• ISLINGTON Labour has argued in the Tribune Letters pages that our borough doesn’t need an opposition because the majority party’s own councillors scrutinise its activities so closely.

Famous supporters of “one-party” democracy, such as president Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, have also long argued that opposition is unnecessary because the ruling party can scrutinise itself so effectively.

It will, of course, be great if Labour councillors continue to police their own colleagues, as they insist they do, but nationally “one-party” councils have been demonstrated to make poor decisions and give poor value for money to council tax payers and the Green Party thinks it would be better to have a formal opposition in place, in Islington, as our democratic system usually expects.

As it happens the Greens’ Caroline Russell has achieved a remarkable amount as a sole opposition councillor for the last eight years, holding Labour to account, for example, for inadequate fire doors and poor maintenance on its estates, and pushing them into reducing council tax for the lowest income households. A stronger opposition, though, could do even more.

The Greens don’t anticipate running Islington Council after May 5 but, if elected, our councillors will both engage constructively to help Labour to achieve its zero-carbon goals, for example, but will also challenge it, where it isn’t doing enough for either people, the planet, or the public purse.

ANDREW MYER
Islington Green Party