Row over attempt to delay by-election splits Greenwich Labour

A row over the timing of last year’s council by-election in West Thamesmead has split Greenwich Labour – with the council leader being criticised for asking two party members to withdraw requests for a poll to be held.

The election was held on December 19, the last Thursday before Christmas, and followed the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Lloyd on November 1.

Under electoral law, by-elections are not automatically triggered when a councillor resigns. They called after two electors from anywhere in the borough write to the “proper officer” – in Greenwich’s case, Debbie Warren, the chief executive – and request that a poll be held to fill the vacancy.  

But the Labour leadership was unhappy about the idea of an election before Christmas. 

Much of the council’s work had been held up by having to hold three by-elections so far that year – including one in Shooters Hill that has been scheduled for November 15 – as well as the mayoral election and general election. This meant some activities – like consulting people on issues such as road changes – had to be curtailed.

There were also concerns about a low turnout in the lead-up to Christmas. The Greenwich Wire understands that the Conservative opposition was also not in a hurry to hold a poll for similar reasons.

Two Labour members wrote to Warren on the morning of November 6 to request a by-election. After Okereke saw the requests, he called the members and asked them to withdraw the requests. 

Both sent emails later that day to ask for the requests to be withdrawn. The Greenwich Wire understands that it is highly unusual for these requests to be withdrawn.

But the ploy to delay the election backfired after two electors – believed to be Liberal Democrat members – wrote to Warren a week later, meaning the poll was held on December 19. In the end, only 19.4 per cent of voters cast a ballot, and Labour’s Jahdia Spencer won. 

However, the election was an unusually contentious one, as the ward contains Royal Artillery Quays, a housing development where residents are in dispute with Barratt Homes over its plans to replace unsafe cladding. 

The residents are also angry with the council over what they claim is a lack of support for their cause, and the chair of the residents’ association, Steve Day, stood for the Liberal Democrats. It was thought that a low turnout could boost his chances; in the end he won a third of the votes, well up on the party’s past share of the vote but not enough to beat Spencer. 

The Greenwich Wire has seen an email Okereke wrote to Labour councillors, which said there would be an investigation into why the party members tried to call the election so early.

“We had initially agreed to hold the election next year, and the opposition was content with this plan, recognising that December and the festive season typically result in low voter turnout,” he said. “However, we were always aware of the risk, and ultimately, the decision to call the election was not solely within our control.

“I am disappointed, as there have been ongoing efforts by some Labour members to push for the election. Consequently, the Labour Party will launch an investigation to understand how this situation arose.”

Even though the incident happened in November and the by-election happened six weeks ago, there is still anger among some members about the council leader’s actions. One source within Labour, who asked not to be named for fear of disciplinary action, said Okereke had acted improperly.

“It’s not down to him when by-elections are held,” they said.“The members he called were ordinary electors in the borough like anyone else. They’ve got every right to call an election and calling them to tell them to withdraw their requests was interfering with the process. It was wrong.

“He should have just sucked it up and got on with the election.”

There was also unhappiness in Labour that Spencer was chosen directly by the London regional party rather than by local members; however, others in the party insist this is standard practice when an election is called at short notice. 

There is no provision in law for requests to be withdrawn for a local council by-election, and the Electoral Commission told The Greenwich Wire that the administration of elections where there is a “casual vacancy” – as happened in West Thamesmead – is down to the local authority.

A Greenwich Council spokesperson said: “”The council is satisfied it acted in line with the relevant legislation at all times.”

Okereke denied acting improperly, and said he believed the individuals had been asked by someone else to make the request in the first place. 

He said: “There was a broad, cross-party consensus that the West Thamesmead by-election should be held after Christmas in order to allow for the greatest possible turnout. Indeed, we saw the impact of a December 19 by-election in West Thamesmead, in which just 14.9 per cent voted.

“In light of this being a predictable outcome, I asked those electors if they’d consider withdrawing their requests for an election. It was frustrating and in my view unfair on the individuals concerned that someone purporting to speak on behalf of Greenwich Labour had seen fit to make the ask of them in the first place. Given that these are people who are known to me it seemed only right and proper to set the record straight.”

London Labour defended the decision to hold an investigation. A spokesperson said: “There was rightly a broad consensus that this election should be held after the festive period in order to allow the greatest possible number of people to participate in the electoral process.”

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