On The Toxic Culture At The City Of London Council & The Resignation Of Martha Grekos

Many readers of this blog will have already seen the email Martha Grekos circulated about her resignation as a City of London councillor 48 hours ago. Therefore we’ve decided to run a few observations about that message and related matters before reproducing the email. Those who have not yet seen the email may prefer to scroll down and read the Grekos message before looking at our take on these matters.

The “one specific member” to whom Grekos refers who “pushed me to that breaking point due to their inexorable hostile attitude towards me” is obviously Ian Luder, a mason and the alderman of her ward of Castle Baynard. He challenged the appointment of a couple of voters by her own business for the 2023-24 “ward list” (electoral roll), and has been creating the impression that her conduct in this respect was improper. As a lawyer, she’s unlikely to have done anything that didn’t fall within at least a reasonable interpretation of City’s unique electoral rules. Luder’s allegations – even as he tells them to other members – don’t add up.

Luder has form for making wholly unsubstantiated allegations of impropriety against other members. In July 2019, he insinuated in the public session of a meeting of the Court of Common Council that another woman councillor (now an alderwoman) had engaged in improper – indeed criminal – conduct. His allegations didn’t make sense, and were recognised even by the Corporation’s leadership (with whom he identifies) as bogus. He has, though, never withdrawn them or apologised. You can read the full story here.

Luder is expected to stand down as alderman in spring 2023, and it’s reasonable to assume that he made his attack on Grekos at least partly to deter her from standing to replace him. As she won more votes in the March 2022 elections in Castle Baynard than any of the other councillors, who all stood as candidates in the name of a bogus political party, there was a real possibility that she would be elected if she stood in the coming aldermanic election, instead of Luder’s favoured candidate (who is not an independently minded woman).

The conduct of certain members leading to Grekos’ resignation has been met with expressions of disgust by City residents. Responsibility for her departure can’t be attributed to just one rotten apple (Luder). As indicated in our last post, Christopher Hayward (the Chair of Policy and political leader of the Corporation), Michael Snyder (a former political leader and fading éminence grise) and Simon Duckworth (the Chief Commoner) are all on record as publicly attacking her within the last five weeks. Like Luder, they’re all masons, who subscribe to a “system of morality” that promotes “kindness” – which appears not to apply to independently minded women.

A question for those members of the Court of Common Council who have so far supported the leadership is whether they will continue to do so, and put at risk their own reputations. Will the Lord Mayor Nick Lyons do anything about this scandal?

Martha Grekos email dated 15 February carrying the header: “Harassment, bullying and intimidation by Members at CoL“

Hello,

It was with great sadness that I resigned from the Court of Common Council given that I stood to be elected so as to help my City and was encouraged to do so through the ‘Speak for the City’ campaign that was launched last year. That campaign was launched to attract more diverse people and who are reflective of the City we serve. As a woman, born and bred in London (who still lives and works in London), from a working-class background who was the first from her family to go to university and then go on to qualify and practice as a lawyer in the City of London and continues to do so, one could say that the ‘Speak for the City’ campaign certainly succeeded in attracting a diverse candidate and one that reflects and represents the City. I fought hard, all by myself, to challenge the slate in Castle Baynard ward; I won and came top of the poll. I took up my seat as a Common Councillor in March 2022 with huge pride.

I thoroughly enjoyed and took enormous pleasure in serving my community. From walking in my ward every other day checking on business workers and residents, talking to everyone (including visitors), attending and being part of community events, resolving issues in the ward, fighting campaigns from my community and even producing a monthly newsletter that I personally circulated. I even raised difficult questions in the Court of Common Council, played an active part in every single committee I sat on, and did make a difference by bringing objectivity to the forefront of each debate. I was a ‘critical friend’ to make sure that the Corporation (“CoL”) stayed on the right path.

As many of you know, some Members felt ‘threatened’ by my presence in my ward and some Members felt ‘threatened’ that I was being vocal in the CoL. I had to put up with a lot of harassment, bullying and intimidation at CoL because some Members did not like that a strong independently-minded woman, from a different background to theirs, would challenge in a constructive way how things were done – which is after all what the ‘Speak for the City’ actively encouraged us to do – to stand for election but also take an active part in constructive debate. But I was not allowed to take part in constructive debate; it was not a collegiate environment I was part of. Instead, some Members spread malicious rumours about me, picked on me or regularly undermined me, and denied me opportunities by putting up barriers to stop me progressing. And all because they felt ‘threatened’. I can list out all the examples and indeed start naming Members, but I do not have to as most of you saw for yourselves what I was subjected to and by who and also some incidents were captured on YouTube given CoL public meetings are recorded. Other incidents were done ‘in private’ and when I challenged those individuals they looked away with shame or became more vindictive by plotting their next move against me.

I had to be relentless to keep fighting such spiteful behaviour and I reached a point before Christmas that I wanted to leave because a couple of specific incidents made me realise that I cannot change the behaviour of these Members. And that other Members (including some newly elected Members) just ‘copied’ these behaviours as they saw these as acceptable and if they acted this way that would be the only way they could progress. Such toxic behaviour was ‘normalised’. Combined with two deaths over Christmas, plus waking up to find my indoor cat dead from a heart attack on New Year’s Day, I did not want to return to CoL in the new year. I wanted to focus on me and my new work (which was certainly keeping me very busy and my team needed me), as I knew with Aldermanic elections approaching in the Castle Baynard ward in Spring 2023 that all that nastiness would just escalate even more. I wanted to find a ‘happy place’ to regain my energy and put my passion into good use and where it will be welcomed, encouraged, nurtured and supported. And the CoL, because of some Members’ behaviour, was not my ‘happy place’. So I resigned and one specific Member pushed me to that breaking point due to their inexorable hostile attitude towards me.

I hear that rumours are circulating at the moment as to why I resigned. And it is sad that I have resigned to escape and walk away from such toxicity but that this behaviour continues to cause me (and others) such huge distress. I do not know anything about a Standards hearing that occurred in February (I was not the Member that was complained of nor was there a complaint against me) and for those spreading cruel and poisonous rumours about the ward list registration objection raised in December (when you do not know all the facts and outcome), then I ask you to look into the mirror and ask yourselves why are you doing this and why are other Members perpetuating such bad behaviour by repeating your ill-informed rumours?

Such behaviour will only do one thing – and that is force more Members like me to resign: a woman who has been elected by her constituents only 11 months ago who was harassed, bullied and intimidated by other Members so much to the extent she became so unhappy and anxious that she resigned. Yes, even strong independently-minded women are human.

If anyone wishes to speak to me about the above, you know where to contact me. Those who wish to continue to behave the way they do and to spread malicious rumours all you are doing is damaging the reputation of the CoL, your City and yourselves. Something has to change and the change has to come from within. Within each Member at CoL.

With best wishes,
Martha

March 2022 City of London Common Council election results for Castle Baynard.