Amir Akhrif, Labour’s excellent candidate in the forthcoming by-election for Colville Ward of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, is having to cope with some very dirty tricks from the Liberal Democrats.
The Lib Dems have recently put out a leaflet for the by-election this Wednesday (Wednesday as the traditional Thursday would have upset the Council Chief Executive’s holiday plans) accusing Labour councillors of agreeing to sell off part of the grounds of Colville School. This is completely untrue and the Labour councillors intend to sue their accusers. A Labour rebuttal leaflet is due to go out very soon.
The truth is, as ever, more complicated, and appears to have very little to do with Labour councillors. Kensington and Chelsea passed a planning application at the beginning of the year to change the use of an old laundry building in Colville, which was approved by the Tory Council following a public consulation. I gather this building now belongs to another school, one of the French establishments in the area. I must say it takes some doing even by Lib Dems to turn this into an anti-Labour story. It’s hardly surprising that Labour concillors are taking legal action against the Liberal Democrats.
Since I was out canvassing in Colville this morning, I picked all this up first hand. It was a fine morning to be on the doorstep in a pleasant part of London full of dignified old houses. The final touch was the tolling of a nearby church bell.
I was pleased to catch up with my old friend, former Kensington Councillor Pat Healy and say hello to Karen Buck, the area’s indefatigable MP.
