Havard Hughes - recollections and a touch of regret

News reaches me that my recent opponent for the job of Regional Secretary, Havard Hughes, has defected to the Conservatives - which indicates that my beloved Regional Party dodged a bullet there. For those out there who voted for him, and against me, I promise not to make barbed comments about your judgement...

But seriously, I do have some regrets about the loss of a pretty decent person from our ranks. Havard and I go back to the time he arrived in Brent, just prior to his becoming a councillor in Alperton ward. People spoke quite highly of him at the time, although his ability to maintain commitment levels was questionable even then.

If he has a weakness, it is an inability to pick battles that he can win. His increasingly quixotic attempts to gain election to English and Federal committees by challenging individuals widely regarded as popular and effective, rather than the weaker alternatives, became more and more puzzling. On the other hand, Havard is a pretty likeable kind of guy, polite, bright, well-spoken and always friendly. I couldn't even get particularly angry with him for trying to take over from me as Secretary - I had, after all, invited challenges via this blog. 

He's picked an interesting time to join the Conservatives, and perhaps he had been made an offer that he felt he couldn't refuse. At least he will add to the number of Conservatives who we can 'do business with', assuming that he doesn't turn on his former allies, a temptation that I hope he can resist...