As leader of the council I accept certain remarks and attacks on myself as part of my job. I tend to avoid responding to these comments because, alas, they tend to be part and parcel of life in politics. I prefer to concentrate on the real issues, like ensuring that all our children in Harrow have a first class education system and that our constituents are all well served by this council.

These issues were lost on the Liberal Democrats who were thrown out of power last May after four disastrous years as the largest party. They will not be lost on the Labour Party. This is why it saddens me to have to respond to a rather spiteful letter from former Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst, a man who still appears to have difficulty accepting the simple truth that the electorate threw him out (Times Series, November 26).

According to Mr Giles-Medhurst's letter, during a debate on Mount Vernon Hospital a councillor, having been called by the Mayor to speak, was silenced by myself when I supposedly said to the Mayor: "I'm not listening to her". According to Mr Giles-Medhurst (whom I believe was not present at the meeting) the Mayor "meekly obliged" me.

This is totally untrue. For one thing I would not say this, but also I find it offensive that Mr Giles-Medhurst has been able to write a quote attributed to me and get it published based on nothing more than the product of his own imagination. As stated earlier, I accept that my position leaves me open to attack. But this attack is neither constructive, sensible or indeed accurate in any way. How does this kind of nonsense benefit the people of Harrow?

However, perhaps the most distasteful part of Mr Giles-Medhurst's letter was his attack on the Mayor, Councillor Cyril Harrison's integrity. The Mayor has loyally served this borough for 27 years and I know him to be a man of principle and honesty. As the Mayor you are there to ensure fair play in the council chamber, similar to the role of the speaker in the House of Commons.

The Mayor must be completely independent when applying the standing orders of the council. I moved an extension to standing orders to allow all parties to debate the Mount Vernon issue. I find it disgraceful that a former Liberal Democrat mayor has called the integrity of the sitting Mayor into question. Does he not know the rules of the council he once sat on?

The Labour Government is trying to raise the profile of local politicians and wants to bring greater accountability and increased interest in politics as a whole. Hopefully, the apathy at the ballot box which saw only 30 per cent of the electorate vote at the local elections will begin to reverse. New Labour is looking at ways to make local government more transparent and has published a white paper called In Touch with the People.

The time has come to be responsible to our constituents and stop the mudslinging. People want constructive debate on the real issues. That is what the Labour group intends to do.

Councillor Bob Shannon, Leader,

Harrow Council

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