Cllr. Liaquat Ali’s new Cabinet role: a square peg in a round hole?
A couple of weeks ago, the incoming LBWF Leader Clare Coghill announced her first Cabinet, and one of the most notable developments is that she has moved Cllr. Liaquat Ali MBE JP from the community safety portfolio to take on ‘Transformation and Commercial Operations’, covering everything from ‘digital and smart technology’, via ‘revenues and benefits’, and ‘civil contingencies’, to ‘financial sustainability’. This is self-evidently an exacting and complex brief, requiring detailed technical expertise, and it is reasonable to ask whether Cllr. Ali is an appropriate appointment. It needs to be pointed out straightaway that Cll.Ali has considerable experience of local government matters, havin... »