Fiaz’s Preferred Candidate Defeated. Again.

In a race that echoes the recent battle between Lakmini Shah and Thelma Odoi, it seems that Cllr Terry Paul convincingly defeated Cllr Lewis Godfrey for the vacant position of Scrutiny Chair. 

Paul represents the voice of the internal opposition to Fiaz. Having been appointed as political head of finance in her first term, he was unceremoniously dumped in the second for Cllr Zulfiqar Ali. He and Fiaz have not seen eye to eye ever since. Paul was one of the first to raise the question of the mayor’s overspending and the possibility of cuts. This precipitated an exchange between the two that saw both of them lodge standards’ board complaints against the other. We are no wiser, a full year later and are still waiting for the report to be published.

Godfrey, a first term councillor, by contrast, was seen very much as the preferred choice of Fiaz.

The Odoi/Shah result should have given him some cause to wonder if this was a race he had any chance of winning.

Our estimate of the Shah victory was that she took two votes for every one that Odoi took. Our expectation is that Paul did much the same.

Unfortunately, we have to work with estimates because the Labour Whip no longer releases the figures to Group members. We can only assume that this is because releasing them would show the derisory level of support that the mayor commands. But you never know, Cllr Islam might be more candid this time.