Now You See Her…

On 16th December 2024, having been elected some five months previously, the youngest councillor in Newham was promoted to the cabinet. We are given to understand that Cllr Onovo was told that she was being promoted only minutes before the council meeting started. And just because there had never been a “Youth Power” cabinet position before does not mean that it was simply made up for the mayor to place a supporter in.

However, the fact that this was something of a last minute appointment seems to be confirmed by the inclusion of Onovo’s name on a number of scrutiny commissions in the published reports for the same meeting, (from page 197 onwards) declaring that she would be a member of the Audit, Housing and Health and Social Care scrutiny commissions. As a cabinet member, she would not be eligible to sit on these bodies.

Clearly the mayor, having considered the matter carefully, had decided that the strategic direction for “Youth Power”, would be best guided by the newest and youngest member of the council.

Again, we wish to disassociate ourselves from those members of the council who have suggested that Onovo was appointed because Fiaz felt that as an inexperienced councillor, Fiaz would be able to manipulate her. 

And so, Onovo took up her position. And by all accounts appears to have taken it seriously. So seriously that, in her words, “having taken the proactive steps to bring myself up to speed and be fully informed of the portfolio standards and the role’s responsibilities, it has become apparent that an unexpected, unique, and complex set of circumstances exists within the Youth Power portfolio which will require a full-time commitment to navigate successfully. For this reason, I have made the difficult decision to step down from this role.”

Quite how reading up on the responsibilities after being appointed is “proactive” is anyone’s guess, but that aside, on the face of it she has taken the unusual but none the less honourable course of stepping down.

This means that she held office for less time than Liz Truss!

The mayor was magnanimous, even though it must have caused her some embarrassment. “I know how difficult it would have been for Melanie to decide that this important role needed more time commitment than she was able to give at this time.”

We are sure that the “Youth Power” role is of importance, and we look forward to seeing who the mayor will shortly elevate to replace her.