Lynne Featherstone

Event of the day was going to meet the new temporary Chief Executive hired by Haringey to replace the hastily removed (although the public version is “early retired”) now former Chief Exec, David Warwick. It’s Max Caller – the retired ex-Chief Exec of Hackney. He said he was focusing on two key priorities whilst in Haringey. One is to make sure officers understood that they were there to execute the will of the council. I took this to mean that he had been briefed by the Labour administration as to their reasons for Warwick’s “early retirement” which I have always believed was because he wouldn’t do what Labour told him to do and persevered with his duty to the council rather than to Labour.

Realistically, I don’t expect him to do much more than a holding job. Who would? And that’s part of the stupidity of this whole event – at great cost to the public purse we are now, inevitably, in a holding pattern until the new Chief Exec is appointed. Even more stupidly – it looks as if Labour are going to make that appointment a few months prior to the local elections next May – which means if Lib Dems take over the council as we plan – they will have a Chief Exec chosen by Labour to carry out their new administration. Of course – we are in the realm of ifs and buts – but it’s not great timing and could mean, I assume, a clause in any contract that states it needs to be ratified by the new administration (whomever that is) in due course. Oh – well – can’t deal with every eventuality!

Comments are closed.