One post-coalition election won in London, another on its way

The prophets of doom had an off day this week with Camden Liberal Democrats winning the delayed Haverstock election. They held all three seats against a Labour challenge and even scored a small swing from Labour compared to the last Camden council elections.

The next election test in London will be south of the river in Lambeth for, as the Evening Standard reports,

A London Labour councillor has been arrested by police on suspected child porn charges. Toren Smith, 42, was arrested at his home and questioned before being released on bail. His computer was seized for further examination. He has resigned his Lambeth council seat.

UPDATE: When I say one, of course I mean two, for as the Ilford Recorder reported:

Mark Gittens was part of a Labour trinity that took over Chadwell ward in the local elections earlier this month, but days later he was notified by the Recorder that he was ineligible to stand because he is employed by Redbridge Council as a school teacher.

Sometimes the question as to what counts as a council employee (and so who isn’t allowed to stand for council) catches out people in rather obscure and surprising circumstances involving posts that are funded by the council but people don’t think of as ‘council jobs’. In such cases some sympathy is sometimes appropriate for a person being tripped up by the rules.

However, the idea that “teacher” equals “quite probably not entitled to stand” has been around for years and really shouldn’t catch anyone out. Labour’s excuses on the matter in the paper were less than convincing:

Cllr Littlewood [Labour] said: “It is quite an old law and most people are not even aware it exists, it should be removed.”

Actually, no. Far from being obscure, teachers are a commonly quoted example of the rule and amongst good agents of all parties it’s a very well known rule. The paperwork a council candidate has to fill in also gives a pretty big clue that teaching jobs cause problems.

It being an “old law” doesn’t make an excuse for not knowing it; the fact that it’s been the law for such a long time is a darn good reason for knowing of it.