Council leader deposed in surprise "coup"

Enfield Council's newly elected Labour Group members have unexpectedly chosen a new Leader to replace Doug Taylor.  The successful candidate, Nesil Caliskan, will become Leader of Enfield Council.

The result of the election for the Labour Group leader was revealed late on Monday evening.  24 Labour councillors voted for Ms Caliskan, while 22 supported Mr Taylor.

The replacement of Mr Taylor so soon after he led his party to victory in this month's council elections didn't come entirely out of the blue.  Keen-eyed readers of last week's PGC Weekly Newsletter will have seen a link with the title A right-wing plot to unseat Enfield's victorious Labour leader? under the Reported Elsewhere heading.  This went to a report in the Morning Star based on information from Cllr Ayfer Orhan, who was warning against what she regarded as "a coup to oust a moderate leader" and "a clear indication of activity by the right to oust Cabinet members as well".

The Morning Star report also stated that Ms Caliskan had overseen the selection of all 63 Labour candidates in her capacity as secretary of the Local Campaign Forum. The selection process resulted in the deselection of many sitting councillors and their replacement by new candidates.  However, no evidence has been forthcoming to suggest that selection of candidates was not carried out on a rigorously impartial basis.

If one compares the names of Labour councillors elected in 2014 with the list of those elected this year, there are no fewer than 26 new names out of a total of 46.  The new names are particularly frequent in the eastern part of the borough, ie in safe Labour wards.  Several former Cabinet members who represented safe Labour wards are missing from this year's list.

It has to be taken into account, however, that three of the new names were already serving as councillors, having won by-elections held since 2014, that there were several sitting councillors who chose not to stand this year, and that there were more victorious Labour candidates this year. 

The so-called "coup" has been much discussed in the Enfield Voices Facebook group.  Information contained in these discussions is unverified and must be treated with caution.

On the reason why so many sitting councillors were not reselected, the secretary of Enfield North Constituency Labour Party stated that some of them were so complacent about being reselected that they failed to take the necessary steps to gain support - so they were the architects of their own downfall.  By contrast, new candidates had performed impressively at selection meetings.

One contributor to the debate said she had heard through social media (unspecified) that no fewer than 17 members of the new council are "related to each other in some way" - presumably meaning that they are relatives or in-laws of one another.  Other contributors were concerned that no BEM sitting councillors had been reselected. 

Frances Sealey, the founder and moderator of Enfield Voices, added a cautionary message:

Some of this is getting too personal and that should not happen. And others are trying to simplify what has happened as a single cause or main cause - like race. And that is simply not true. There may have been an attempt by some people to pack Ward meetings to select a candidate of their choice - but that has happened countless times before and since Political Parties began. There is nothing new in that in any party. And yes it is true that there are many new councillors that have come from specific communities - and other councillors from other communities deselected. That is worrying if it causes social disharmony. But whether this is a deliberate ethnic take over or an interest in politics or whether it is associated with the support of particular MPs is an open question. It is complex and will need unravelling but we cannot do that in a way that will make a positive difference if we turn this into a personal battle or point scoring exercise. So let’s keep it civil and remember that what is happening in the Borough Labour Parties from time to time happens in all political parties as people battle for power out of ambition or principle.