Tributes to 'stalwart Dave' as Kentish Town councillor dies from cancer
Sunday September 19, 2010
by RICHARD OSLEY
CAMDEN'S Labour Party is mourning the loss of one of its "stalwart" councillors following the death of Kentish Town councillor Dave Horan last night (Saturday).
Cllr Horan, the chairman of Camden Council's planning commitee, died in a hospice surrounded by friends after a battle with cancer.
He had been proud at winning his council seat in Kentish Town back in May, four years after losing it to the Liberal Democrats. Cllr Horan, who lived in his ward, worked as a researcher for Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn. Councillor Theo Blackwell said: "Dave was a stalwart. Everyone will know someone he helped."
Tributes:
Labour leader councillor Nasim Ali: "Dave was a friend and a comrade. Dave was my ward Councillor in the Regent’s Park ward for many years and he was a very hardworking, dedicated and talented councillor who was always there to support and work with his constituents. Dave served the Labour Party and the people of Camden with hard work, dedication and commitment for many years. He was re-elected to Camden Council in Kentish Town ward in May this year, having previously served as a councillor in Regent's Park from 1986 - 1998, St John's from 1998 - 2002 and Kentish Town from 2002 - 2006. I recall the words of wisdom that Dave offered me when I joined him as a fellow Labour councillor in 2002. He was also active in support of Camden Law centre. Dave was committed to education and opportunities for young people. He was a Director of the Migrant Training Company and of Camden Job Train and did his best to ensure those who had missed out on education got another chance. I have received tributes from Unison colleagues stating: “We had considerable respect for his unwavering commitment to his constituents. He was not only a consistent defender of workers' rights within the Council and beyond, but a tireless and often effective champion of some of the most marginalised and oppressed in our society. Dave was delighted when he became a councillor for Kentish Town ward, where he lived. I have also received lots of messages of support from constituents who were shocked by the news. Dave dedicated his life to the Labour Party and his constituents. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this sad time. We shall all miss this wonderful friend and colleague more than I can say."
Labour councillor Phil Jones: "I was so sorry about the loss of Dave Horan at far too young an age. I first met Dave when I moved to Kentish Town in 2002 and remember meeting a diminutive local councillor in the pub with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Borough and its politics. It was virtually impossible to mention any notable place or person in Camden without Dave being able to relate some interesting story about the great political struggles of the past 30 years. He was also a kind man who always had words of encouragement and advice for anyone he thought shared his values. Before his undeserved defeat in the 2006 elections I very occasionally filled in for Dave at his councillor surgeries and people would come from surrounding wards to see him due to his reputation for going the extra mile. The sense of disappointment they would have when they saw me sitting there rather than him was entirely understandable. When I was elected and Dave was re-elected in 2010 he would copy me into his work when it involved my ward and I saw what great time and effort he put in on behalf of local people despite clearly being very ill and in pain - an example to us all. People sometimes underestimated Dave as he was humble and unassuming. But while he wasn't interested in self-advancement or self-publicity he had a burning sense of injustice about the way far too many people are denied a fair chance in life. We should salute Dave for a lifetime spent going beyond the call of duty to help others."
Conservative councillor Andrew Marshall: "Dave was a lovely man, dedicated to local people as well as his Socialist beliefs. We always got on well despite political differences, and I recall an enjoyable hustings with him and the others parties this April for young people at Camden JobTrain - we were debating against each other for sure, but also trying together to enthuse young people that political engagement can make a difference in a complex world. Through his work on the board of Camden ITEC and JobTrain he made a major contribution to the life chances of many young people in the area - young people left behind for different reasons by traditional education. He will be sorely missed on the council."
Labour councillor Maryam Eslamdoust: "Farewell Dave Horan. No one will be able to replace you on the council. Your courage, strength, determination and commitment to social justice were incomparable. You remain alive in our memories and admiration. Rest in peace."
Labour councillor Thomas Gardiner: "Dave Horan was a much-liked comrade and committed socialist. He welcomed me on to the council this May with kind words to me and greetings to be passed on to family members of mine who he had known in his many years of public service. Dave was one of those gems that fuel the Labour movement, committed to public service and untiring in his pursuit of social justice. I know he would have wanted to be around to play his part in the fight to defend our communities over the next few difficult years. Dave will be missed by those who served alongside him, those he helped, and most of all by those he would have fought for in the coming years."
Former Labour councillor Gerry Harrison: "When I was first elected to Camden Council, in 1994, I found him generous-hearted and more willing than many to welcome us into the Labour Group. Here I soon noticed his political intuition and marveled at his wide knowledge of British politics. To many of us he was known affectionately as “Anorak Dave”, because he could tell us accurately the date of any election, the majority of an individual MP and something about their history. Dave kept his past slightly mysterious. He was a Londoner, whose family later moved to Clacton, on the Essex coastline. After his parents died he remained in close touch with his brother. He claimed Irish ancestry and, at one St. Patrick’s night dinner, I remember that, slightly surprised, he found himself sitting next to people who had knowledge of his origins in County Offaly. A clever young man, he read English at Warwick University where one of his lecturers was Germaine Greer. After graduation, he taught at Highbury Fields Comprehensive. However, during Thatcher’s government his sense of justice got the better of him, which led him towards left-wing politics. He freely admitted that he had entered the Labour Party from the Militant Tendency, but once in he was extremely loyal, and at times intolerant of those of us who adopted a more maverick view. In later years he became the organiser of the Irish Centre in St John’s Road, Islington, where he worked hard to improve the lives of Irish working people, before it was abruptly closed by the borough’s Lib Dem Council, It was in this work that he attracted the attention of the MP for Islington North, Jeremy Corbyn, and for many years assisted him in his constituency office. Dave was an extremely sociable companion, who often proclaimed perhaps too vehemently his own views, but without his presence the Camden Labour Group would have been a less lively place."
Kentish Town ward councillors Georgia Gould and Meric Apak: "We will remember Dave for his deep knowledge of the local community, for the history lessons he gave us as we campaigned in Kentish Town but most of all for his compassionate kindness. Serving the residents of Camden was his life, for the young people at Kentish Town job train to the tenants on Kentish Town estates, nothing was too much effort. His commitment to the values he stood for - fairness, equality and social justice- lasted a lifetime. He’d never give up on a campaign and took the greatest care following through on every problem raised by local people at his surgeries. You could always rely on Dave for a considered, thoughtful response, never the quick or easy answer. He had a huge amount of integrity and depth. A conversation with Dave never failed to produce a new insight. He kept going through the most difficult of circumstances and showed that illness does not have to be a barrier to living a full life which he did right to the end. For us as new councillors he was a real inspiration and friend, and we will miss him dearly."