Lambeth’s third Labor councilor has political ambitions elsewhere, while cabinet member Cllr Jim Dickson eyes Dartford

Another day, another Lambeth Labor councilor announced they wanted to leave the borough and become an MP elsewhere.

If it’s Friday night then it must be the turn of Lucky Jim Dickson, the veteran councilor for Herne Hill.

Congratulations to James Rowan Chatterton Dickson who will be troubling Dartford town doorsteps for the next six weeks.

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Delighted and honored to be selected as @UKLabour parliamentary candidate for Dartford!
Dartford urgently needs a Labor Government and a Labor MP to fight to save the NHS, give us safer streets and rebuild our economy! pic.twitter.com/bL06IIFhfR

– Jim Dickson 🌹 (@Jim4Dartford) May 24, 2024

We are getting these three Lambeth Labor councilors elected in 2022 who have political ambitions elsewhere. Streatham Wells Cllr Marianna Masters is the PPC candidate for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire.

Tom Rutland eventually gave up his seat in Streatham Common and Vale after failing to attend resident operations while knocking out in East Worthing and Shoreham.

It will be interesting to see if Cllr Masters and Cllr Dickson follow the precedent set by Tom Rutland and give up their Lambeth seats to campaign elsewhere.

Other former Lambeth Labor councilors who are also on GE include Honest Luke Murphy (Basingstoke), Imogen Walker (Hamilton and Clyde Valley), Kevin Craig (Central Suffolk and North Ipswich) and Iain Simpson (Broadland and Fakenham).

Defending their seats are former Lambeth councilors Steve Reed (new Streatham and Croydon North constituency) and Florence Esholami (Vauxhall).

This is a call for…talent.

Cllr Dickson is the current Lambeth Cabinet Member for Healthier Communities. You wouldn’t know it from X’s account, though. He changed his JimDicksLambeth handle to Jim4Dartford without mentioning Lambeth’s past.

Speaking of his past, it’s a colorful one.

Cllr Dickson was first elected as a councilor for the Herne Hill ward in 1990. His rise up the fat pole was rapid in the New Labor years. He found himself leading Lambeth Council in 1994.

There is the famous quote from Tony Blair at the time describing Cllr Dickson’s leadership as “more New Labor than New Labor.”

Faint praise, etc.

Unfortunately, things didn’t get any better for Jim. Lambeth Labor lost control of the Town Hall under his leadership in 2002. A young Bright Thing called Steve Reed took control of the local Labor Group.

Cllr Dickson unsuccessfully represented the Old Bexley and Sidcup constituency in 2001. As his political fortunes declined, he was able to build a professional lobbying career.

He was a political consultant at Four Communications. This led to a rocky relationship when the cabinet he was part of was awarded a contract to the company he lobbied for.

It will take a swing for Lucky Jim to leave Herne Hill – either the Lambeth or Southwark side where he sometimes lived – and go to Dartford.

The Conservatives retained their seat in 2019 with a majority of 19,160. Labor HQ has the constituency listed as a non-target seat. But it is doable.

Oh – and does anyone know why the @LambethLabour X account disappeared overnight? Burying dead bodies before elections?