The traditional post-event public meeting for Notting Hill Carnival took place at The Tabernacle on 5 September. Although billed as a ‘residents’ meeting’, it has for many years served as a sounding board for all Carnival stakeholders, offering them a chance to provide valuable feedback and obtain answers from police, the two councils and the organiser.
Up to last year, the meeting has taken a traditional form: representatives of the various bodies sat at the front facing the public in rows of seats, with roving mikes providing a ‘voice’ for those wishing to speak. In the past, attendees were even able to see copies of the annual report and full, audited accounts, so anyone could check how much money had flowed into Carnival and how much had been dispensed and to whom.
Carnivalists and residents often hold passionate, but disparate, views, so it’s unsurprising that verbal clashes occur. Voices have been raised, but the days of chairs being thrown are long gone! Nevertheless, up to 2023, it’s been a fascinating occasion to observe, as those at the top table parry a succession of comments, complaints, suggestions and even praise. As everyone’s voice was heard, it enabled a proper record to be taken, providing valuable material for local and cultural historians. Overall, the meeting has been an opportunity to ‘take the temperature’ of Carnival.
An open meeting also helps members of the public to hold decision-makers to account. Perhaps that explains the format change in 2024. Attendees arriving in the hall were surprised to find that there were no rows of seats for them but just an empty space. Around the sides of the hall were tables, as you might find at freshers’ week or a graduate fair. Each had a representative of a council department – housing, waste clearance etc – or police or the carnival manager, Carnival Village Trust. Discussions were held on a one-to-one basis – no one else could hear your question nor would anyone know the answer you received. No overall record could be made.
DISGRUNTLED
Speaking to some very disgruntled senior carnivalists outside the hall, Soca News sensed a mood of anger, frustration and despair at what an increasing number are calling the “takeover of Notting Hill Carnival” by Kensington & Chelsea Council (RBKC) and the capture of Carnival by the Metropolitan Police. The “random” arrangement of the hall was, these critics suggested, intended to stifle debate and to prevent organisers, councils and police being confronted with “inconvenient truths” and embarrassing questions that would remain on the record.
To that extent, the tactics of Matthew Phillip and Ian Comfort were successful. Debate was indeed choked off. So determined were they to avoid scrutiny that photography in the hall was forbidden.
PLANS FOR ACTION
The result left Comfort with a big smile on his face, but his satisfaction may be premature. Intense dissatisfaction with the conduct of the meeting appears to have turbocharged the determination of those opposed to the present council-appointed managers of Notting Hill Carnival.
Soca News heard some powerful calls for change, including proper accountability to Carnival stakeholders, greater transparency (including publication of full reports and accounts), enhanced investment in Carnival’s cultural elements (traditional mas, calypso, steelpan and the restoration of Jouvert), and an end to toleration of abusive media reporting and police press office misinformation.
Above all, there is a strong desire to return the management of Carnival to an organisation that is genuinely independent of any council or other state body.
In the recently released report into the Grenfell Tower fire, inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick heavily criticised RBKC for manipulating bidding processes to ensure its favourite contractor won the work. The report refers to the council’s “unacceptably casual approach to contractual relations”. Exactly the same criticism is levelled at RBKC for allegedly handing the management contract for Notting Hill Carnival to Carnival Village Trust on a plate, without conducting the sort of competitive tendering that would be expected for any contract involving a substantial amount of public money.
We understand from some of those involved that plans for action against certain bodies are already in preparation.
What are your thoughts on Notting Hill Carnival? Please email us at [email protected] and let us know your thoughts.
