County Hall Ombudsmand
THE proposal tor a London Ombudsmand, presented to .he London County Council in the form of a pe aion, is naturally being fiercely resisted by Sir lsa t. Ha ward and the rest of the Labour dictatorsh•p at County Hall. Such a figure (although it is emphasised by the supporters of the proposal that ne should not have any execu- tive powers, merely the power to investigate and report on alleged grievances). even if he did not make inroads int.' tht powers of Sir Isaac's caucus, might well an implicitly unfavour- able light into one or two of the darker quarters of his rule.
Nevertheless, the proposal continues to attract support. After all, il is precisely the excesses of droit administrant that an Ombudsmand is needed for, and the bullying, secretive, obstinate rule at County Hall is as good an example of droit administrant run mad as could be found any- where in Britain. Sir Isaac, when the petition was first presented, flatly refused to consider it at all. Under pressure, he has been forced to change his mind. The General Purposes Committee of the London County Council meets on Monday next, and it is likely that the petition will at any rate then be discussed. It 's ironic but appropriate, that the petition should have been presented in the first instance by a member of the majority group on the Council, but Labour members have felt the rod on the.r own backs, and are therefore in a good position to sympathise with those out- side who complain about its effect upon theirs. What with a dissident group of Labour members, and a vigorous drive in its support by the Opposi- tion (not that many signs of such vigour have as yet been seen), the proposal stands a slight, though not negligible, chance.
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