Bexley and Havering Assembly Members Walk Out of London Meeting
Tory members walked out of a London Assembly meeting over gender panel issues
Bexley, Havering, London, Sadiq Khan, Green Party, Panel
Bexley: Last week, during a meeting of the London Assembly’s environment committee, things got heated. Members were about to question experts on Mayor Sadiq Khan’s plan for “swimmable rivers” when two Tory members decided to walk out.
Keith Prince and Thomas Turrell were upset because the committee’s Green Party chairman, Zack Polanski, wouldn’t let a Bromley Council rep join the panel. They felt it was unfair to exclude him just because he was a man.
Polanski wanted to avoid an all-male panel since the other two speakers were also men. Instead, they brought in Louise Krupski from Lewisham Council. The Tories argued that this left outer London under-represented.
Interestingly, one of the other speakers was Paul Powlesland, who runs the River Roding Trust, which is an outer London waterway. So, it’s a bit of a mixed bag.
Turrell, who represents Bexley and Bromley, pointed out that outer London councils often get less funding and face unique challenges. He was frustrated that they couldn’t have a rep from Bromley on the panel.
Polanski, who’s also a deputy leader of the Green Party, wanted a gender-balanced panel and made that clear to the assembly staff. He invited Krupski after learning Lewisham could send a woman, while Bromley was only offering a man.
It’s worth noting that Bromley was still invited to submit written evidence if they wanted. But Prince, representing Havering and Redbridge, called the situation a classic case of “left-wing wokery.”
He expressed his frustration, saying they’re tired of this kind of virtue-signaling and that it’s time to take a stand against it.