The late Frank Dobson was the MP in the south of the borough for more than 35 years – pictured with Sir Keir Starmer as a council estate block was named after him

FRIENDS and family of the late MP Frank Dobson are angry that his name has been used on a Green Party leaflet claiming he would have joined their party if he was starting out in politics now.

The New Journal reported last week that Labour councillor Sue Vincent made the claim in a letter to residents in the Holborn and Covent Garden ward – as she told them they should vote for the Greens at the May 7 council polls. It was circulated as official election literature.

While Cllr Vincent said it comes from a conversation she had with Mr Dobson before he died, Labour figures have questioned the ethics of a claim which cannot be verified and of bringing up a man who has been dead for nearly seven years.

Mr Dobson, also a former council leader and health secretary, was the MP in the south of the borough for more than 35 years. He remained in Labour even when he had disagreements with the leadership, telling members during the tension of the Iraq War that the task was to win the debates on policy from within.

Sue Vincent at Dobson Court on election day in 2018 with fellow councillors Awale Olad and Julian Fulbrook

In a letter to the New Journal published today (Thursday), his wife, Janet Dobson, said the family was “astonished and upset” by his name appearing in the Green Party leaflet. “Regardless of agreement or disagreement with individual policies, whether in government, opposition or indeed retirement he never once contemplated turning his back on the Labour Party,” she said. “He believed that it was the best opportunity to help change people’s lives for the better.”

She added: “Frank always said what he thought. If his views were as reported we would all certainly have heard them, probably more than once.”

SEE ALSO: JANET DOBSON’S LETTER IN FULL

Former councillor and Labour donor Robert Latham has written a similar letter suggesting the content of the Green leaflet was distasteful.

The support of Cllr Vincent is considered a coup for the Greens, as she herself has been a councillor in Camden’s most southerly ward for 24 years. She is said to be saddened the family has taken offence, which was not intended – but is insistent she remembers the conversation in question clearly.

Critics say that whether she has an accurate recollection or not, it is ethically dubious to use it now when Mr Dobson is not here to share his view on the current Labour Party or government.

Labour councillor Sue Vincent has advised residents to vote for the Greens

A complaint is understood to have been raised with the Greens, but the party is not apologising and it is understood organisers feel it would have been wrong to edit Cllr Vincent’s personal letter. Its communication team did not take up the opportunity to comment on the criticism when contacted by the New Journal.

The Holborn and Covent Garden ward is normally a Labour stronghold – part of the reason council leader Richard Olszewski has switched wards from his home neighbourhood of Fortune Green for this election.

He was under threat of losing his seat in the council chamber if he had remained a candidate in the north west of the borough and Cllr Vincent, a former deputy leader of Camden, called the move a “chicken run” in her letter to residents. Zack Polanski’s party, surging in national polls, want to at least run him close in his new area. The co-founder of the Covent Garden Community Association, Jim Monahan, another former Labour voter, is standing there as a Green candidate.

Ms Dobson said in her letter this week that she would encourage people to stick with Labour and said Cllr Olszewski “clearly shares Frank’s values and commitment.”