Hackney Council misinforms voters: “No Conservative candidate for Mayor”
Andrew Boff, London Assembly Member and Conservative candidate for Mayor of Hackney
Hackney Council has been telling callers that there is no Conservative candidate standing for mayor of Hackney in the forthcoming elections this Thursday, 6 May.
The candidate himself Andrew Boff received a couple of emails from concerned residents who told him that Hackney Council’s call centre staff had told them that there was no Conservative candidate for Hackney mayor.
Mr Boff the phoned the council as an anonymous caller to hear what enquirers were being told. Mr Boff said, “The council call centre staff member went to talk to the election office staff to get advice and at the end confirmed that I am not standing.
“Not happy with banning my election address for mentioning how much the Mayor and Cabinet are paid, the resources of the Council are now being used to peddle mis-truths, telling people that they can’t vote for me.”
Listen to the phone conversation here (edited version): or here (full version, approx 9 minutes).
Hackney Council has been asked to comment.
Update: Hackney Council responded 6.15pm Tuesday 4 May.
Belinda Black, Director of Customer and Corporate Services, said, “I apologise for the incorrect information that Mr Boff was given when he called our contact centre. There has been no attempt on the part of the Council or any of its officers to conceal the fact that Mr Boff is a candidate in this election.
“Mr Boff’s candidacy has been listed in the mayoral booklet that has gone to every elector, and in the list of candidates on Council’s website, on the Notice of Mayoral election and in Hackney Today.
“The exclusion of Mr Boff’s election address from the booklet was a complicated legal issue, and though the staff member gave the correct information at first, unfortunately as Mr Boff persisted in asking the staff member to say whether or not he was a candidate, the incorrect response was given as this was a technical issue beyond the knowledge of the staff member.”
Mr Boff responded, “How many calls did the Council receive about my exclusion from the booklet before they started reading from the script introduced after my complaint?
“I am now worried about how impartial the election will be on Thursday. I would urge voters to make sure that their votes are being properly registered and that a thorough checking of postal votes takes place.”
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Copies of some of the emails Mr Boff received: 04/05/10 Hi Andrew, My wife called the above number which is on the Hackney Government Mayor Candidate election brochure which was sent to all houses in Hackney and has a two page comment from each Candidate for Mayor. She asked why the Conservative Party wasn’t listed / didn’t have a comment page like the other parties. XXXX1 at Hackney Government who answered the phone said that it is because the Conservative party candidate for Mayor didn’t meet the qualification criteria and so wasn’t eligible to run for Mayor. My wife pointed out that you are on the ballot paper, to which the man said that this was a development that came up after the ballot paper was sent which is why you are included on the ballot but not in the booklet. He also said the Christian party didn’t qualify either.
29/04/10 Dear XXXX5 I have just received a leaflet from Hackney Council with a two page spread on every political party except the Conservatives. At the front it says that Andrew Boff is standing in the Mayoral Election but he is not given any coverage in the leaflet. I called Hackney Council to complain and was told that the Conservatives are not fielding a candidate and hence why there was no detail on them in the leaflet and even though on the front page it says that Andrew Boff is standing. The reason give was that the Conservatives did not meet certain statuary [sic] and legal obligations in submitting a candidate? This all sounds like complete nonsense to me and with such a short time to go until polling day I am deeply concerned. I have just also alerted CCHQ to the situation and they have said they will also look into it but I just checked my e-mails and remembered you are the local contact and so might like to know. Regards XXXX6
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Candidates for the Hackney mayoral election 2010 – the full list of valid nominations .
Previous story here: Hackney Council rejects mayoral candidate’s election address.
Follow up story here: Council threatens Hackney Citizen with legal action
Eyes shouldn’t only be on Tower Hamlets, Hackney Council needs to be investigated for electoral fraud and irregularities.
What on earth is going on? According to your report on April 13th, the Returning officer announced that Andrew Boff would be listed in the booklet as a candidate – which must mean he would be on the ballot paper and could be voted for.. No address by him would appear in the booklel because their interpretation was that he had not followed the regulations in what he wrote.
Someone answering the phone at the Council has now told a caller (in fact, Andrew Boff himself), after consulting someone, that he is not a candidate because of what he submitted for the booklet.
The Council has better comment pretty quick. Even if the explanation is that the person answering the phone was misinformed, how on earth could the Council not have briefed their staff to answer this question correctly ? – it was an obvious query they were likely to receive in the days after the booket was distributed.
If on the other hand there is any serious possibility that a vote for Boff will be deemed null and void, this is a scandal which flies in the face of what you reported the returning Officer as having said 3 weeks ago.
Shame on Hackney, always cheating.
I’ve been saying it for years.
Vote Boff. Even if you hate Cameron and love Brown or Clegg.
Vote Boff. Get some sanity into Town Hall.
We’re worth not being treated like a bunch of idiots.
