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Cllr Theo Blackwell

A FRONTBENCH Labour councillor stands accused of ruining a full council meeting by turning the session into a party political broadcast ahead of next month’s general election.
The charge came against Theo Blackwell – the former deputy leader of Camden Council who now runs the Labour party’s local website – after all the Liberal Democrat councillors, including Holborn and St Pancras ballot box contender Jill Fraser, stormed out of Monday’s meeting at the Town Hall in disgust.
The walkout came with 20 minutes of the three-hour meeting still on the clock and as Cllr Blackwell moved a motion promoting the government’s national economic record and criticising policies suggested by Lib Dem and Tory rivals.
Lib Dem Councillor Keith Moffitt said: “It is not something we would do lightly and we did not miss any other council business – but we looked at the motion and realised this was a party political broadcast. It was a failure to understand how the council meeting works. We try to concentrate on Camden and they seem to be sniping about Islington or national policy. Half the Labour party members weren’t there either.”
It is the first time a whole party has walked out of the Town Hall’s full council session in more than a decade and left Cllr Blackwell introducing the motion to rows of empty seats.
The dissent came at a meeting in which members showed growing irritability with each other.
At one stage, Labour Mayor Harriet Garland, who chaired the session, clashed with Lib Dem leader Flick Rea over a point of order, while Tory leader Councillor Piers Wauchope warred with Labour’s Lucy Anderson over details of Margaret Thatcher’s record as Prime Minister.
Councillors were meant to be discussing issues specific to Camden but on several occasions were left firing potshots at rival party’s performance in other boroughs, such as Conservative controlled Westminster or Lib Dem held Islington.
Cllr Blackwell, known by the nickname ‘Blunkett Blackwell’ by some members of his own party, said: “The Liberal Democrats leaving lifted the debate but if (Camden councillor) Jill Fraser is going to stand for election, she should be willing to discuss where she stands on economic policy.”