Who Has Confidence in the Mayor?

Amidst all of the gossip that is floating around Labour Group in the light of Labour’s poor performance in recent elections, we came across some interesting snippets.

It seems that more than a few have begun to wonder how safe their seats are. It appears that they are even more pessimistic than we are and numbers such as 25 seats going to the Independents and five to the Greens are being mentioned.

There are even rumblings of an electoral ‘understanding’ between some opposition groups in a general election that could give Labour MPs cause for concern in 2024.

The root of the problem seems to be that Fiaz has lost the confidence of both the Labour Group and the community at large. Councillors are quietly asking whether Labour stands any chance in 2026 with Fiaz in charge and more than a few are considering whether it is worth standing again.

We are aware that some have been discussing a vote of no confidence in Fiaz at Labour Group. Even the prospect of a vote will be an embarrassment for the mayor. A vote against will would be a humiliation, even if it failed to get the 66% required.

The truth is that a successful vote of no confidence at Labour Group would have no immediate effect on the mayor, apart from on her ego. What would have an effect is to vote down the mayor’s budget or even more personal, vote to reduce the mayor’s remuneration to £1 per year, but it is unclear whether the Group has the stomach for such a prolonged and inevitably vicious battle.

We also understand that the opposition are uniting to table a vote of no confidence in Fiaz at council. Their problem must be that Labour will whip councillors to vote the motion down. However, the proposers will have the floor and an opportunity to publicly embarrass the mayor. They might also exploit the fact that certain Labour councillors voted to retain a mayor who is so obviously unpopular in the wider community.

Our suspicion is that the business managers will maneuver to avoid a discussion. The motion will appear so far down the agenda that it is never taken or, if debated, they will ensure that the matter is not put, by procedural motion.

But saving the best for last, it seems that some councillors have been in touch with a former holder of the mayor’s office to sound out his willingness and availability to serve in that capacity again. This includes councillors who were very active in the campaign to remove him from office. We are told that he has indicated that he would not be averse to a strictly limited two-year term with a view to stabilizing the finances of the council and beginning to turn around service delivery.

An interesting idea, but unlikely. Unless of course, there are Labour councillors who are intent on changing the direction of the party.

We’ll see…

Note. The Green councillors have been in touch. They assure us that they had made no plans to table a vote of no-confidence. They were at pains to ensure that we knew that they did not have confidence in the mayor, it was simply that they had not in fact made plans to put down a motion. We stand corrected.