I wasn’t there for Lutfur’s acceptance speech last night (despite all this, I have a day job! And today, I’ll be writing about the devastating cuts faced by councils such as Tower Hamlets which will soon have more control over their finances: is that good or bad? Discuss), but the East London Advertiser reports that he said:
“All I want to do is serve Tower Hamlets, whether black or white and whatever religion they come from. Join with me to unite the people of Tower Hamlets.”
I’d imagine there is some video footage out there, so do post any links if you have them.
Meanwhile, I awake to see the following press release from Labour:
For immediate release: Friday, 22nd October 2010
Labour’s Abbas on Tower Hamlets result
Following the declaration of the result of the election for the first directly elected Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Labour’s candidate Helal Abbas said:
“This is a sad night for those of us who want to build a better future and a united Tower Hamlets.
“Lutfur Rahman has won tonight but not as he wanted, as the Labour candidate.
“Thankfully, Labour’s ruling National Executive had the backbone to stop him from being the Labour candidate.
“We may have lost tonight, but at least the Labour Party has clean hands.
“I am proud that we fought a clean, decent campaign and refused to get in the gutter with the candidate backed by George Galloway and the so-called Respect Party.
“I promise to carry on working tirelessly as an elected councillor for the people of Tower Hamlets.
“And as the party with the largest number of councillors at Tower Hamlets Town Hall, Labour accepts our responsibility to work hard to hold the new Mayor to account and to stand up for ALL the communities of Tower Hamlets, not just one.
“We will not let the people of Tower Hamlets down.”
Ends
Result: Labour 11,254, Green 2,300, LibDem 2800, Conservative 5,348, Independent 23,283.
As you know, Lutfur won on the first round on a turnout of 25.6 per cent.
To all those psephologists out there, please feel free to post your ward analyses when you have the time. I think this will paint an interesting picture.
Trial by Jeory 
The labour party as represented in their press release just doesn’t get it, does it?
hi can you put in Lutfurs acceptance speech as well? Thanks
Rather than continuing the bickering, it’s maybe more salient to point out that the percentage turnout amply illustrates that the population of Tower Hamlets just doesn’t get it.
They either did not understand what the election is about or they didn’t care to vote for any of the candidates on offer.
I’d say there is at least a fair chance that a considerable number of the electorate abstained on this one.
I wondered what 23,283 represents as a percentage of those old enough to vote.
According to the London Councils demographic profile for Tower Hamlets it looks like the voting population aged 18+ might be somewhere between 170,000 and 180,000. If it’s (let’s say) 175,000 that means only 13% of the voting population actually voted to have Lutfur as the Mayor.
It certainly cannot be called a mandate by the local population. Lutfur might want to remember that as he begins his mayoralty.
Now he has to get on with the very important task of dealing with “the poisoned chalice” – implementing the cuts package arising from the central government reduction in money for local government.
I wonder how many of the current proposals worked up by officers and the Labour party might now change.
Turnout was beyond dismal. I voted in Mile End around 8pm and there was one other voter there. Easily outnumbered by a large gaggle of Rahman supporters outside the polling station.
And when I looked at the voter list for our street it looked like about 3 other people had voted (one of whom was my husband).
In my neck of the woods you’d never have known we were having an election (and I don’t live in an inaccessible flat).
Also, I walked by the Labour party HQ early yesterday morning in Cambridge Heath Road and pretty much no sign of life…
I hope this isn’t the end. This was an awful election, full of mud throwing and smears some of which can’t have been legal. I don’t want to think that anyone can be allowed to believe that this is an acceptable way to run a campaign.
I want to see an independant body investigate the whole process including the money trail and anyone who can be proved to have committed liabel, fraud or broken spending rules should be called to account.
The style of election cannot be allowed to happen again.
In saying that would you investigate Labour’s Jules Pipes in 2002 for becoming the Hackney Mayor in a low turn out of 26.34%?
People need to move on and accept the new mayor because it was the people who voted him in with a landslide majority. It is insulting the public’s consciounce on who they decide to vote in!
Jules Pipe’s election was not accompanied by the dirt and mudslinging that brought this election down to a new low, even for local government politics which is often even more of a nest of vipers than central govt politics. And I say that having grown up with family involvement in local government politics. Nor was his election accompanied by the NEC interfering in selection procedure.
Nor, as far as I know, was Jules’ election accomapanied by campaigns aimed exclusively at one section of a community. The whole situation merits serious investigation.
At the very least, Labour members in Tower Hamlets will be pleased that their original choice of candidate won!
This is a wake up call to the local Labour party to start listening to and representing residents, not some barmy internal ideology. People did not turn out to vote for a party they see as at war with them.
Embarresing for Rushanara really. what will she do now, she gabe the NEC with dodgy advice, and the NEC took her word for it because they thought she is a bengali therefore she must know what she is talking about.
Yes, and she cried wolf about Respect when Lutfur Rahman stood up as an independant and when he was nominated within Labour (before getting the boot).
Its a shame she Rushanara plays dirty politics rather than looking after her constituents! She is totally useless career politician who will do anything to keep her job!
Well, the people have spoken. Or at least some of them have.
Pity those that made a decision not to vote. nevertheless their decision.
