Labour council leader Richard Olszewski

CAMDEN’S council leader is switching wards to safer ground amid warnings that he was at risk of losing his seat.

Richard Olszewski was selected by Labour members in Holborn and Covent Garden to be one of their candidates in the ward last night (Tuesday).

It marks an eye-opening north–south transfer ahead of next May’s council elections from his current ward of Fortune Green, where the Liberal Democrats are an obvious threat.

To Labour campaigners, it is simply sensible election strategy at play. To opponents, it’s a “chicken run” – the well-used political slang for a politician seeking a safer seat when under pressure of losing their current one.

Labour is already sharing Fortune Green on a split-ward basis with the Lib Dems, and the omens haven’t looked good for Labour after it took a pummelling in the recent West Hampstead by-election.

By contrast, Labour rarely struggles at the ballot box in the southern tips of the borough, and Cllr Olszewski should be shielded in Holborn from the party’s worst-case scenarios.

“Over recent months, several colleagues approached me to raise their concerns that, as Leader of Camden Council, I am likely to be especially targeted at the forthcoming London elections in the ward I currently represent, which is one of the most marginal wards in the borough,” said Cllr Olszewski.

“I have proudly represented Fortune Green Ward through three successive elections, and although I have secured an increase in my vote at every election, my seat remains very marginal.

“I was urged by colleagues to consider that my role as leader places significant responsibilities on me and demands on my time, both in dealing with council business and within the Camden Labour Group I lead, which would prevent me from spending the time I would need to campaign in Fortune Green, not just during the election period itself, but in the months beforehand. Therefore, with encouragement and support locally, I stood for selection in Holborn and Covent Garden Ward.”

Cllr Olszewski added that it was “not an easy decision” to leave the ward where he has lived for 30 years.

“Some parties may try to make my decision a part of their campaigns, but I know that residents just want to be well represented and to live in a borough that serves their needs as effectively as possible in difficult financial circumstances,” he said.

His intentions had been an open secret at the Town Hall for several weeks, and the move was forecast in the pages of the New Journal several times. Candidate vacancies opened up in Holborn and Covent Garden after Awale Olad and Sue Vincent announced their decision to leave the council at the elections.

Labour members in Holborn and Covent Garden also re-selected Julian Fulbrook, the longest-serving current councillor in Camden, as another candidate, while Livia Paggi was chosen as the third.

Labour is due to select its candidates in Fortune Green, where Lorna Greenwood is also stepping down, on December 2.