Luton’s political establishment was torn apart in a remarkable council meeting last night which saw accusations of “authoritarian rule”, political hypocrisy and outside interference fly across the chamber as Labour lost control of the town after nearly 20 years.
The extraordinary three-hour meeting exposed the depth of the rupture within the ruling party as six councillors, who had been elected under its banner, turned on Labour and backed Liberal Democrat Leader, Cllr Amjid Ali, to become the new council leader, after a motion of no confidence. It saw Labour Leader Cllr Tahmina Saleem ousted after just four months in charge.
At the heart of the bitter row was an accusation from opposition members that the council was being dictated the Labour Party machinery from beyond the town?
Labour argued that an opposition coalition was simply grabbing power because it had the numbers, after the summer defections to the Independent Alliance Group, helped deprive the party of its overall control of the council.
Labour insisted opposition members and parties should instead wait for next May’s local elections to try and secure a mandate from the people of Luton.
By the end of the night, Labour had lost its grip on the council – and the extraordinary exchanges showed just how bitter the battle for Luton’s political future has become.
Defending her position, the Labour leader told opposition members: “Don’t take power simply because the maths means you can,” adding of the upcoming elections: “If you want control of this council, have the courage and patience to ask the people for it.”
Labour’s Cllr Basit Mahmood (Challney) declared: “If the people wanted a Lib Dem-led council they would’ve voted for one.”
Former council leader, Cllr Hazel Simmons MBE, who stepped down earlier this year after 19 years at the helm, said: “The Lib Dems only managed a four-year term in the last 35 years. And after we won the council from the Tories in 1991, they have not been back. In fact, their group has got smaller and smaller over the years. So, what are they both offering the people of this town with this vote of no confidence?
“Tonight is nothing about Labour’s ability to run the council. You have no public mandate to do this. This is pure political opportunism.”
The Lewsey ward member added in addressing the opposition benches: “Shame on you for stooping to this level to get control.”
But those supporting the motion, including the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and various independent alliances, argued that Labour no longer had the democratic authority to govern because of the defections from the party that left them in minority control of the authority.
Cllr Ali said: “There comes a point in politics when an administration loses more than just its majority. It loses its ability to govern. That is where we are today.”
He said the defections demonstrated that the instability was coming from within Labour rather than from opposition parties.
“So Labour cannot stand here today and tell the people of Luton that everybody else is creating instability. The instability is coming from within their own house.”
The Barnfield councillor also attacked the idea that Labour’s near-20-year period of control gave it an automatic right to continue governing.
“No administration should be frightened of scrutiny,” the Liberal Democrat leader said, adding: “No council leader should be frightened of difficult questions and no political party should believe that because it has controlled a town for nearly 20 years that it has an automatic right to controlling it. Power belongs to the people of Luton.”
Cllr Ali said the council’s political turmoil could not be separated from the problems facing residents, pointing to housing, the cost of living, town centre regeneration, street cleanliness, neighbourhood safety and road maintenance.
He also raised concerns about major council financial decisions, including Luton DART, the proposed airport expansion and Foxhall Homes.
He then turned to allegations of interference from Labour’s Eastern Region.
“Decisions about Luton must be made here in Luton, not in a regional Labour office. Not by party officials.Not by MPs, and not by anybody else pulling strings behind closed doors,” he said.
Cllr Ali added: “We are not here to create chaos. We are here because chaos already exists. Our job is to end it.”
He said the new administration should ensure that “scrutiny has teeth”, independent voices were respected and residents could see how decisions were made and who made them.
And he concluded: “Change will not solve every problem tomorrow morning, but it gives us the opportunity to start solving them differently with openness instead of secrecy, with scrutiny instead of complacency, with cooperation instead of one party control.”
The Independent Alliance case
Cllr Rob Roche gave perhaps the clearest explanation of why a group of former Labour councillors said they had broken away from the party.
“We are not interested in political hypocrisy, infighting, careerism or point scoring,” the Northwell councillor said.
“Our one aim is to return democracy to the people of Luton, to ensure the council’s leader, deputy leader, and executive listen and act on behalf of those who voted for them and not be the puppets of the Eastern Region Labor Party.”
Cllr Roche added: “We believe that national political parties should support and advise locally elected members, not manage and control them.”
He also claimed of Cllr Simmons’ leadership that she was, “forced out of office after 36 years of service at the behest of their masters at Eastern Region.”
Another Independent Alliance councillor later accused Labour of allowing the Eastern Region to dictate its candidates and wards.
“That isn’t democracy,” said Cllr Tom Shaw, adding: “That’s a dictatorship by Eastern region and you lot [Labour] are standing there and accepting it. That’s what gets me mad.”