This sounds very worrying and should be investigated.
Equally worrying is Mr Boff’s proposal to abolish the mayor’s salary. Whatever you think of the current mayor, it is an extremely big, important job and the policies of the mayor impact on the daily lives of all of us in Hackney.
The idea that someone should or could do this job on a voluntary basis is absolutely absurd. Do we want a return to the days when only those who could afford to run for office did so? Or when politics was the play thing of the rich and powerful?
If Mr Boff was elected mayor, he could of course afford to give up the salary – given he is paid almost £55k a year as a London assembly member. Personally I’d like someone dedicated full-time to improving Hackney and lives of its residents
This election is a shambles!
Mr Boff has not been given a fair chance of winning. Hackney Council is a disgrace – if this we’re the 3rd World there would be Anarchy in the street!
Hi Sean
Hackney Council also has a full-time Chief Executive http://www.hackney.gov.uk/l-council-introduction.htm
I’m relaxed about the no pay pledge because it makes a refreshing change from paying Jules Pipe et al top rate for them to shamelessly squander our money. Just think about the sums blown on Clissold Leisure Centre due to wild incompetence on Pipe’s part makes my eyes water.
Labour councillors and Jules Pipe are treating their Council seats and salaries like it’s their retirement home.
If Boff wants to lead the way with people who care taking a pay hit in a recession, I’m for it.
I don’t think Boff’s ever said the Mayor or his/her Cabinet would never be paid again. He’s talking about now. He’s talking about showing a bit of leadership and doing what it takes now to put a tourniquet on Hackney waste.
even better send an email to newsnightinvestigations@bbc.co.uk they should not be allowed to get away with this.
I have my own apprehensions about Jules Pipe as an individual and even his vision of Hackney, which I feel focus’ excessively on heavy gentrification as a means of ‘developing’ the borough.
However, only a fool would contradict the assertion that many positive changes have been brought about under his leadership of the borough, particularly in respect of day-to-day irritations such as refuse collection and street cleaning.
Many parts of the borough have gone from being ‘no go areas’ to places where people want to send their children to school and bring up families.
Unprecedented government expenditure, long overdue after the ravages of 18 years of Tory rule, has clearly played a large role in Hackney’s rebirth, but so has strong leadership delivered by Hackney’s strategic mayoralty under Jules Pipe.
In certain respects, I admire Boff, particularly the fact that he is willing to speak out against his fellow Tory Assembly Members on matters of conscience. I also agree with him that the position of Mayor is overpaid – although he’s never spoken out against Boris Johnson’s £145k salary.
However, to suggest that the position of ‘Mayor of Hackney’ should come without remuneration reveals more than a touch of Tory recidivism.
To see a return to the bad old days of unpaid elected officials, when the only people who could afford to stand for office were those who had vast personal wealth or, as in Mr Boff’s case, lucrative jobs elsewhere (he would continue to draw on his £53,910 salary as a London Assembly Member), would mean that those most representative of Hackney’s residents would be effectively barred from standing for election.
Maybe, neo-feudalism is what Mr Boff wants for Hackney, but he won’t be getting my vote to help him achieve it.
Kris, the Chief Exec is the head of paid service and therefore does not provide political leadership. That’s what councils/Mayoralties are for.
In respect of Clissold leisure centre; yes, there were cost overruns – serious mistakes from which the council should learn a lesson – but I can guarantee that if the Tories were in charge there’d be no leisure centre at all; and you only have to go down there to realise what a valuable asset it is to the community.
Spirit Leveller
Up until 1999 leaders of Councils would operate on quite modest allowances and were all volunteers. I led Hillingdon Council for £6K a year.
I am not abolishing the salary (the Mayor has no power to do that), I’ve just decided not to take it because I already have a public funded salary.
I’m not barring anyone else from standing and taking the salary if they chose to do so. All the Cabinet members would still have their Councillor’s allowances.
As to the levels of service – I promised 4 years ago as candidate that Haggerston Pool would be open in 9 months of getting elected – suffice it to say that Hackney voted Labour and it is still closed.
Actually I have spoken out against the Mayoralty of London – I was told off for describing the position as an elective dictatorship. And yes, I do think the Mayor of London gets paid too much.
What bars people from election is the knowledge that they will have to give up their jobs and their position in their communities in order to represent the views of those communities.
Going back to the MAIN point of this article:
OBVIOUSLY this is clearly a mistake on the Electorial Services Department & also Communications & Publicity. I’ll repeat someone elses comment above: ‘Why wasn’t the Call Centre Staff infomed of the correct message to relate to callers?’
I’m sure the Call Centre staff were only given ‘brief FAQ’s’ to assist them with the high volume of calls?
Also, can i ask if Mr Andrew Boff annouced that he was recording his call to the Council? From what I am aware…it is ILLIEGAL to record calls without stating you will do so at the beginning of the call!!!!!
