The moribund Lib Dems in Tower Hamlets (they used to rule this borough, but now have only one councillor, albeit in Stephanie Eaton, one of the best – and that’s a cross-party view) have issued the following press release:
Time to Bring Sanity to Tower Hamlets
Electors in Tower Hamlets are being urged by Liberal Democrat candidate John Griffiths to use their vote in the Mayoral election on 21 October to rescue the borough from sleaze and mismanagement.
A longstanding Tower Hamlets resident and former councillor for Bethnal Green North, John says: “In recent years, politics in Tower Hamlets have been dragged down into the gutter by Labour and the now moribund Respect Party. The latest shenanigans over Labour’s candidate selection for the Mayoral election are yet another example of the way the borough is being brought into disrepute.”
But John has rejected suggestions that the Mayoral election should be scrapped because of the Labour fiasco. “Local voters showed clearly in the referendum in May that they want an executive Mayor. It’s important now that they have the chance to elect someone of integrity who is committed to clean and transparent local government.”
John is campaigning as the principled voice of experience who can represent all communities in Tower Hamlets. “People shouldn’t be distracted by Labour’s infighting and rumours of Respect rising from the grave,” he says.
At the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool last Saturday, Canary Wharf Group hosted a reception for all the party’s London members. They were all encouraged – although not, I must say, by CWG’s Labour-supporting host for the night, Howard Dawber – to converge on Tower Hamlets to help campaign over the next month. (The same will happen at Labour’s conference next week in Manchester and then in Birmingham for the Tories.)
So Tower Hamlets is going to be swamped by awkward-looking politicos for the four weeks. Great.
Trial by Jeory 
John who?
What did happen to Ajmal Masroor?
I thought months ago he’d make a fine candidate for mayor, but then there’s a lot of people who would rather die than vote Lib Dem these days.
Maybe he should run as an Independent!
This is not a story, it’s just a press release. What’s the point?
This is all so ridiculous. Who do the Liberals think they are kidding? Unless we want to have our borough reduced to the status of George Galloway’s toy then everyone with an iota of sanity needs to back the one candidate who can beat Respect, and that is HELAL UDDIN ABBAS. Unless lots of Tories and Liberals use their intelligence and vote tactically for ABBAS a mayor will be elected instead who will owe his victory to George Galloway and the Islamic Forum.
ajmal isnt the most finest of politicians. i fink he should stick to bangla tv studio. oh sorry was it channel s?