The councillor also mocked Labour’s self-description as the “A team”.
“It’s become a little clique. They even call themselves the A Team. That’s what they call themselves. You’re the Z Team. You’re not the A Team,” said the Challney councillor.
He added that the Independent Alliance wanted to devolve power to local communities and give residents more say over council services, saying: “We’re going to try now and get the power down to the people of Luton so they can make their own decisions on what they want to do and when they want to do it.”
Another former Labour councillor Khtija Malik, also of the Challney ward, said the party she had joined had been founded on democracy.
“The democracy had failed,” she said, adding “We are here because there is no democracy in the Labour Party.”
She said she had continued to serve her residents despite becoming independent.
“Let’s make it very clear, the independents are independent. Yes, we are trying to work for the better of the town. We don’t want to see it going downhill in the time that we have left with the so-called A Team failing the people of Luton.”
Labour’s defence
Labour insisted the administration should be judged on its record rather than the internal dispute.
“Quite frankly, I do not believe that the people of Luton care about internal party politics. However, this administration should be judged on what it has done. Judge me on what I have done as a leader,” said Cllr Saleem.
“If you disagree with anything that region has done, challenge region. If you disagree with what national has done, challenge national Labour. But don’t destabilise Luton because of an argument with somebody, somewhere else.”
The councillor also defended Labour’s approach to party discipline.
“Collective responsibility requires discipline,” she said, adding: “It means arguing your case passionately within your group and sometimes accepting the decisions won’t go the way you want them to.”
Addressing the councillors that defected from Labour, Cllr Saleem said: “To the members of the Independent Alliance, again, I say you were elected as Labour candidates on a Labour manifesto. If you no longer believe that, call a bi-election and let the residents decide. And if they return you under new political banners, you have your mandate. That is true democracy.”
The final clashes
The argument over control of the council was still being fought more than two hours into the meeting.
Cllr Lee Bridgen rejected the suggestion that the vote represented a coup or an attempt to overturn the 2023 election.
“This is not a coup or a background uh backroom takeover or an attempt to overturn an election. It is a council exercising the democratic power set out in its constitution,” said the Liberal Democrat member for Vauxhall.
“It may have been easier to sit here, grab some popcorn, and watch the Labour Party pull itself apart. We’re taking the more difficult option.
“There is no constitutional principle that a leader who has lost the confidence of council should remain in office merely because an election is approaching. If Labour believes waiting is best, it must persuade a majority of councillors, it cannot simply declare itself entitled to another eight months.”
Perhaps the most incendiary speech of the night came from a Conservative member from the Poets ward.
“We will not tolerate anyone sitting in Chelsea, Fulham, Leicester, Eastern Region, NEC or whoever may be to make the decisions for Luton,” said Cllr Aslam Khan.
“We will not accept dictation. We will not accept authoritarian rule. You talk about democracy. You must practice what you preach.
“You’re [Cllr Saleem] not elected. You were selected. You were selected by EC region and NEC, same as your leader Andy Burnham [the Prime Minister]. This is the precedent that you [Labour] set and you have the audacity to talk about democracy.”
His speech continued past his allotted time and even once Mayor Javid Hussain cut off his microphone, despite jeers from the opposition and the gallery.
Eventually, Cllr Saleem was allowed to sum up hers and Labour’s argument, before Liberal Democrat Cllr Steve Stephens, who moved the motion, said: “I say let us please remove the current leader of the council from her office. Let’s put in place a new effective leader and go forward towards the next election carefully with passion and with success.”
The motion was put to a vote and passed with 26 votes in favour, 21 against and one abstention from former Liberal Democrat leader, now non-aligned independent, Cllr David Franks, before Cllr Ali was appointed leader unopposed.
Political row continues after the meeting
The Luton Liberal Democrats posted a celebratory leaflet on Facebook (pictured right) featuring Cllr Ali and an image of a civic building, declaring: “Now the real work begins.”
The leaflet sets out priorities including listening to residents, protecting essential services, supporting vulnerable residents, improving neighbourhoods and making the council “more open and accountable”.
It also says: “We will not take anything for granted.”
There was just one problem: the building pictured in the graphic is not Luton Town Hall.
Luton Labour councillors were quick to pounce in the comments, accusing the Liberal Democrats of using an AI-generated poster.
“And you start off by using an AI generated poster, can’t even get the correct council building in the background! That’s certainly not Luton council, great start folks! Tell AI to use the right town hall at least!,” was the comment posted by the Luton Labour Councillors account.
After a night in which councillors repeatedly accused each other of failing to understand democracy, a photo the wrong town hall perhaps provided an appropriately surreal chapter to Luton’s extraordinary change of political power.
Be the first to comment