The former Labour Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, is secretly planning to run for the City of London Council, in a move that will further politicise the once independent body. Breitbart London can exclusively reveal Scotland is planning the run for the Aldermanic seat in Bishopsgate, the neighbouring ward to one taken by Labour earlier this year.
If Scotland wins the by-election she will be entitled to run for Lord Mayor of London, making her the first party-political candidate to take the prestigious position.
For most of the last 800 years the City of London Corporation was entirely made up of independent members, however Labour are known to be determined to take control. Earlier this year, William Campbell-Taylor won a by-election for Labour in the working class district of Portsoken on the east side of the city.
The City of London operates a unique political system with two houses: The Court of Common Council and the Court of Alderman. They work in a similar way to the House of Commons and Lords. Campbell-Taylor holds a seat in the lower house, whereas Scotland hopes to take a seat in the upper. This would put Labour in a strong position to challenge in both houses when future elections come up.
The Corporation itself only governs one square mile of Central London but has a vast property empire and uses its power to lobby for British business.
A source at the City of London told Breitbart London: “It’s not clear whether Scotland is going to be honest about her political affiliations but either way having a former Labour minister is a significant attack on our independence.
“For hundreds of years we have worked together to deliver the best for the people that live and work in the beating heart of London. It’s such a shame that Labour see this all as a political game. Scotland should leave this institution alone.”
The reputation of the City of London has already been dented because the former Lord Mayor, who left office today, was forced to resign as chairman of the historic child sex abuse inquiry. Fiona Woolf was widely accepted to have been a good choice for the post, but she was forced out when it was exposed she had links to one of those being investigated.
The Bishopsgate by-election is scheduled for the 9th December. Baroness Scotland of Asthal was given a life peerage in 1997 by Labour, having previously served on the Commission for Racial Equality. She was Attorney General during Gordon Brown’s Premiership, and briefly served as a Shadow Minister under Ed Miliband.
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