Harrow’s Labour administration is now recreating the chief executive position at Harrow Borough Council, which was deemed surplus to requirements by the Conservatives and deleted to save more than £1million of taxpayers’ hard-earned money.

The council has a head of paid services and several experienced senior directors who have been fulfilling their duties effectively for the past year or so.

So why does Harrow now need a chief executive?

Well, with Councillor David Perry (the council’s near-invisible leader) working just two days a week and decision-making happening at a snail’s pace, Labour thinks restoring the role will provide it with the vision, policies and direction it lacks — with Harrow taxpayers footing the bill.

There’s another side to this too; by bringing back the role and claiming there’s a ‘void’ in the existing arrangement, Labour is essentially saying it doesn’t have confidence in the top tiers of the council’s management to cope without a chief executive — which is hardly the endorsement it deserves.

Hiring a chief executive again is a bad decision which sends the wrong message.

At a time when Labour is planning cuts to key services, it is an example of misguided priorities and at a time when leadership at the council is needed, it only serves to highlight the lack of it in Labour’s ranks.

Cllr Stephen Wright

Con/Pinner ward Harrow Borough Council