COULD MOSQUITO BITE ALBERT?

17-05-2008

Yvonne Mosquito’s shock departure as Labour’s nomination on the West Midlands Police Authority robs it of it’s only African Caribbean woman, and might yet come back to sting the man Labour malcontents are suggesting was the architect of her downfall - the leader Sir Albert Bore.

Mosquito is a long-standing member of the Authority and highly respected; indeed, she was being spoken of as a future Chair of the organisation.

She was there on merit – but there’s no doubt that her colour and gender also helped ensure that the body established to give the public a say in policing priorities was in some way representative of the wider community.

Given that Mosquito is departing and Janet Summers is resigning, that could leave the Authority’s 17 strong membership comprising just 3 women – none of them black.  Hardly a fair balance you might think.

So why did she lose her position?  And what’s her reaction?

Well, unfortunately, Mosquito is nursing her wounds and saying nothing, but other senior Labour figures have been more forthcoming – albeit on a strictly unattributable basis.

The story – entirely unsubstantiated of course - goes that the election of Aston councillor Mohammed Afzal was engineered by Albert, partly to ensure that a loyal henchman was in place. 

If the gossip is to be believed, Afzal wasn’t overly enthusiastic but was considered by the leader and his pals in the regional party to “owe them one” after they paid his legal fees in the aftermath of vote rigging allegations during the 2004 election.

What’s more, Mosquito’s main rival for selection as Labour candidate in the Ladywood seat is Shabana Mahmood, whose dad, Mahmood Ahmed, is Chair of Birmingham Labour party.

It doesn’t do his daughter’s selection chances any harm if Yvonne is somehow perceived to be on the decline.

The weakness in this argument is that Mosquito was not removed directly by Albert, or indeed the regional party, but by her fellow Labour councillors.

Maybe they just thought Afzal would do a better job.

The danger for Albert, however, is that Mosquito is a well-liked and respected member of the party and – whether rightly or wrongly – some suspect him of involvement in her downfall.

In any event, her removal from the Police Authority does nothing to further the cause of women or the African-Caribbean community, allowing the faction that is gathering around Cath Grundy to play on their favourite theme – their leader’s alleged lack of “inclusiveness” and the use of patronage to further his influence.

It remains to be seen whether Mosquito will align herself to this group.  One suspects that she’ll keep a dignified silence at least until the Ladywood selection is over.

If she came out against Albert in the future though, it could be enough to turn the undercurrent of grumbles against him into something altogether more challenging.

We shall see.