Flip-flop on mergers?

Published: 4th November, 2010

• DO I detect a smidgen of flip-flopping in Tory group leader Andrew Mennear’s letter (October 28) on the proposal that Camden and Islington share senior managers?

When he responded at the last council meeting to the idea we explore this as a way of saving money (in both staff costs and greater buying power), he was very concerned about the idea. 

Then something happened: three Tory-run boroughs – Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham – announced a full-on merger, and Cllr Mennear decided that mergers weren’t such a bad idea after all.

Clearly, it’s a good merger if it involved Tory boroughs and a bad one if it involves Labour-run boroughs. How petty. 

The cross-party resources and corporate performance scrutiny committee questioned Theo Blackwell, the responsible cabinet member, about this at our meeting a couple of weeks ago.  

A couple of things became clear. One was that the idea is being fully examined and no final decisions have been taken.  

The other was that for such a link-up to work there has to be an opportunity for change.  The fact that Islington’s chief executive is retiring created that opportunity.  

So this is driven by practical considerations and what Camden will get out of it rather than any ideological remit.

Camden’s Labour council is trying to think imaginatively about how we can save money in back office costs and protect front-line services in the face of Tory/ Liberal Democrat government cuts the like of which we have not seen for generations.  

Cllr Mennear’s contribution to this debate is to witter on about “relegation”.

Shame.
Cllr Mike Katz
Labour, Kilburn ward