I had the great pleasure as Chief Whip of welcoming a new councillor to the Hackney Labour Group today.
Cllr Joseph Stauber, who has represented Cazenove Ward in Stamford Hill since 2002, has joined Labour having become disillusioned with the oppositionalist stance being taken by the Lib Dems and wanting to be part of the Labour team improving Hackney.
The move means the council's composition is now:
Labour - 45 + the elected Mayor
Conservative - 9
Lib Dem - 2
Green - 1
Cllr Stauber's decision is extremely important in terms of building Labour's relationship with the Chassidic Jewish community, the largest ethnic minority group in the four Stamford Hill wards won by the Tories and Lib Dems in the 2006 elections.
We are delighted about his brave decision and think that he will be a huge asset to the Labour Group, helping us to work with and respond more effectively to the specific needs of the Chassidic community.
If you hurry you will have the pleasure of editing Wikipedia too.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cazenove_(ward)
Nice one, but I hope the defections are for solid reasons rather than the personality clashes which seem to infest Labour
ReplyDeleteJust a thought, Luke ... what would you do if some odious homophobic councillor decided to cross the floor and tried to join the Labour bench?
ReplyDeleteNice one Cllr Joseph Stauber what in the hell is the point of joining the Labour group with 45 members and a crushing majority. He could more for his community in opposition calling the Labour group to account. Still suppose he can help with getting all those Orthodox Jews the council want to get working on the Olympic building sites
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine why anyone would want to jump ship and join Labour at the moment.
ReplyDeleteSurely a poor choice and not good for the people who voted that councillor as a lib dem.
given Luke's passionate belief in democracy and in his position as Chief Whip, I have little doubt that he will insist upon a by-election. Unless he's a hypocrite.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes...
I can't see how Cllr Stauber is going to help Labour deal with the Chassidic community. He's not a Chassidic Jew.
ReplyDeleteJoseph is a member of the Satmar community, which according to everything I've ever read or been told is a sub-section of Chassidic Judaism in the same way that Belz and Lubavitch are.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to be corrected if this is wrong.
Ooh. Aren't the Satmar obsessively anti-Zionist? Oh well, I guess as you always say, it's not a Hackey Council issue!
ReplyDeleteOy Vey!
ReplyDeleteGreat bunch of peeps The Satmar Hasidic movement are. They're known for social isolation from all forms of secular culture and for its opposition to all forms of religious, secular, and political Zionism.
For your info the Satmar's are the best dressed Chicken soup around, strutting their stuff on the Upper Clapton Road. Big furry hats, lovely coats and stockings.
The Lubavitch are Billik vi borsht!
Always a tough decision for any Councillor to cross the floor. However, you find that Councillors who defect from the Lib Dems to Labour are far happier in their new home and get on with the job. That is what I found when Catherine Harris joined Labour from the Lib Dems in Noel Park on Haringey Council and we now make a strong working team for the local residents.
ReplyDeleteHain slayed by the truth....who will be next?
ReplyDeleteOf course the Satmar are Chassidic - and against the formation of the secular state of Israel!
ReplyDeleteWhat job have you offered him?
ReplyDeleteLatest news is that the tide is turning on Labour, people are very unhappy. I mean very unhappy. One of the biggest issues is the EU and the lack of a referendum.
ReplyDeleteThey are predicting a huge slide in the polls next month.
When these figures are released it's going to rock the very soul of Labour. I'm not sure Brown will survive it's that bad.
"Hey Lukey Boy what did you offer him you Ginger Twat? I feel sorry for him, your probably going to hang out to dry like you did me".
ReplyDeleteYour mate, Mark (hey kid want a sweet) Trotter.
To my knowledge Cllr Stauber has not held any ward surgeries since 2002 as a Lib Dem Cllr. Perhaps due to his defection to the red's he will now start holding surgeries and earn his keep. Can you please advice us of his surgery details. Maybe he will hold them in a OJ Centre or place of worship which is inaccessible and culturally insensitive to us gentiles.
ReplyDeleteOut of touch and inneffective...that's Cllr Joseph Stauber. Let's see what contribution he make's to the Labour Party but more importantly what increased contribution the hackney tax payer will have to make towards possible increased funding to the Orthodox Jewish Community. WATCH THIS SPACE
ReplyDeleteThats right, Satmar is obsessively anti-Zionist and Luke Akehurst appears obsessively Pro Israel ( member of the Friends of Israel).
ReplyDeleteCllr Stauber, is not good at maintaing confidentiality. He was once told, "Don't tell anyone, but guess whose still together after all the shit between them", He only went and told the world it was Luke Akehurst's bum cheeks.
ReplyDeleteThe only talent Cllr Stauber has is being able to balance a bottle on his head and dance at the same time. I have personally witnessed this and I was well impressed. Hes a shite councillor incidentally.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Slowmo Stauber moved over to the facists Labour party...What a shmuck!
ReplyDelete