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| Alliance of Labour, Ukip and Occupy members attempt to reform City of London | Alliance of Labour, Ukip and Occupy members attempt to reform City of London |
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| It’s an unlikely political alliance: members of Labour and Ukip, veterans of the Occupy movement, clerics and non-party political newcomers — all signed up to an agenda backed by, among others, the Tory MP David Davis. | It’s an unlikely political alliance: members of Labour and Ukip, veterans of the Occupy movement, clerics and non-party political newcomers — all signed up to an agenda backed by, among others, the Tory MP David Davis. |
| Yet after last month’s Eastleigh byelection pointed the way towards a possible breaking of the mould in British politics, the slate of candidates assembled under the umbrella of the City Reform Group are seeking to do just that for the local authority that governs the country’s powerful financial heart - the Square Mile. | Yet after last month’s Eastleigh byelection pointed the way towards a possible breaking of the mould in British politics, the slate of candidates assembled under the umbrella of the City Reform Group are seeking to do just that for the local authority that governs the country’s powerful financial heart - the Square Mile. |
| Ahead of elections this month to the City of London Corporation, the group is pressing for radical reform and greater accountability from an institution where many ancient traditions continue to hold sway, along with unprecedented scrutiny of a £1.3bn "private" account which the public body has cloaked in secrecy and used for lobbying on behalf of the financial sector. | Ahead of elections this month to the City of London Corporation, the group is pressing for radical reform and greater accountability from an institution where many ancient traditions continue to hold sway, along with unprecedented scrutiny of a £1.3bn "private" account which the public body has cloaked in secrecy and used for lobbying on behalf of the financial sector. |
| With tensions are already running high in the poll amid allegations of intimidation of candidates and the sending of anonymous emails, the City Reform Group’s arrival has further raised the stakes. | With tensions are already running high in the poll amid allegations of intimidation of candidates and the sending of anonymous emails, the City Reform Group’s arrival has further raised the stakes. |
| For Shanaz Khan, a restaurateur whose first taste of politics is as a CRG candidate, the election is an opportunity to shake up a body which she says resembles an "old school boys’ network". | For Shanaz Khan, a restaurateur whose first taste of politics is as a CRG candidate, the election is an opportunity to shake up a body which she says resembles an "old school boys’ network". |
| "It’s that one square mile where the local councillors have a budget of more than £1bn. That level of power in quite a small number of people is quite unique so it’s really important to change the ethos and culture and open up dialogue with the community beyond the financial services,” she added. | "It’s that one square mile where the local councillors have a budget of more than £1bn. That level of power in quite a small number of people is quite unique so it’s really important to change the ethos and culture and open up dialogue with the community beyond the financial services,” she added. |
| Khan and her colleagues accuse the Corporation of “failing to live up to its leadership role” at a time when the City, which is home to hundreds of banks and is described as the world’s premier financial centre, has been rocked by crisis. | Khan and her colleagues accuse the Corporation of “failing to live up to its leadership role” at a time when the City, which is home to hundreds of banks and is described as the world’s premier financial centre, has been rocked by crisis. |
| The theme of improving transparency is meanwhile what attracted another CRG’s candidates, Peter Lucas, a Ukip member, who said: “I have always been a believer in transparency but in a lot of ways the City of London Corporation is so archaic, being run as if it was still in the 18th century. There are secret funds which are not subject to full public scrutiny while it just seems to focus on shamelessly promoting the financial services sector.” | The theme of improving transparency is meanwhile what attracted another CRG’s candidates, Peter Lucas, a Ukip member, who said: “I have always been a believer in transparency but in a lot of ways the City of London Corporation is so archaic, being run as if it was still in the 18th century. There are secret funds which are not subject to full public scrutiny while it just seems to focus on shamelessly promoting the financial services sector.” |
