Council leader Georgia Gould will be the parliamentary candidate in Camden’s neighbouring constituency of Queen’s Park and Maida Vale

• WITH Georgia Gould and several other councillors leaving for the (probably inevitable) Sir Keir Starmer government, it’s not hard to imagine how toxic the atmosphere in Camden Council has now become as the remaining Labour councillors reorganise themselves for the “post-Georgia” era.

During many years in the Labour Party (before I left to avoid expulsion in the Starmer purge of Corbynites), I have heard from many Camden councillors, both current and former, about the severe repercussions for deviating from party lines in a situation where threats, blackmail, deal-making, and bullying seem to be the norm.

If voters knew the true workings of our Labour-dominated council, they would be shocked and would probably seek alternatives at the polls.

As Camden residents who are excluded from what is presumably going on now inside the council, as everyone jockeys for position, all we see is a dysfunctional local authority that mismanages everything, ignores public input, and engages in relentless PR campaigns to justify their decisions, inviting us to join meaningless “consultation bodies” on things like fire safety or resident participation, that have no real influence but make the council look as if it’s “listening”.

Daily operations, meanwhile, are run by unelected officers, protected by a powerful trade union and accountable to no one.

With some of the key councillors gone (that is, the ones who did the most bullying), the remaining ones are jockeying for leadership positions.

You mention some of the potential candidates, all of them lacklustre at best, and some who even could cause significant harm if they take power.

Alas your list doesn’t mention the really good ones, the sincere and hardworking Labour councillors who truly do their best to represent the people, but who have no chance due to the constant bullying and marginalisation.

With the departure of councillors Gould, Danny Beales et al it’s disheartening to see the others deciding all this among themselves without considering who voted for them. I fear it will lead to what will surely be an even worse council that the one we had before.

I might hope for our more downtrodden Labour councillors to finally rise up and assert themselves, bringing about a miraculous change that brings us a responsive, caring council, but that seems as likely as pigs flying.

TOM MUIRHEAD, NW8