No laughing matter: The Times cartoonist’s take on the latest Labour scandal
It’s a case of Foxtrot Oscar for CLP chair Harman, as his former boss comes under increasing pressure over his role with Labour Together and his ‘deeply unprofessional and possibly unlawful’ handling of local elections. On the fifth anniversary of the hack of this website, our Political Editor, WALTER CRONXITE, reports
A proper B’stard: Steve Reed, possibly, according to the leader of Norfolk County Council
Steve Reed OBE, the MP for Streatham (and Croydon North if he can ever be bothered) is coming under increasing pressure to cling on to his role in Keir Starmer’s cabinet, as the scandals around Labour Together, the fringe group he helped to establish with Morgan McSweeney, threaten to undermine his political career terminally.
Reed’s flawed judgement has been called into question once again, this time over his decision to suspend local elections in 30 areas of England, which has seen Starmer’s government forced into yet another U-turn, while tax-payers have been left to foot Nigel Farage’s and Reform UK’s legal bill, estimated to be more than £100,000.
Reed has been compared to 1980s sitcom character Alan B’stard, as Kay Mason Billig, the Conservative leader of Norfolk County Council, has called the Secretary of State for local government a “two-faced bully” and a “bastard” (without the apostrophe), as Labour’s plans to delay local elections descended into farce.
Norfolk CC is one of the 30 authorities that are due to be abolished as part of Labour’s overhaul of local government – but the reorganisation won’t come until 2027, 12 months after the scheduled 2026 local elections.
According to Billig, the decision to now go ahead with local elections for her council and others, with less than 12 weeks until polling day, could jeopardise a decade of planning for local government reorganisation.
And meanwhile, in the middle of all this, Reed has lost the support of his SPAD, Oscar Harman, his Streatham gofer (as in “go fer this, go fer that”), who has left his job as the minister’s special adviser at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Reed’s own time at MHCLG may be running out, too, after yesterday’s announcement that MHCLG was abandoning plans to postpone polling day at 30 councils, following a legal challenge brought by Farage’s party.
The government claimed the change of mind was because its legal advice had changed – although it has failed to provide details of how, or why.
Going separate ways: MP Steve Reed (right) with his former SPAD, Oscar Harman
It is just a month since Reed said that running elections for “short-lived zombie councils” would divert “scarce resources away from front-line services like fixing pot holes and social care”.
The Electoral Commission, the elections watchdog, said it did not believe “capacity constraints” were a “legitimate reason” for delays.
The climbdown was greeted with unbridled delight by the typically obnoxious Farage, and the Tories joined the pile-on on Reed.
The Reform legal challenge was expected to be heard in the High Court this Thursday.
When the announcement was made that the case was being dropped by government, Farage said: “If a government minister does something illegal, they really ought to resign.”
The Tories’ shadow housing spokesman, James Cleverly (who has received a knighthood since he met Inside Croydon’s Ken Towl in an Addiscombe pub), described Reed’s behaviour as “deeply unprofessional and possibly unlawful”.
“Steve Reed has been incompetent at best,” Cleverly said.
“I have demanded answers from Steve Reed about his conduct through this process.
“He must answer fully, or resign.”
This latest Reed-inspired clusterfuck follows on from his mate, McSweeney, being forced to resign as Chief of Staff at No10 over his part in the Ambassador appointment of Mandelson, and the growing storm over the Reed-McSweeney co-project, Labour Together, spying on journalists for doing their jobs.
In the middle of all this, Reed must also deal with one of his closest aides leaving the MHCLG offices.
Going places: Oscar Harman is no longer on the payroll of the state
Harman is the second Reed SPAD – special adviser, a Civil Service position, hand-picked by ministers – to leave the position in little more than a year. And as they say in Whitehall, to lose one SPAD is unfortunate, but to lose two…
South Norwood councillor Louis Carserides quit his job as Reed’s SPAD less than six months after Labour won the 2024 General Election. Harman has lasted a similarly brief period of time in public service, including a one-month spell overseeing the Prime Minister’s diary.
Harman is the chair of Reed’s Streatham (and Croydon North, etc…) Constituency Labour Party.
It was Harman who controversially blocked discussion by local members of a motion to investigate the appointment of Peter “Petie” Mandelson as Britain’s Ambassador to the United States, an incident last September that saw Reed skewered on national television earlier this month.
Harman has announced his departure on social media, writing of his “particular gratitude” to Reed.
“I’m excited to explore new opportunities and challenges in this chapter of my career, while continuing to support this Labour government that we all worked so hard to get elected in 2024.”
Harman does not appear to have lined himself up alternative employment at this stage.
Read more: The Fraud: how Reed’s Labour spied on Croydon councillors
More Reed: Steve Reed’s aide blocks members’ vote on Mandelson scandal
Read more: Cabinet Office to ‘look at the facts’ of Reed’s Labour Together
More Reed: MP Reed gets dragged into the scandal over Peter Mandelson
Listen to our exclusive Andrew Fisher Interview with Paul Holden, the author of the explosive investigative book, The Fraud which unearthed the dodgy dealings of Reed, McSweeney and Labour Together. It’s well worth a listen.- It’s available now on Inside Croydon’s Spotify channel
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2026, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for an EIGHTH time in nine years, in Private Eye magazine’s annual round-up of civic cock-ups- Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
As Reed won’t jump, he’ll have to be pushed. Get on with it Starmer
I suspect Reed will go down with Starmer’s ship, which is already rapidly approaching the iceberg.
Latest YouGov national polling continues to suggest that Streatham and Croydon North will be won by the Greens at the next election.
So we will get rid of Reed one way or another.
Reed is utterly useless and needs to lose his seat but the idea that most ordinary voters have the faintest clue – or care – about any of this Westminster babble is laughable. That’s why he spends most of his time taking stupid thumbs-up selfies in ropey local restaurants. That’s all most people see, on Facebook.
God help the poor benighted residents if the Greens get in. They’ll be forced to eat tofu, breakfast on quinoi and look forward to a local nuclear-free zone and life without NATO.
Oh dear Chris Myers, another feeble and childish rant, it’s getting a bit tiresome,mate! And you are not even prepared to say who you are voting for, that is, if you can even be bothered to vote. Come on mate, don’t be shy, tell us. I’ll wait.
Electoral Calculus calculates Streatham and Croydon North as a Labour hold on the latest YouGov poll.
Well there is no depth of stupidity, that the electorate will not sink to. Labour are a shit show both locally and nationally! Yet the idiots will still go out and vote for them!? I despair!
Just for the record, I don’t live in Reed’s ward any more. And, no I’m not telling you who I’m voting for. Why should I? I always vote – reardless of whether it makes any childish difference. I was one of the first 18 year olds to vote and I’ve never missed an opportunity. BTW, you protest voting mate?
Sadly probably true since most people are not aware of how catastrophically useless Reed is as a local MP. Lazy, careerist, dreadful self-promoter who does literally nothing beyond appearing in stupid selfies whenever it’s election time.
Surrey Tories were delighted with the move from 12 District Councils to two unitary authorities.
It would get rid of a couple of hundred time wasting coulcillors with party polititcal delusions.
Farage does not care that the extra election will cost another £20million to tax payers as long as he scores childish brownie points
As democracy is too expensive, let’s have a dictatorship, right Sean?
I think we should vote on that