On the subject of the drugs market…

WAS there a bit of a snarky move by Conservative group leader Councillor Oliver Cooper at last night’s Halloween cabinet meeting at the Crowndale Centre? After Labour councillor Abdul Hai had shared his thoughts on the youth safety taskforce and the dangers and consequences of an entrenched drug market, it was time for questions. To stony faces, Cllr Cooper crossed borough boundaries to intro: “I’m not going to make any jokes about the now former Councillor Osamor regarding that point.”

His reference-it-by-not-referencing-it manoeuvre relates to the now well-publicised case of Ishamel Osamor, son of MP Kate Osamor, who resigned from neighbouring Haringey Council this week after pleading guilty to drugs charges (£2.5k’s worth) relating to a trip to the Bestival music event in 2017. Cheap, yes, but perhaps Cllr Cooper was thinking of all the times Labour councillors jeered Tory Jonny Bucknell for his landlord convictions during his time as a councillor.

Meanwhile, as night follows day, there is a fresh and ready Twitter take on the Osamor conviction from Camden’s former council leader Sarah Hayward: “Of course in normal times he would have been barred from standing as a candidate. Or, if he had withheld the info, then suspended as soon as it came to light. That he was allowed to show up at a labour group meeting and resign is a damning indictment on the party.”