Full Council 2

20.10  Let’s start a new page.  The Council has just voted to take a petition from “Save our Nurseries” – an extra one.  Why they feel they should take a second petition on nurseries, given that they previously cut the number of petitions from six to three, is not clear.  Cllr Rachel Saunders is backing the petitioners: she has helpfully pointed out that some of the nurseries have closed over the last few months anyway. The petitioners have confirmed this.  Cllr Saunders asked the petitioners to tell the Council their personal story, and the petitioners are now doing so.  The petitioners are speaking powerfully in favour of public provision: it is unlikely that the Tories will side with the petitioners on this one!  Cllr Danny Hassell pointed out that at Cabinet, it was announced that some cuts proposals had been withdrawn, but this one is only to be “reviewed”.  Cllr John Pierce has congratulated the petitioners for working so hard – coming to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Cabinet and, now, the Council.  The petitioners agreed it has been hard to campaign so tirelessly.  Cllr Gulam Robbani is giving the formal reply.  He insisted that consultation was ongoing and that he was visiting nurseries tomorrow.  He felt that the Labour Party had been whipping up the petitioners though no decision had been made yet.  Cllr Shahed Ali is the first to speak from the Tower Hamlets First.  He too has spoken about how important nursery provision is, but has also spoken of how hard it will be to balance the budget, given the level of public cuts.  He has explained that he will not vote for this particular motion as it asks for one budget proposal to be withdrawn arbitrarily, whereas the Administration has to look at all the proposals.  Now one of the Tory Councillors is speaking: he has admitted that the cuts are large and will lead to difficult decisions being taken. He supports education, and the Tories here tonight will support the motion in the hope that the threatened cuts to the nurseries will be withdrawn and the difficult decisions can be taken later.  Cllr Shiria Khatun, also a mother, has enjoyed campaigning with parents and the Labour Party on this issue.  Cllr Gulam Robbani is stating, for the third time, that a decision on the budget as a whole will be taken in due course, after consultation.  He has stated that Tower Hamlets First does not indulge in gesture politics:  Cllr Rachel Saunders has done a large stage laugh (contradicting her opening statement when she became Leader that there wouldn’t be any more “schoolboy humour”).  Cllr John Pierce has made an impassioned plea for the Mayor to answer the petitioners.  Cllr Alibor Chowdhury has had to point out that at Overview & Scrutiny Committee he outlined the process so Cllr Pierce should understand that a decision has to be taken on the budget as a whole, which includes the point that Labour should not play party politics with children.  Cllr Rachel Blake has chipped in, talking about politics being about making choices. She says that politics are choices, so she is entitled to choose to support nurseries – she has put the point well, but it does not answer the point that budget consultation procedures have to be followed.  Cllr Mabub Alam has spoken, pointing out that he is a father and has a disabled sister.  He suggested that we save money on commissioners – that could be done by working together, but Labour doesn’t do that kind of working together.  Cllr Amina Ali has now spoken: she is coming across as a real Labour hardnut, an impassioned appeal talking about politicians acting maturely, lecturing Tower Hamlets First without any understanding of the wider context.  At this rate, we shall be here all night.  Cllr Danny Hassell has now summed up.  He has said that some of the mothers who came to petition the Council have left in tears.  He insisted the Labour Party did not tell the mothers to campaign or to put their petition (though clearly they did vote to take the petition as an extra petition).  He has said that the mothers don’t know that consultation is ongoing.  He thinks that MPs going to the nurseries is them doing their job, and Cabinet Members should be doing the same, not seeing what the MPs are doing as party politics. The motion has been passed, 24 votes from Labour and the Tories in favour, with all other councillors abstaining.

Someone on the Labour benches has now proposed an emergency motion. Copies are being distributed, and the meeting is being adjourned for three minutes for councillors to read it.  It is from Cllr Danny Hassell and Cllr Asma Begum.  It sets out a lot of reasoning, but basically ends by calling on the Mayor to withdraw the proposal to close all four council-run nurseries. After three minutes reading, Labour and the Tories have voted for the emergency motion to be debated now.  Cllr Danny Hassell has introduced it.  He is explaining that Council-run nurseries are a vital service: this is rather strange as Labour certainly contemplated closing nurseries at Jack Dash House and at the Council’s Professional Development Centre over many years in the past. Still, it’s good that they are now converts.  Cllr Asma Begum is now explaining that as a young mother she understands how important nurseries are.