Busy doing my day job yesterday, I missed this statement from Ken Livingstone on the Socialist Unity site. In it he confirms what he told me last Saturday – that Abbas supporters should put Lutfur Rahman second on their ballot papers for the mayoral election on October 21. He says this is the way to block a Tory win, which, given that the election will be the morning after Chancellor George Osborne reveals the full horror of his spending review, is an unlikely event in any case.
However, Labour’s top brass will be privately seething about Ken’s statement. In Manchester, he said people should “vote for the Labour candidate”; in the more sober environment of Socialist Unity, he stops short of actually encouraging everyone to vote for Abbas. His words contrast sharply with those of his fellow NEC member Oona King, who actually lives in the borough. I reported them here; here they are again:
“This is the most important election in a long time because we all know what we are facing and every single one of us has to make sure we redouble our efforts to get Abbas elected.”
Labour’s London bosses have already shown what they think of Ken’s statement. Some six hours after he filed his article warning against expelling people from the party for campaigning for Lutfur, 11 party members were given the boot as reported here and here.
Regional party boss Ken Clark will surely want Livingstone to be more unequivocal. Will Livingstone urge Lutfur supporters to switch to Abbas and place him first?
Here’s Ken’s statement in full:
by Ken Livingstone
People have asked me for my view about the Mayoral election in Tower Hamlets.
The reality is that the Labour vote is going to be divided between the candidate imposed by the NEC Helal Abbas and Lutfur Rahman, the candidate chosen by Tower Hamlets party members, who is now standing as an independent.
I do not want to see the Tories able to exploit this situation. That is the last thing we need. As the London Labour party’s email to members this week points out, the Conservatives have already won seats on the council.
We need to ensure that once this election is over the local community in Tower Hamlets can unite around whoever is Mayor in order to get the best for the borough.
Given the electoral system in this contest the position is clear: all those voting for Helal Abbas or Lutfur Rahman must use their second preference votes for the other to ensure there is no Tory or LibDem win in Tower Hamlets.
I hope both Helal Abbas and Lutfur Rahman will ask their supporters to use their second preferences for each other to demonstrate that it is possible for politics in this borough to move forward following the election.
It is the same approach that my Labour Mayoral campaign and the Green party approached the 2008 Mayoral election.
A united Tower Hamlets ought to be the objective of everyone – we should not allow how Labour’s NEC has handled this to divert us from this objective.
Labour’s NEC behaved in a way that breached all rules of fairness and justice. It also means that the candidate who came second in Labour’s selection, John Biggs with his reputation for competence and honesty, has been treated badly. I will be arguing on the NEC that the party must now work hard to ensure that the crisis is not deepened.
As with my election as an independent in 2000, there must be no wave of expulsions of those who have campaigned for Lutfur Rahman’s candidacy. I want to see the door left open for those councillors who have resigned the party whip to return so that whoever is elected can be sure that there is a strong Labour group that will work with the Mayor to ensure the needs of Tower Hamlets comes first and we reunite the local party once the dust has settled.
Trial by Jeory 
I think it is absolutely neccessary and important for Ken Livingstone to be clear about which party or person he expects them to vote for here in Tower Hamlets on october 21. As he implys, if he wants to ensure the Tories are kept out here, he has to, and should pro-actively advise Lutfur Rahman renegades to support the Labour party candidate Helal Abbas as their 1st. preference.
I would not expect anything less from Ken because the party is certainly much bigger and greater than one single individual!
Councillor(?) Shahed Ali – your name reminded me of Ted’s words from August:
“I have a feeling that Rich Mix will be an election issue for October.”
Ted – with Ken Livingstone, Councillor Shahed Ali, Oona King, Councillor Lutfur Rahman etc all being names still in the frame, when will you put in a call on your famous hot-line to Councillor Denise Jones and deliver an update on the Rich Mix issue?
Rich Mix is where the town hall money is being siphoned into while the blame is put on Bangladeshi organisations by the racists and Islamaphobes!
I wonder why Ted and others never talk about or investigate places like this? Whats Ted’s interest in his biased writings about Abbas?
Shahed, ken is clearly unhappy with the way lutfur was treated. I would urge all labour members to stand up to injustice as opposed to naked self-interest.
SO why have they not expelled Ken Livingston?
This is a split that is likely to go through the whole Labour Party. It is clear that Livingstone sees a Conservative victory emerging from the current chaos. If it were not so serious for the Borough it would be funny. Imagine Lutfur Rahman as Mayor, Lutfur Ali as Chief Executive and the Imam of Mecca directing a Billion Pound budget.
This is just utter scaremongering. The Queen hosted the King of Saudi Arabia not so long ago. The US is set to sign the biggest ever defence contract with the Saudis…. to supply arms and aircraft.
Yes, utter scaremongering. Imam of Mecca directly town hall money? Either people are pathetic and stupid or just trying to encourage islamaphobia and anti-Muslim sentiments. If you want to be like this go and join the “quran burning” idiots in the US. You will fit in more with that crowd of neanderthals!
I’m bored of this post Ted. Write a new one before your loving readers go crazy.
Yes, Ted – what about a post on the Rich Mix Centre? Especially since it was used on Monday to launch Councillor Abbas’ Mayoral campaign.
Cllr Abbas will continue then – if he gets in – to support the Rich Mix Centre. Yes? After all, under his Leadership, the Council saved it with £2.093 million.
How can the Rich Mix Centre not be an election issue with personalities like Oona and Denise (Cllr Denise Jones) and Cllr Abbas all in support of it? Seems as though the Rich Mix Centre is identified with the Abbas camp and those that opposed the £2.093 million council ‘lifeline’ for Rich Mix are the other camp?
Would that be the 14 Councillors who wrote to the SDC in opposition to the decision to save the Rich Mix Centre with more millions? (This time from sec106 funds, which should have gone to a Library – no, not the new Idea Store Metro). The 14 objecting councillors being Cllr Ohid Ahmed, Cllr Rofique Ahmed, Cllr Abdul Asad, Cllr Lutfa Begum, Cllr Stephanie Eaton, Cllr Marc Francis, Cllr Aminur Khan, Cllr Rabina Khan, Cllr Rania Khan, Cllr Harun Miah, Cllr Ahmed Omer, Cllr Lutfur Rahman, Cllr Oli Rahman, Cllr Abdal Ullah.
Surely this is still an election issue Ted? How can you drop it? You were happy to go into John Griffith’s past opposition to the Rich Mix Centre – and there in among the 14 objecting councillors is the lone Lib Dem. Also…is that Councillor Lutfur Rahman? (No Conservative Councillors in there but as you also reported the Conservative Councillor on the SDC didn’t say anything and then abstained…..so Neil King would support Rich Mix?)
The Rich Mix Centre still not an election issue?
Perhaps you will post after the Mayoral Assembly tonight. Not at the Rich Mix Centre but at St Mary & St Michael Church on Commercial Road (7-9pm). Helal Abbas, Neil King, John Griffiths, Lutfur Rahman (and Alan Duffell) will all be there. Might be worth popping along.
Sorry – the Rich Mix Centre, an Arts Council funded Centre, was used by Rushanara Ali on Monday to call for continuing Arts Council funds for Tower Hamlets ‘arts groups’. Councillor Abbas launched his bid to be mayor on Saturday at the Water Lily Business Centre (a building probably not funded by the Arts Council.)