Labour councillors threatened with suspension in feud over Wembley building
Pavitt Hall is Brent Labour's headquarters - Credit: Archant
Labour councillors in Brent are being threatened with suspension by their national party as a feud over a building in Wembley intensifies.
Trustees are currently being selected for Pavitt Hall - Credit: Archant
The rift over Pavitt Hall in Union Road, has emerged following a decision by the Labour Party that they will select the trustees for the building instead of the borough branch.
The building is used as Brent Labour’s headquarters and the process of selecting new trustees is currently taking place within the local party.
The Times has seen correspondence from the national party threatening councillors who sign any papers to become a trustee of the property or who “enables another” to become one “will be subject to the party’s disciplinary proceedings including suspension.”
The national party is speculated to want to use the building as security to strengthen its borrowing ability but Brent Labour make money from the site by hiring it out for functions and events.
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In 2010, Brent Labour sought legal advice after the national party ruled ‘all constituency parties will have trustees appointed by HQ’
He concluded that the national party did not have the power to take over Brent Labour’s assets.
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The letter, signed by Labour Party Compliance Officer Jane Shaw, said that councillors were unlikely to notice any difference in the legal rights being handed over to them because the local party will continue to benefit from income raised by the hall.
Cllr Patricia Harrison, chair of Pavitt Hall governors and Labour councillor for Preston, said: “It’s something that’s in negotiation at the moment, it’s not as dramatic as all that.
“We’re talking to them and working through it.
“It’s too early to make sweeping statements one way or the other. We’re just finding our way through it.”
The Times calls to the national party were unanswered.
