Sources tell us that Leader of the RBKC Labour Group, Pat Mason is nicknamed “the tumble dryer” by local Tories because they say he just goes round and round with lots of hot air.
We think that’s a bit harsh. As North Kensington residents, THINKers have known Pat to be a formidable campaigning local politician for many years over social issues.
But we have very disappointed by him and some of the Labour frontbench in recent times…..
We sent this post regarding our concerns about providers of temporary accommodation to all the councillors on the RBKC Housing and Communities Select Committee, to Kim Taylor-Smith, and to Pat Mason:
We received responses from just TWO members of the committee – Deputy Chair of the committee, Greg Hammond and from Tom Bennett. Cllr Hammond said he had raised the matter with Kim Taylor-Smith Cllr Bennett emailed us to say he would raise with the chair of the Committee.
But we received NO RESPONSE from the Labour Chair of the Committee, Kasim Ali.
Fellow Labour councillor Mo Bakhtiar, who also sits on the committee also did not respond.
Who would have guessed that two Conservatives on the Committee would show more concern over the issue of conditions of Temporary Accommodation than the Labour chair Cllr Ali and two of his Labour colleagues?
One of us has lived in some terrible conditions in temporary acccommodatiom before and can tell them that it is a dehumanizing experience in which you feel forgotten about and spend part of the time there in fear for your life and part of your time there not wanting to be alive, but it seems some of our Labour councillors obviously do not care one bit about the “forgotten residents” exisiting in these conditions.
Undeterred we emailed our local Labour councillor Judith Blakeman and RBKC’s only Lib Dem councillor Linda Wade….
Both got in contact with us to say they would raise these issues with Kim Taylor-Smith too and later we received this from Kim Taylor-Smith:
” I have asked for a brief on the Landlords/Issues you have raised and will revert
Otherwise some initial comments
With over 2,300 private rental agreements with private Landlords all over London, accommodating our homeless, we are always going to have some problems. Improving the accountability, supply and standard of TA is a key area in the Housing Strategy (on the website) and we will be reporting on this at every scrutiny meeting. Suggest we are dumping residents into expensive slums is not correct. Our policy requires that every property is inspected before occupation but given that 75% are out of Borough it is a challenge to inspect them on a regular basis so we do rely a lot on residents (and you) to highlight problems so we can take the Landlord to task. “
After trying to chase up Pat Mason and Kasim Ali over the issue again, what we got back from them were angry responses saying they had been too busy with casework and Cllr Ali referred us to his response to the RBKC Homelessness Strategy ‘which shows that he clearly did not read our blog post at all.
As for that response and also the Labour’s response to the SPD , our blog has received numerous complaints from residents – many of them Labour supporters – calling the responses “weak” “lazy” and “copy and paste”
From The Hornets Nest has today posted this, and while our upcoming takes on Committee meetings and opposition councillors may be rather different to this, the fact that at yesterday’s Housing Committee meeting, they ran out of time for councillors to ask questions and to get through the agenda yesterday does concern us. We expect better and so do others – many of whom voted and campaigned for these councillors in the first place…
Come on Labour – this really isn’t good enough. Unlike some, we are not calling for resignations, but this is far from a positive start and we are losing confidence fast. We wish we didn’t have to put this post up, but what else can we do, if those who are supposed to be listening to the poor and disadvantaged most, are failing to do so. Please get your act together.
THis Is North Kensington 
When I worked for the Council the only time I had to give a presentation to a Committee (or it may have been a Sub-Committee) in about 1997 there were 5 people – 4 Conservative and 1 Labour . All had my briefing report in front of them. The Conservatives referred to the report and asked perceptive questions and engaged in meaningful discussion. The Labour councillor (who shall remain nameless) to my surprise took no part. He never picked up the report, asked any questions, or engaged in the discussion. He just sat there.
Thinking about it afterwards I came to the conclusion that it was a protest against being utterly powerless – whatever he had said would have been pointless. Presumably committees have to have a certain proportion of Labour members, and they turn up to get their expenses, but what is the point in participating; after you’ve been outvoted 10 times you don’t bother.
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