Third term lucky as party veteran Phil Kelly becomes mayor of Islington
Retired political consultant once edited leading left-wing weekly
Published: 13th May, 2011
by PETER GRUNER
A FORMER editor of left-wing magazine Tribune and an influential Labour Party member at national level, Councillor Phil Kelly, has been chosen as the new Mayor of Islington.
Aged 64, he is a retired political consultant who advised major companies on how to work with the previous Labour government.
A keen supporter of the borough’s Fairness Commission, Cllr Kelly has served on the council three times and currently represents Finsbury Park ward.
Born and brought up in Wigan, Lancashire, he attended a Catholic grammar school in the 1950s before going to Leeds University to study politics.
His first job in London was as a trainee journalist on the Hornsey Journal, a sister newspaper of the Islington Gazette.
He worked for Time Out magazine and was a freelance journalist before becoming editor of Tribune between 1987 and 1991, succeeding former Labour MP Chris Mullin.
Cllr Kelly is married with two sons, and his wife, Dorothy Jones, a former head of Southwark Further Education College, will be the Mayor's Consort.
The new mayor is a trustee of Connect/Help on your Doorstep, which will be his charity for the year in office.
“It’s an organisation which does what it says on the tin,” he said. “Its workers and volunteers knock on every door to find people who for many reasons do not access local services.
“I was astounded to learn that half of those whom it has helped had never accessed the local services which were available. This is a vital aspect of the fairness agenda.”
In his speech at last Thursday’s mayor-making meeting at the town hall, Cllr Kelly said he wanted to remember Rose Dale, who was mayor when he was first elected to the council 27 years ago.
“She was a tenants’ activist, she worked long hours for low wages as an office cleaner to support her family. Today, there are still too many people like Rose in Islington who also work long hours for low wages to support families,” he said.
One ‘amazing’ year
BRITAIN’S first Arab mayor, mother-of-three Mouna Hamitouche, stood down at Islington town hall last Thursday, still bubbling with enthusiasm about her “amazing” year in office and the day she met the Queen.
Cllr Hamitouche, 57, succeeded in her target of raising £20,000 for her charity, Islington Play Association, which provides nursery equipment.
Summing up Cllr Hamitouche’s year of office, Labour council leader Councillor Catherine West said: “Mouna charmed people from all religions and cultures wherever she went. It was quite an achievement.”
Cllr Hamitouche was the first Algerian councillor in the country when she elected for Labour in Barnsbury five years ago.
A leaseholder on a council estate in King’s Cross, she came to Britain to do a PhD in business studies at City University in 1991. The Mayor’s Consort was her 18-year-old daughter, Camellia-Sarah, a former pupil at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington.
“I am very proud to be the first person from the Arab world to be elected mayor in the UK,” she said. “It shows the British to be diverse and tolerant.”
Being mayor had its light-hearted moments. “It was difficult convincing schoolchildren visiting the Mayor’s Parlour that I was not a millionaire,” she said. “They saw my gold chain of office and the mace and thought I lived in a mansion. In fact, I occupy a rather humble former Islington Council flat."
She would never forget meeting the Queen, who visited City and Islington College earlier this year. “I congratulated her on the marriage of her grandson William to Kate and her Diamond Jubilee,” she said.
“I invited her to visit Islington again next year. She said she’s very busy but if she was able to she’d like to come.”
She added: “Being mayor made me realise the tremendous amount of voluntary work being undertaken by various individuals, organisations and community groups. To all those unsung heroes I say a heartfelt thank-you."
She also thanked the two biggest Arab news channels, Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, for their coverage of her year. Journalists from Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco visited the town hall for interviews.