Slough Observer | News | 'Gordon Brown tried to woo me back'

Wednesday, 9th July, 2008

Published: Friday, 16th May, 2008 09:00

'Gordon Brown tried to woo me back'

By Aamina Zafar

Comments (0)

Print Article

Image related to story, see caption or article text

Gordon Brown: Cllr Choudhry says he snubbed the PM.

A COUNCILLOR, at the centre of a political storm in Slough, claims Prime Minister Gordon Brown stepped in to try and get him to rejoin the Labour Party.

Central ward Cllr Pervez Choudhry, who quit Slough Borough Council’s ruling Labour group to join the Conservatives says he received a call on Monday from a woman at the Prime Minister’s office saying Mr Brown, pictured left, wanted to speak to him.

Cllr Choudhry led a three-councillor breakout with Cllrs Mohammed Rasib and Sukhjit Dhaliwal. All three signed to join the Conservatives, effectively returning them to power with the BILLD group but Cllrs Rasib and Dhaliwal returned to Labour within 24 hours, restoring its majority on the council.

Labour categorically denied Mr Brown, who has faced a difficult week tackling Britain’s tax issues and economy, spoke to any of the councillors but admitted its Central Office was kept informed of the developments as they unfolded during one of the most dramatic weeks in Slough’s local government history.

Cllr Choudhry said: “I did receive a phone call from a lady saying the Prime Minister wanted to speak to me about the situation. I refused to talk to him because by that time I had left Labour and I was not interested in going back.”

The Observer’s website exclusively revealed on Monday how the three politicians had pledged their allegiance to the Tory group the day before.

The U-turn means Labour controls the council with 22 seats to the opposition’s 19.

Cllr Choudhry, who has been a Slough councillor for six years, claims the saga began following a row about the party’s hierarchy. But he added he had been

disillusioned with the party long before.

He said: “There were many things I felt uncomfortable with, such as the war in Iraq and plans to detain terror suspects without charge for a very long period of time.

“I want to campaign for people’s rights and I saw them being flouted. So I thought Labour is just not my cup of tea."

For a full round-up see this week's Slough Observer.

Comments