Haringey Council boss accused of running borough like her 'personal fiefdom' as she faces leadership challenge

Facing criticism: Council leader Claire Kober
Kate Proctor7 November 2017
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An embattled Labour council leader was today accused of running it like her “personal fiefdom”.

Long-standing councillor Stuart McNamara blasted Haringey boss Claire Kober for wasting public money on vanity projects while “strangling services”. He announced that in protest he would no longer stand for the party at next May’s elections.

The setback for one of London’s most prominent town hall leaders came after the Standard revealed that she was being targeted by Left-wing supporters of Jeremy Corbyn plotting a leadership challenge.

In a stinging letter seen by the Standard, Mr McNamara likened Ms Kober’s leadership style to Margaret Thatcher’s. “Somebody has to call you out on your wrecking ball tactics and horrific wasting of public money,” he said.

The fall-out is the latest in a dispute over the Haringey Development Vehicle — a £2 billion transfer of council assets to a public-private partnership and a major estate regeneration.

Anger over the scheme was behind a key section of Mr Corbyn’s conference speech in September, when he accused councils and developers of “social cleansing”.

McNamara claimed Ms Kober had done incalculable damage to the Labour Party in Haringey and that he would stand down after 25 years as a councillor.

He had also served as a cabinet member. Mr McNamara said: “For the sake of Haringey and the Labour Party you probably need to just resign before you cause any more harm to this great borough.”

His protest came as Left-wing Labour members plan a take-over of the council at a series of selection contests in the next two weeks.

Ms Kober said Mr McNamara’s decision to step down represented the end of an era and she was grateful for his work as a councillor. However she defended the Haringey Development Vehicle as the best way to tackle the borough’s housing crisis.

Phil Rose, spokesman for the Stop HDV campaign, said Mr McNamara’s decision showed how disillusioned Labour members were with their own council. “This is not somebody having a hissy fit,” Mr Rose said. “He is a committed councillor most offended by the lack of democracy.”

A High Court judge is due to decide before Christmas whether the HDV plan is legal. A two-day hearing was held last month.

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