m not party to those conversations.

“A decision was taken that it would be a regional party decision . All the women on the panel of candidates were invited to put themselves forward and those who did were interviewed. The interview process was tough.”

[dutchman]

EXCLUSIVE: The plot to oust Ann Lucas next week as Coventry council leader



COVENTRY City Council leader Ann Lucas is to face a leadership contest next week in which rebels in her own party are mobilising a co-ordinated campaign to oust her, we can exclusively reveal.

Supporters of the rebellion among Labour councillors told the Coventry Observer they and much of the Coventry public have grown increasingly alienated by Coun Lucas’s ‘autocratic’, ‘dogmatic’ and ‘undemocratic’ style of leadership.

We have learned the councillors seeking to stage a coup have now formalised their expected leadership challenge, which is widely expected to be close in a secret ballot, by submitting nominations to Labour group chiefs.

Former council deputy leader George Duggins, who was unavailable for comment, has submitted his nomination form to stand against her to become council leader, and councillor Jim O’Boyle is seeking to become deputy council leader.

Both were removed from top cabinet positions three years ago when Coun Lucas – alongside her then deputy, the late Phil Townshend – successfully pulled off a coup against former leader, councillor John Mutton.

t its worst, rebels claim Coun Lucas’s dogmatic and aggressive leadership style has seen Labour group and local party colleagues being left out of key discussions and decisions. Examples given include the detailed proposals for operations for a deeply controversial West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) headed by an elected mayor, a system rejected by Coventry voters by two-to-one in a referendum in 2012.

The rebels also believe the council under Coun Lucas has not done enough to challenge the Conservatives in government over schools’ policy including ‘free schools’ and academies, and over cuts to local authorities.

Backers for the leadership challenge who have turned against Coun Lucas also accuse her of misleading Coventry voters and taxpayers. It is understood those seeking to oust her will include in their manifestos a need from more truth and transparency with the public.

Some told us she has particularly failed to present a full picture to the public on matters including the Coventry City Football Club/Ricoh row, and, just last week, the quiet appointment of a new acting chief executive to cover for the £175,000-salaried Martin Reeves, when he is diverted onto work for the emerging WMCA – both stories revealed by this newspaper.

Opponents – who do not wish to be named – made comparisons between Coventry council’s first female council leader Lucas and the UK’s first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, insofar as both came to power pledging a more inclusive style (‘harmony’ in Mrs Thatcher’s case), but in many instances their hardline stance caused more division.

A secret ballot of the council’s divided Labour group which will decide who becomes leader and deputy leader will take place on May 6 – the day after council elections in all 18 city wards.

Coun Duggins came within four votes of ousting Coun Lucas last year, when on votes cast she won by 23 to 17, which she herself described as a ‘points victory, not a knock-out’.

The vote is expected to be decided by which of the two camps can sway potentially key floating voters onto their side.

The vote will also be influenced by how many candidates expected to vote for Coun Lucas or Coun Duggins respectively are returned as Labour councillors by Coventrians at the ballot box.

Wards where voting is forecast to be close again this year include Bablake, Cheylesmore, Westwood and Woodlands.

Rebels in Coventry Labour party, including in the Sherbourne ward, have been angered by what they say has been a bypassing of local party democracy, and ‘stitch-ups’, while Coun Lucas has been leader.

They accuse unelected regional party officials, who they claim are favourable to Coun Lucas, of parachuting in some Lucas loyalists as candidates to fight the elections on May 5, including Lynnette Kelly in Sherbourne, where local party members were ultimately denied the opportunity to select their own candidate.

But it is believed other wards have candidates who are certain to vote against Coun Lucas.

Coun Lucas will continue her claim that Coventry is on the up, and will argue it has strong, effective leadership.

She and her cabinet members have long claimed Coventry is on the road to economic ‘transformation’, having attracted tens of millions of pounds of European and government investment to lay the ground to attract more businesses to the city centre; that there are more people in jobs; and that the thriving universities are creating a more vibrant, cosmopolitan and dynamic city.

But rebels speaking with the Observer pointed to the reality not matching the rhetoric.

For example, they point to the business district development Friargate at Coventry station – to which the council is moving staff to a new tower block – which is still yet to confirm a single private tenant after more than a decade of planning and pledges of ‘up to 15,000 jobs’.

They also point to successive failures of proposals to radically redevelop the city centre; and the failure of the Coventry and Warwickshire sub-region’s key priority economic hope, the Gateway jobs scheme around Coventry airport – where Jaguar Land Rover now partly want to expand into, after the government blocked it on green belt grounds.

It is conventional and expected that no Labour group member should discuss leadership challenges, or their secret nominations, with the media.

[rebbonk]

Nothing would please me more than to see this harridan consigned to the bin. - I won't be holding my breath though.

[dutchman]

I can't see a rebellion with an election coming in a few days time as it would mean electoral suicide?

[dutchman]

Coventry City Council leader and deputy to face challenge for top jobs



Confusion has hit the Labour leadership contest in Coventry ahead of the local elections next week.

There appeared to be discontent among the controlling Labour group on Coventry City Council after Coun Rachel Lancaster, cabinet member for public services, submitted a surprise bid to become deputy leader.

That would have meant facing off against current deputy Coun Abdul Khan in the internal Labour Party election decided by sitting councillors.

Both councillors have traditionally been loyal to council leader Ann Lucas and they would have been expected to coordinate nominations to ensure the vote was not split - potentially allowing a deputy leader loyal to another potential leader in.

But Coun Lancaster today told the Telegraph that she had made an error on her nomination form and never intended to stand against Coun Khan.

She said: “No I’m not standing for deputy. It’s my fault, I was in a rush and I ticked the wrong box.”

Another Labour councillor, who did not want to be named, told the Telegraph the form was “simple” and they would be surprised if a councillor as experienced as Coun Lancaster would make such a mistake.

One person who is understood to be challenging for the deputy leadership is Coun Jim O’Boyle who also launched a failed challenge for the role last year. Coun O’Boyle has traditionally supported former leader Coun John Mutton who Coun Lucas ousted in a coup back in May 2013.

It was also confirmed today that there will be a challenge for the council leadership after Coun George Duggins told the Telegraph he would stand against Coun Lucas.

Coun Duggins was previously deputy leader to Coun Mutton and stood against Coun Lucas last year - but was defeated by six votes.

But this time around it is predicted to be much closer and those loyal to Coun Lucas are predicting she will hold onto power by two votes. However, those in Coun Duggins’ camp think he has the numbers to take control.

The vote on the Labour leadership will be held on the evening of Friday, May 6 - the day after the local elections. It would take a Tory whitewash for the Conservatives to gain control of the city council on May 5 - meaning the winner of the Labour leadership election is extremely likely to be the council leader.

[rebbonk]

So the Ginger Gnome can't fill a form in properly? No wonder this city's in the mess it is.

[Melisandre]

My thoughts exactly Rebbonk

[dutchman]

So the Ginger Gnome can't fill a form in properly?

Unless she really wanted to stand for deputy?