| Other CRG candidates include William Campbell Taylor, an east London vicar who has been a long-standing opponent of the way the City is run, the Oscar-nominated dramatist and novelist Jonathan Myerson, and Robin Ellison, a former chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds who stood as an independent in the last general election on a ticket of reforming the pensions system. Ten Labour candidates are also standing in support of the CRG’s aims, which have been endorsed by Davis, the former chair of the Future of Banking Commission, and others, including Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, | Other CRG candidates include William Campbell Taylor, an east London vicar who has been a long-standing opponent of the way the City is run, the Oscar-nominated dramatist and novelist Jonathan Myerson, and Robin Ellison, a former chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds who stood as an independent in the last general election on a ticket of reforming the pensions system. Ten Labour candidates are also standing in support of the CRG’s aims, which have been endorsed by Davis, the former chair of the Future of Banking Commission, and others, including Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, |
| Elections to the corporation differ markedly from those elsewhere. Businesses as well as individual residents of the City can vote and bodies including banks and others based in the City can nominate voters based on the size of their workforce. Party politics has also largely been absent from the Corporation, where the current councillors sit as independents, despite many being members of political parties. | Elections to the corporation differ markedly from those elsewhere. Businesses as well as individual residents of the City can vote and bodies including banks and others based in the City can nominate voters based on the size of their workforce. Party politics has also largely been absent from the Corporation, where the current councillors sit as independents, despite many being members of political parties. |
| They include Mark Clarke, a Conservative party member who was elected in a byelection last year and who mounts a robust defence of how the City is governed and accused the CRG of being a “front” for the Occupy movement. | They include Mark Clarke, a Conservative party member who was elected in a byelection last year and who mounts a robust defence of how the City is governed and accused the CRG of being a “front” for the Occupy movement. |
| “Bizarrely, they seem to believe that the Corporation of the City of London should have some role in regulating banks, but the idea that a local council should play a role in that way is absurd. You wouldn’t go to Sheffield and say that the council was involved in regulating the steel industry,” said Clarke. | “Bizarrely, they seem to believe that the Corporation of the City of London should have some role in regulating banks, but the idea that a local council should play a role in that way is absurd. You wouldn’t go to Sheffield and say that the council was involved in regulating the steel industry,” said Clarke. |
| “It’s also the job of the Corporation of the City of London to lobby on behalf of the financial services industry in the same way as, for example, the council in Sheffield would lobby on behalf of its primary industries.” | “It’s also the job of the Corporation of the City of London to lobby on behalf of the financial services industry in the same way as, for example, the council in Sheffield would lobby on behalf of its primary industries.” |
| Clarke also defends Corporation funds such as the City Cash fund, which he says has been prudently managed for hundreds of years, to a point where there the authority is able to use the interest accumulated to fund charities and good causes. | Clarke also defends Corporation funds such as the City Cash fund, which he says has been prudently managed for hundreds of years, to a point where there the authority is able to use the interest accumulated to fund charities and good causes. |
| Ahead of next week's elections, however, temperatures have been increasing, according to one veteran councillor, who used a meeting of the Corporation’s council last week to raise concerns about alleged intimidation of some candidates. | Ahead of next week's elections, however, temperatures have been increasing, according to one veteran councillor, who used a meeting of the Corporation’s council last week to raise concerns about alleged intimidation of some candidates. |
| “We are not talking about horses' heads being left on pillows but there has been, shall we say, some less than gentlemanly behaviour,” said Martin Dudley, an Anglican priest who added that the intimidation had taken the form of individuals being “warned off” standing in certain wards. | “We are not talking about horses' heads being left on pillows but there has been, shall we say, some less than gentlemanly behaviour,” said Martin Dudley, an Anglican priest who added that the intimidation had taken the form of individuals being “warned off” standing in certain wards. |
| “There have been a few telephone calls made and at least one anonymous email sent. When the ISP was checked it turned out that the source of the email was the House of Parliament, which might tell you something about the sender.” | “There have been a few telephone calls made and at least one anonymous email sent. When the ISP was checked it turned out that the source of the email was the House of Parliament, which might tell you something about the sender.” |
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