Resignation

14/2/2020

Another political resignation this time my own:

• I am resigning as a member of the Conservative & Unionist Party
• Therefore I quit as leader of the Conservative group on Tower Hamlets Council
• I become an independent Councillor, a member of no political party, I am not joining another existing political party
• But to ensure that there continues to be an opposition locally I will stay as one of two members of the opposition Conservative group on Tower Hamlets Council (if I quit this group there would no longer be any formal opposition group as a group needs a minimum of 2 members)
• So the nature of my work will barely change except that it will be Peter Golds rather than I that lead the group (which will mainly affect who speaks at Cabinet / Council meetings).

My reasons for leaving are mainly because I have lost confidence in the ability of the Conservative Party as an institution to make good use of the power it now has.

While it has an extraordinary ability to win elections (and is even luckier in its opponents) it is weaker on what to do with that power. I disagree with too many Conservative policies/decisions to stay in not just because I think some are wrong but that I also think too many policies are inadequate given the challenges AND opportunities we now face. I have been publicly very critical of aspects of what Tower Hamlets Council does but in truth I am almost as critical of recent decisions made by the government. Three Conservative Prime Ministers have made a series of strategic errors and I worry things are getting worse, not better so it must be systemic to the party despite the presence in it of a number of capable people.

I also support a relationship with Europe based on an EEA/EFTA economic model. The party has chosen a different harder model and like the Peelites in 1846 I think it is more honest to split then pretend that I support the proposed trade policy. I cannot support a trade border in the Irish sea nor increasing trade friction and am concerned about the lack of debate about the impact on our services industry of a Canada/WTO relationship. The modern Conservative party has ignored why Margaret Thatcher pushed so hard for the Single Market with its four freedoms and Customs Union within the EU.

And it would be dishonest of me to stay in and to stay quiet (although as one of my reasons for quitting is to focus more on local issues I may not have much time to say much about national stuff). Being an independent will allow me to focus on local issues and to support politicians who I think are doing a good job including Liberal Democrats and yes some Labour politicians. The tribal nature of British politics is one of its greatest weaknesses.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has had an extraordinary history, we have achieved extraordinary things for such a small group of islands and had a greater impact on the modern world than almost any other country. I think that contribution has not ended and I think that we could continue to have an outsize influence on how the world develops. Brexit now forces us to ask new questions about ourselves and our place in the world. What will we do with those new freedoms? What is the balance of risk and opportunities? Is the nation-state the only model or should we work collaboratively with other nations in a structured manner and how do we do that? I am not sure that we have even asked these questions properly let alone got answers yet. That is almost entirely due to failings within the Conservative party.

In 2016 I applied to become a Parliamentary candidate for the Conservative party to try and influence the Party from the inside. I have twice been rejected (ironically the 2nd rejection arrived just before I posted this) although I know many other people in Tower Hamlets who were made candidates. Three of them are now MPs.

But the final nail in the coffin for me was Robert Jenrick’s decision to approve Westferry Printworks against the advice of his own planning inspector. There was a solid argument for staying in and fighting on behalf of my residents with the government (as I fear our local MP’s will be ineffective at doing that). But that decision was so shocking I knew immediately that I had to resign.

I need to have a think about what to do next as I have effectively ended my political career.

But my main focus this year will be on local issues as I plan to do a lot of work on;
• Youth centers on the Isle of Dogs, we only have one small one, that is not sustainable
• New playgrounds in Sir John McDougall Gardens and Millwall Park, better than those to be found in neighbouring Boroughs, we have more £ then them
• Increasing school capacity on the IoD, getting Westferry Printworks secondary school built + rebuilding George Greens + improving school buildings and working out how many schools we actually need
• Transport issues on the Isle of Dogs from Jubilee line to new river crossings
• Plus continue to support the work of the Isle of Dogs Neighbourhood Planning Forum
• Lastly asking whether we should we explore setting up a Town Council for the area to give us more power and resources locally

But I have a question for you. Should I resign now and hold a by-election? Should I stand for re-election? I got elected in May 2018 as a Conservative, does leaving the Party but staying in the Conservative group work or not? I think for most residents the work I do won’t change (many do not even know I am a Cllr) but many people vote for parties not individuals, so can I still represent you until May 2022, the next scheduled election? Let me know.

2 Comments

Anna

14/2/2020 19:07:23

Thank you very much for everything that you have done for the Isle of Dogs and the Conservative party. I think that a lot of voters know what a fantastic a job you personally do and vote for you on that basis, so for what it is worth I see no need for a by-election, especially since your principal concerns seem to be with national policy rather than local.

On the issue of Brexit, contrary to your view, I think the half-in model you talk about has been debated and rejected by the public - notably at the European elections last April. The answer that voters have consistently given is we want control of our rules (ie no single market regs). In the referendum itself, the Vote Leave campaign found that this was the most resonant message and stuck with it. Surveys afterwards found that sovereignty and regulations were major drivers of votes for Brexit - the single market was being explicitly rejected particularly exemplified by the freedom of movement. Theresa May put leaving the single market and customs union in the 2017 manifesto and then got punished by voters at the 2019 Euro elections when she tried to break that promise with the worst showing for the Conservative party in a national election since it was formed in 1834. Boris promised to take back control and got a thumping majority, admittedly he was lucky in his opposition, but look at the Ashcroft survey, Boris’ clear message of Take Back Control - Get Brexit Done is what Labour switchers wanted. Whilst many were personally turned off by Corbyn, a greater number disliked the attempt to not deliver an actual *exit* from the EU.

I think it’s not the case that the option of being half-in hasn’t been discussed and offered to voters; it is that they have rejected it consistently. Reasonable people can disagree on whether voters are wise to have done this, but I think regardless of Boris is right and it is time to stop repining and get on with a Brexit that actually takes back control. If you disagree with that to your core and cannot agree to differ, then the selection criteria for seats is thankfully more robust than I thought if they would overlook your excellent work as a councillor and reject your application. As an aside, I recommend Thatcher’s Statecraft to you (published 2002), wherein she explained how the single market had been corrupted and recommended unilateral withdrawal in chapter 10 entitled “Britain and Europe - Time to Renegotiate”.

On the Printworks, thank you for everything you have done on this and thank you for continuing to represent our community on getting the development of the site done right.

I do hope that you will continue to be a councillor in the Isle of Dogs, you are an exemplary representative and I hope one day will find your way to rejoining the Conservatives.

Andrew Wood

14/2/2020 21:47:40

Thanks for your thoughtfull response

1. I am not sure the Norway model has been fully tested electorally. It is true Parliament rejected it. But I think in retrospect there was a space in 2016/17 to have gone for a compromise. Not necessarily as a permanent solution but has a halfway house while we worked out what we wanted to do. But that is water under the bridge now. I do regret not creating some kind of pro EEA/EFTA party for the 2019 election to test whether that idea had any support but there was just not the time to do it. But by that point perhaps too many people had been too radicalised to compromise.

2. As for the rejection, it might have been about Brexit but although I campaigned for Remain I never questioned the result afterwards so I am unclear why my application was twice shelved not least as I was never asked my actual views. It is clear that most new MP's were Leavers so you maybe right. And there is a solid argument that after years of divsion that the Conservatives should unite around a common platform and if like me you cannot support that then you need to go.

I did think Brexit could be successful (in purely economic terms), but I doubted then and I doubt now the ability of the Parrty to make it the success it might be, But a harder Brexit does provide clarity. In 10 years time we will know (at least on the economics) whether it works and delivers a more succesful economy then our peers in the EU enjoy.

My focus in the coming year will be on local issues, more then enough to do anyway,

Resignation

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