Second by-election set for Streatham Common and Vale as another Lambeth Labor councilor resigns in ward

You have to feel for the people of Streatham Common and the Vale ward.

A partial choice?

Not another, etc…

But yes, less than a month after the ward’s good residents scrambled to find a replacement for former Cllr Tom Rutland while he is on the south coast, another Labor councilor from Lambeth has resigned.

This time it is the turn of Cllr Henna Shah (right).

The by-election for the Streatham Common and Vale ward will take place on July 4 – the same day as the general election.

You can find a full list of candidates here.

The result of the Streatham Common and Vale by-election earlier this month was:

Sarah Cole (lab) 2,269

Promise Phillips (local counters) 884

Duncan Eastoe (Green) 784

Nicolas Davidson (LD) 596.

The Labor vote was down 9.1% on the 2022 election for the ward.

Like Rutland, Shah was only elected to the Council two years ago; Unlike Rutland, she’s not jumping ship for the Westminster gravy train.

There was no explanation from the usually upbeat Lambeth Labor side as to why another councilor resigned, just two years into a four-year term.

We would ask them about it. But the Lambeth Labor X account has been expunged from history, i.e. burying the corpses. They tend not to respond to any emails from Brixton Buzz.

Bunker mentality? You like this.

Shah is well connected in Westminster circles. She is the political adviser to Keir Starmer’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Pat McFadden. Her partner is Matthew Pound, a senior adviser to the party’s general secretary, David Evans.

The smart money is on Shah getting a job in SpAds at no. 10 or no. 11 in the new Labor government. The resignation now allows the proper democratic process to take place for local elections to be held on the same day as general elections.

It’s never a good picture when a councilor resigns and independent by-elections are called for. Their average cost to the public purse is around £5,000. There is usually also a poor result, leading to potential danger for Lambeth Labour.

Labor wanted these by-elections out of the way quickly. If Cllr Marianna Masters wins a Westminster seat in St Neot (still a 50-50 chance according to the polls) then she faces a much bigger challenge in Streatham Wells. A by-election would become an LTN referendum.

You have to applaud the Shah’s quick response to resign from the Council. Chancers like Herne Hill ward Cllr Jim Dickson are out of a job to give up their Lambeth seat as they chase their Westminster wet dreams.

Lucky Jim took a six-week paid sabbatical from his Lambeth cabinet responsibilities to knock on doors in Dartford.

Heads you win, tails you win, Jimbo.

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Our general election candidate @Jim4Dartford talk about why it’s time for a Labor government. pic.twitter.com/dL8kcuJZy5

— Dartford Labor (@Dartford_Labour) May 25, 2024

Meanwhile, Jim’s residents of Herne Hill are having some local difficulties with Brockwell Park right now.

#WheresJim etc.

You have to wonder why all of a sudden the Lambeth mountains want to come out. We suspect it has nothing to do with Council nonsense at the local level. Lambeth is a one-party borough. They look after their own, if not the residents.

No, it might just have something to do with the fact that a national Labor landslide looks increasingly likely. Seats like Dartford – through which Lucky Jim would have previously passed only by car – now lead him and so that he has a “passion” for the area.

It is electoral tourism. It is unfair to the voters of Lambeth who first put their trust in this party two years ago. Remove the local party and the local residents for whom they have found an overnight romance.

Eyes down for Lambeth Labor Election Bingo on July 4th.

25, duck and dive, etc.