01 August 2003
Waltham Forest council leader Tony Buckley is set to lose his job after national Labour Party officials suspended him for failing to turn around one of the worst performing authorities in the country.
As Public Finance went to press, an extraordinary full meeting of the hung council on July 30 was due to vote on Buckley's removal as leader.
But the outcome appeared to be a foregone conclusion: the Labour group has already ousted him as leader and appointed Clyde Loakes, Cabinet member for the environment, in his place.
A source told PF that Labour councillors at the meeting would support Buckley's removal. 'The group will vote for Clyde Loakes to be the new council leader,' he said.
The Liberal Democrat and Conservative groups were not expected to field their own candidates, meaning Loakes was likely to be chosen.
Labour's national executive committee suspended Buckley from the party last week, apparently after efforts to persuade him to stand aside failed. The NEC will now launch an investigation into his conduct.
The Audit Commission slammed the London borough's political management in last year's Comprehensive Performance Assessments. And a report this year by the Improvement and Development Agency said the bad relationship between Buckley and council chief executive Simon White was a major barrier to improvement.
The authority was being tight-lipped about the upheaval. It issued a statement that avoided commenting directly on Buckley. 'The council has submitted a recovery plan to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. We have met our initial targets and are confident we are on track to meet our targets over the coming months,' it said.
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