Excuse me, Answer that Mr Boff!
Spirit Leveller
We could have the Emirates for the amount Jules Pipe spent on Clissold Leisure Centre.
It’s disaster after disaster with Pipe:
ItNet http://bit.ly/bSWesE
Broadway Market
http://changehackney.com/?p=16
Dalston Property Developer disaster http://opendalston.blogspot.com/
and, my personal fave, the CLC
http://bit.ly/8YYFMa
Trouble is Spirit L, you can explain away one or even two of the above, but these guys never learn – or they just don’t care.
They can’t be this stupid, can they?
Rachel, It’s not illegal to record a persons conversation without their consent. I’m no lawyer, but I do know it is a bit of a grey area if it is made available to a 3rd party. I’m not sure if that includes carrying out a public service (as in this case) to residents of Hackney.
But I’m sure you know that already, and if you don’t ask your legal department at Hackney Council.
I suggest we should take an action against the Hackney Council.
Hi Rachel
The main point of the article is that Hackney Council do seem to be making a few “mistakes” when it comes to Mr Boff. Funny how they all relate to his contesting Pipe’s seat.
As for Mr Boff’s recording of his own telephone call to Hackney’s Call Centre, I have the feeling he’s ok under RIPA.
It’s probably best if you quote chapter and verse of the section and Act you think he’s failed to comply with before branding the man a crim.
A bit Hackney Labour there – fast and loose with the facts.
This is not a party political issue, it’s a democratic issue. The unfortunate officer who talked to Mr Boff was representing the Returning Officer. It’s the competence of the Returning Officer which must now be in doubt. Surely this is a matter for the Electoral Commission. It is difficult to see how Hackney’s mayoral election can be considered valid.
To the person worried about Hackney Labour council being recorded whilst being caught out lying to Hackney voters: we- Hackney voters- have a right to know the lies which the Hackney Labour council are propagating. After all, we’re paying for those lies. Thank you Hackney Citizen.
On Thursday you can vote for more Hackney Labour lies. Or you can vote for Andrew Boff to change Hackney. I’m voting for change. The people who run Hackney just now clearly have no fondness for the democratic process. Let’s get rid of them.
May I say that the person who responded to me did so in a very polite and helpful manner. When she realised that a member of the public was waiting such a long time for the lines to be clear she went to the elections department herself, got the response and relayed that back to me. We need more staff like her!
It clearly is not her fault that the information she was given was misleading, if not criminal. Subsequent attempts to blame her I find disgusting. But that’s Hackney for you.
Incidentally, from my complaint they are now reading from a script.
Tim Shields, Hackney Council Chief Executive & Returning Officer makes how much?
http://bit.ly/ahk3NC
Look, for £174,000.00 pa I want a properly run election.
Not knowing who has responsibility for the competence of the Returning Officer in running a mayoral election, I have simply sent an initial complaint to the council’s complaints procedure.
Hi Andrew,
I see you didn’t respond to the comment regarding the legacy of Tory rule in Hackney. Do you think this is what we can expect if your party wins tomorrow?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/poverty-and-injustice-in-david-cameronrsquos-model-borough-1962318.html
Andrew, Thank you for explaining that the Call Centre Staff member was very helpful & i agree we do need more staff like her!
It was clearly not the staff members fault if that the information that was given.
Shame this wasnt put in the article in the first place.
Sean is trying to divert this affair into a party political matter, tarnishing Andrew Boff with the record of Hammersmith’s Tory council. But anyone who knows Hackney’s political, cultural and social scene is well aware that he is a conservative like no other. I would not dream of voting conservative in the national election, and have never done so yet for any local tory candidate, but I am certainly seriously considering voting for him in the local mayoral election because of his championing good local causes and his scepticism about the present Town Hall regime. I believe his intention if elected is to form a cabinet not drawn from any one one political party – and that’s because he’s a radical who’d look for the support of honourable people, not a cross-party populist.
Worrying? It’s more than worrying, it is a complete disgrace. This Council is not to be believed on anything. Clearly, the Council is in breach of electoral law and should be held to account. Come on, you people of Hackney, rise up and take legitimate action against this joke of a Council.
Making false statements about candidates can be a criminal offence, contrary to s. 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983
I think it’s hysterical. Isn’t local politics great?. Interesting that there was no definition of what the mayor is actually for on the brochure that came round. But if you can’t play by the rules you probably don’t get to play at all. His approach smacks of the Nigel Farage attitude to real politics…..
All over London there is skullduggery in these elections and it is disgraceful.
I voted for Mr Pipe in the last election but he will not get my vote this time round as a matter of principle.
It’s a sad day in our country that this type of thing goes on. It is wrong, end of.
Arthur.
[…] Citizen revealed how council staff were ill-informed about the candidacy of Andrew Boff, who stood for the Conservatives in the election for Hackney mayor. In a telephone call to the […]