Former Treasurer of Tottenham Labour Party joins Conservatives 09/09/09

A former Treasurer of the Tottenham Labour Party has defected to the Conservatives. This follows the recent defections of former Haringey Mayor Cllr. Alan Dobbie (Noel Park) and Cllr. Denise Headley (Edmonton Green) from Labour to the Conservatives.

Michael Olajide, a qualified accountant, accused Haringey Labour of taking black and working-class voters for granted and sensationally accused them of using the Council as a 'cash cow' for their own personal advantages.

Michael, 45, lives in the Avenue, South Tottenham. He was Treasurer for Tottenham Labour in 2007, on their powerful Local Government Committee and a prominent member of the St. Ann's branch.

Giving his reasons for switching, Michael Olajide said: "The Tottenham Labour Party takes black and working-class voters for granted. If you're black, they assume they 'own' you. But the truth is that Labour has let hard-working and law-abiding people of all colours down. Year on year the Audit Commission rate Haringey's everyday services as poor, yet they charge one of the highest Council Tax rates in the country. Where has all the money gone? Absolute power corrupts and absolute Labour power corrupts all public institutions absolutely. Labour has been in power in Haringey for over 4 decades, hence the unabated level of poverty, corruption and unemployment. Haringey has been the 'cashcow' for Labour councillors for over 40 year. I'm confident that Sean Sullivan and Richard Merrin (the two Conservative Parliamentary candidates in Haringey) and their Council candidates will deliver real, positive, changes for Haringey and for Tottenham in particular. Haringey badly needs change and the Conservatives are that change."

Mr Olajide was also an observer on the Haringey Labour Group, where he was privy to the business interests of all Labour councillors that continue to remain undisclosed in what he sees as the 'bogus' declaration of interests of a number of Labour Council Members.

Councillor Alan Dobbie, Conservative Member for Noel Park, said: "I'm delighted to be able to welcome Michael Olajide into the Conservative Party. We will have candidates from all backgrounds and ethnicities and we're ready to take on -- and beat -- Labour in May's elections and provide Haringey with a clean start".

Sean Sullivan, Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Tottenham, added: "Michael is a wonderful addition to our growing team and I'm feeling more and more upbeat about our chances as the elections approach."

ENDS.