Former Newham Councillor Ousted as Leader in Haringey

The woes for Joe Ejiofor continue.

At the recent AGM, Joe Ejiofor was defeated in his bid to remain as Corbynite leader in a party which is swinging away from the bizarre and the extreme. That being said, Ejiofor lost by only one vote which saw the Haringey council split, pretty much 50/50.

What the change in leadership means in practice is that the cabinet has been almost completely changed, only one cabinet member from Ejiofor’s time remains. Surprisingly for a Corbynite she was regarded as doing a competent job, and the new leader has kept her in post.

Ejiofor’s chances couldn't have been helped when councillors discovered that he had the chance to purchase Alexandra House in Wood Green for £10m. Quite a sum for an office block which they were renting at the time. The council chose not to purchase it. 

But it was bought by a developer who submitted plans to convert it into flats. Haringey refused the planning application. And then decided that it did want to purchase the property after all. Only now, ten months after the initial offer, it was going to cost them £22.6m.

Interestingly Haringey are seeking to save some £11m over the next five years, just short of the additional sum they paid for Alexandra House.