Syon Councillor Resigns from 'Sloppy, Lazy' Labour Party

Theo Dennison upset by council tax rises and selection process

An angry Theo Dennison addresses the council meeting

Tensions over the selection of candidates for the forthcoming local elections came to a head in a dramatic council meeting this week (1 March).

The drama started early with the announcement from Council leader Steve Curran, that he would not be seeking re-election due to ill health but continued as councillors responded to the news.

Whilst most, including those from the Conservative opposition, paid tribute to Cllr Curran, when it was Syon Ward councillor Theo Dennison’s turn to speak, he launched a coruscating attack on the leader and announced he would no longer be a councillor and was resigning from the Labour Party.

He said, ‘ I think in recent months, we have seen the dark side of Steve Curran, and it is most unfortunate to see the damage he has done to our party in the last few months.

“It is therefore with no regret that I welcome his resignation, and I hope that our party will be able to rebuild itself cleaner, more decent and more democratic, because that is what this borough needs

“I had though, already this evening sent a note to Thomas Ribbits explaining that I am resigning, as of this evening, from the Labour group and I will be leaving the Labour Party.

“I am not a fan of fratricide, and I have served with Steve in Syon for many years. His strength in this borough… has been diminished by his actions whilst in absolute control of the selection process in this borough. It is therefore a welcome break for those who have lost out in this selection process that there will be two vacancies in Syon, and I welcome those who have been excluded to put themselves forward for consideration in that ward.”

He went on to criticise the lack of consultation with Labour members over the proposed budget and added, “We can't go round having year on year Council Tax rises along with year on year increases in Councillors' Allowances. We have an opportunity at the next election (5 May) to look to the future, to look to an improvement of our Borough and that cannot mean going back to a sloppy, lazy Labour Party that does not trust its values, our residents and our members. We must go back to being a democratic party or we will be lost."

He spoke out against the current cabinet system used to govern Hounslow which he said effectively gave the leader £1 million worth of patronage to establish their authority over their term.

It is understood that Cllr Dennison intended to propose a motion of no confidence in Steve Curran to the Labour Group but that this was ruled out of order. He had also asked that it be held as a secret ballot to avoid ‘bullying and intimidation’. The failure of his motion to be considered is believed to have prompted his resignation.

The motion read as follows:

This Group expresses its profound concern at the staggering abuses that have taken place at every stage of the candidate selection process and the actions of the unaccountable cabal who have been responsible for them.
We note:
• Whip and branch reports being written by people who are candidates with a direct and personal interest in the outcome
• Trumped up charges and false allegations about sitting councillors and prospective candidates
• Rigged interviews by what should have been independent panels
• Spiking people who pose a threat to preferred candidates
• The failure to stop people paying membership fees in return for the votes of members in key wards

These abuses have denied party members a genuine choice of many able candidates and skewed the selection results in a significant number of wards.

We express our serious concern at the breach of the trust and neglect of our public responsibilities symbolised by the mockery of holding the Labour Group’s consideration of the council budget just 60 minutes before the council meeting at which it must be determined - yet whipping all Labour councillors to vote for it.

In stark contradiction to the our values and principles, the budget contains yet another move to reduce the help we give to some of the poorest residents of our borough via changes in the council tax reduction scheme which will mean a massive hike in their council tax bills and is presented alongside proposals for annual increases in councillor allowances.

This is no way to lead a party or a council and we hereby resolve that that we have no confidence in Steve Curran and call on him to resign.

The councillor believed to have seconded the motion, Devina Ram, also resigned from the Labour group this week. The Labour Group issued the following statement, "Cllr Ram is currently under investigation by the Standards Committee, for what would be a serious breach of the standards expected of local government representatives. This investigation has been referred to external agencies for further investigation."

Cllr Ram says she has asked the police if there is any investigation against her and they have confirmed that there is not.

Cllr Guy Lambert said, "I was disgusted with the contribution of Theo Dennison in the meeting. Someone with whom I have worked closely and had very cordial relations over several years but whose relationship with Steve has soured for reasons about which I can only speculate. Certainly, much of what he said in Borough Council seems to me to be palpably untrue. Whatever, it was unworthy and has left a very bad taste in my mouth."

Conservative Group Leader Gerald McGregor said, “As a member of the Labour Party for 40 years, Councillor Theo Dennison’s decision to resign from the Labour Party and oppose its budget should give residents an insight into the level of mismanagement of this borough’s finances by the Labour administration. Councillor Dennison’s principled stand against Hounslow Labour’s decision to increase council tax by the maximum possible amount and attempt to remove the Council Tax Support Scheme for the poorest in our borough is in stark contrast to those Labour councillors who mindlessly followed their party whip.”

Cllr Dennison’s former ward of Syon is now largely the new Syon and Brentford Lock ward. With both Cllr Dennison and Cllr Curran no longer standing for election only Cllr Katherine Dunne was reselected with the other two candidates being Dan Bowring and Balraj Sarai, who currently represents Heston West.

Labour had mandated that the new two-councillor Brentford wards had to include one female candidate.

Marina Sharma, a former pupil of Brentford School for Girls, was selected alongside Rhys Williams who obtained more votes than long-serving councillor Mel Collins.

In Brentford West cabinet member Guy Lambert was re-selected alongside with Chiswick based Cambridge graduate Lara Parizotto who is originally from Brazil.

In Osterley and Spring Grove Tony Louki and Unsa Chaudri are to stand again while Aftab Siddiqui replaces Richard Eason who was not included on Labour’s list of approved candidates. Cllr Eason had been critical of the administrations policies particularly in the area of transport. All three of Labour’s candidates in the ward are reported to be opposed to the Tesco/Homebase development.

In Isleworth, Salman Shaheen and Sue Sampson are retained to be joined by John Stroud-Turp, secretary of Hounslow Labour. Daanish Saeed who is currently a councillor in the ward will be standing in Hounslow East.

March 4, 2022