This is how it will pan out:
There is no way back for Lutfur to the Labour Party even if he wanted (or thought he needed it). one or two labour cllrs might jump ship now the dust has setttled. however most will stay loyal. this leaves lutfur with some problems. firstly, who is in his cabinet? does he reward those that went with him – a pretty talentless bunch on the whole and universallty bengali. or does he seek to have a “coat” – a council of all the talents.
Secondly, high on the list of headaches is how he gets a budget through. being a independent mayor is a pretty lonely job, worse when you’ve gone out of your way to make enemies. how he balances living up the promises he publicly (and perhaps privately)made, whilst making 30-40% cuts over his term. this leaves the cllrs in an interestingly powerful position vis a vis the mayor – they can strip away all the goodies he would like to offer his supporters.
there are some questions for the labour cllrs too. David Donoghue (above) is quite wrong. The labour **finally** has got it: it’s stopped trying to win at the expense of doing what’s right. What relationship to they want with someone who has gone out of his way to alienate them by running a simply horrid campaign? if he seeks to have a ‘coat’ then the political groups have a veto on allowing their members to participate. If they choose to participate, then they could extract a promise of executive powers for cabinet members – something that takes power away from Lutfur. Or they could simply go into opposition, let Lutfur take the blame for axing council services by over a third, and let the electorate work out whether they really want him after all. As the BNP showed in Millwall in the 90s, nothing increases turnout like demonstrable extremism.
Excellent analysis from Judoker. A number of important points.
Very good summary – that’s more or less what I’ve been thinking.
EITHER Labour has just got itself off the hook of implementing the cuts package – including what I think is said to be something like a 10% cut in housing benefits. Now that’ll make somebody popular – NOT!
OR we’re going to see some pretty interesting decisions about who gets Cabinet Posts.
Which way will London Labour jump on this one I wonder?
I’m also left wondering whether the NEC will now have to do a proper investigation of the dossier as a preliminary to deciding what else happens re other “personalities” who are caught up in all this?
Surely they must if there is any decision to be made about:
– Ken Livongstone’s continued membership of the Labout Party
– Labour Councillors occupying seats in Rahman’s Cabinet.
However I took the tone of Abbas’s statement to mean that his bit of the Labour Party will be sitting on the sidelines holding him to account and not participating in any way. Surely the Labour Party must have considered what they would have to do if Rahman won – and had a plan? Or did they?
The soap opera continues – I’m waiting for the scriptwriters and more cameras to arrive…..
You imply you’ll be pleased that Rahman will ‘take the blame’ for having to instigate the cuts as opposed to Abbas? It is tragic if the cuts are going to be used as a stick to beat the ‘wrong’ Mayor and further divide people up. His leaflet claimed he was standing on exactly the same policies as for his Labour candidacy. People, and councillors, should help the Mayor negotiate the cuts forced on councils, not sit on the sidelines in opposition waiting to score petty points.
You misinterpret. It’s an observation. Whichever party made the cuts at a local level was hardly going to be popular.
However when it’s a council run by a group of councillors the blame does not get personalised. With the change to a directly elected mayoralty it’s much more likely that any action will become personalised. Hence the reference to ‘somebody’.
Speaking personally I must admit I have very little regard for anybody who
1) spends a huge amount of taxpayers money getting rid of a first rate Chief Executive (who was subsequently appointed as CEO of a large London Borough) – which was a huge waste of money
2) was influential (as I understand) in the appointment of another person as Assistant CEO who very clearly not did not measure up to the standards expected of senior officers serving the people of Tower Hamlets and who was allowed to leave rather than being disciplined as any other member of staff would have been in the circumstances – which was a very poor decision.
It hardly speaks of good judgement does it?
Lesney: that, I’m afraid to say, is politics. Incidentally, the leaflet you refer to – i take it was the English version rather than the bangladesh version in the papers that said something quite different? Or perhaps it wad the one calling abbas scruff beater? Or perhaps it was the canvassers calling him a drug dealer that influenced your vote. Parties exist for a reason: you can basically trust what they say. Be wary, very wary, of someone not allowed to stand for a party. There’s usually a good reason. Party identity is a brand, and brand image is a guarantee. I’m afraid that the people of tower hamlets have just bought themselves a knock-off copy out of the back if a van.
What you call the public’s anger at standing up against Labour cronism and injustice by supporting Lutfur some sort of extermism?
It seems some people on here do like to stretch and bend words to suit their own political agendas!
J. Moore is at best selective. The low turnout may point to lots of things – the one thing it doesn’t signify is widespread public anger at the treatment of lutfur. There’s a nuanced and correct argument that says that lutfur wasn’t treated badly, but you have to be fully aware of the background; even then it’s an easier discourse that he’s a victim/hero.
I am glad Lutfur won. I hope he fights the stench of Labour corruption in the council. Especially, the sorry state of affair Abbas (and co) siphoning public funds into the Rich Mix centre. I hope the ownership and funds for the Bancroft Library is again pulled back into line by Lutfur as he had in the past. Bancroft Library is a such a great heritage and the rich history of the East End would be destroyed if it hadn’t been for Lutfur Rahman stepping in when he was a leader. It was Abbas and co trying to siphon money to the failing Rich Mix centre business whose boards include some of the current and previous councillors!
No Judoker, I wasn’t influenced by that kind of thing, I have been around a bit longer than that. The standard leaflet was put though doors near Lutfur and Abbas’s ward. You trust a party simply because it is a brand? What planet are you living on?