As last night’s dust continues to choke the Tower Hamlets atmosphere, Mayor-elect Lutfur Rahman is trying settle the shape of his new administration.
At the outset of his independent campaign and as a precondition of the crucial support of Respect and George Galloway, Lutfur said his rule would be a “broad coalition”. Well, given that so far he only has nine councillors openly on his side, it will have to be.
But who will join his cabinet?
Labour’s London boss Ken Clark is understood to have decreed to his councillors that they can not remain in the party and serve with Lutfur. So anyone wanting to take Lutfur’s shilling will have to defect.
During the last month, one of Tower Hamlets’ most able councillors, Marc Francis, was a notable absentee from Labour’s campaign. While Lutfur was council leader between 2008 and 2010, Marc was not only his deputy in all but name, but he was also his brains. When Lutfur was ditched by the NEC, Marc agonised over what to do. Although his friends told him otherwise, he himself thought his Labour career could be over because he’d backed the “wrong” man. He’s a councillor in Bow East, where I live, and if his heart had truly been with Labour and Abbas, the turnout would have been higher here. As it is, there is a strong suspicion among his party colleagues that he could have been helping his mate. I’m told that when he turned up to the count just before this morning’s declaration, he was not wearing a Labour rosette, he hugged Lutfur, and then ignored the Abbas team. I’m also told that he warmly applauded Lutfur’s speech and stared in silence during Abbas’s apparently faltering effort.
So, could Marc jump? He could well be offered the position of deputy mayor. And he could well take it. It would end his career with Labour, but Marc might take the view that there is life outside politics and that a four year stint pursuing his own goals in social housing – despite a backdrop of massive Coalition cuts and the probable lack of co-operation from Labour’s two neighbouring mayors, Jules Pipe in Hackney, and Sir Robin Wales in Newham – would be worth the aggro.
Even more intriguingly, I understand that Lutfur’s camp have also made informal approaches to Tory group leader, Cllr Peter Golds, and Lib Dem boss, Cllr Stephanie Eaton. I don’t think Peter would touch the new regime with a barge-pole (he was one of those most disgusted by the Lutfur Ali affair), but Stephanie’s position is more ambiguous.
What would you advise the pair?
Trial by Jeory 
Behave: quite absurd the notion that Libdems would enter a coalition with a party they obviously detest… Err…seriously though Stephanie has got more sense than that.
To expand, Ted is barking up the wrong tree by focusing on the tactical. What’s happened is of strategic importance and is the beginning of a fundamental realignment and normalisation of politics in the borough.
Bit harsh to say barking up the wrong tree, when it’s the short term events that will shape any long term realignment – don’t you think?
Get you! A thin skinned journalist! Bless. No, I’m clear I’m right on this. Lutfur’s ideal scenario would be a cross party ‘coat’ (coat of many colours?) drawn from libdem, Tory, and lab plus his lot. This won’t happen. It’s pretty clear that labour, Ken L excepted, has decided to draw a well overdue line in the sand in lbth. The realignment is not between right and left it’s between the right and the wrong way of doing politics. The parallel that Luke Akehurst on his blog is clear and correct. Rahman pretty desperately needs a white person to join him from the council. I may be wrong in thinking that won’t happen, but even if it does it doesn’t alter the long term, positive, trend. That might I humbly and sonewhat cheekily suggest is the difference between headline news and political analysis :-).
Judoker says:
never bern in favour of power sharing with extremists myself
about 16 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone in reply to PeterKenyon
don’t tweet ‘cell’ after hanging around tower hamlets.
12:28 AM Oct 25th via Twitter for iPhone in reply to marcusaroberts
This is a taste of the “fundamental realignment and normalisation” you and TH Labour are offering, Judoker?
The Lib Dems can go to hell. Treacherous scum.
Marc Francis is brilliant. He’d make a great Deputy Mayor.
If Lutfur offers him this role he should certainly take it.
Chances are if they make a success of this they’ll be invited back anyway.
I hope Marc others do join into the coalition.
Ted quite clearly wishes the mayor system fails just because Abbas has lost and Lutfur won.
I really hope people can move on and stop crying and try to make Tower Hamlets a better place rather than trying to full-fill their own political agendas by smear campaigns and character assassination.
Ted, Gilligan and co are so petty-minded!
Ted, stop sulking and put some effort into making the mayor accountable and fight for the borough that you live in!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Pale
Would that be the Jim Gaffigan definition/entry, John? Track 18, or track 20?
If Lutfur has nine “supporters” on the Council that’s all he needs to form a cabinet (legally, he could do it with two!).
A wise strategy would be to consult like mad when contemplating any cuts to be made (trying to come across as reasonable as possible – he does now control the propaganda, I mean “media” output and should look to the way Robin Wales uses this tool to great effect).
Any opposition to his budget proposals should be spun as sour grapes and opposition for opposition’s sake – not working in the interests of the people of Tower Hamlets… that sort of guff!
He must be laughing at London Region’s and the NEC’s handling of this!
Sour grapes from mike there. Not sure the parallel works though. First off is lutfur’s commitment backed by legislative change which limits what a council can do. Secondly, Newham never had an effective opposition – even when mike was in the lab group. Here the majority are opposed to him. And then you have the tsunami of cuts to come. Don’t suppose shipping hundreds of Bangladesh families out of tower hamlets c/o HB changes will be that popular. No amount of consultation will make that fun.
Not sure what you mean by sour grapes on my part, I’d appreciate an explanation.
Yes, sadly there isn’t (and has never been) any substantial opposition in Newham. But, that aside, Wales has provided a textbook example of how to manipulate the mayoral system.
Lutfur will be constrained by legislative change and a lot of the cuts on the cards are as a result of governmental decisions.
My point is, that Lutfur could easily by-pass any opposition on the Council by making direct appeals to the people of Tower Hamlets. Sure, the opposition councillors will still block him, but he can make the point that he’s being blocked for all the wrong reasons. Of course, a lot depends on how he plays out his mayoral role and how much the general populace of the borough perceive his administration as working for them.
Bottom line: it’s all in Lutfur’s hands.
I’d advise Stephanie that she got elected because she was perceived as a hardworking councillor with integrity, that the controversies of the last couple of years will be nothing compared to what Lutfur will now have to do to pay off his backers, and that she should act as a part of a constructive oppostion.
Lutfur Rahman will NEVER take Peter Gold in to his cabinet!! Ted you seem to be getting lot of wrong information this days.
I hope he doesn’t take any of the racist and Islamophobic Conservatives into his cabinet. The number of time Gold has tried to character assissinate Lutfur and use thinly veiled Islamophobic attacks on him are a clear indication what sort of agenda this vile tories are about!
Marc Francis helped us with problems we used to have on The Exmouth Estate, he was brilliant.
Marc would make a wonderful Deputy Mayor. I’ve emailed Lutfur’s team urging him to sign up Marc – but I bet he already has !
Aye, Marc was always there when that Canadian guy went to the council. He has lots of kind words to say about Marc, very approachable.
Marc also helped behind the scenes and knows well all the above board players and below the belt agitators on the estate. If he is Deputy Mayor we’ll see lots of positive changes on our estate and in housing related matters in Tower Hamlets.
Well, Lutfur is a star on his own so its going to better with him in office but a Lutfur / Marc team would be brilliant.
The main problem will be if central Labour bureaucracy refuse to allow Labour councillors to serve under Lutfur.
Apparently many of the councillors who campaigned for Helal Abbas and did not resign the whip are keen to take up cabinet positions. Helal’s spiteful concession speech (hardly magnanimous in defeat) played a large part of this, he was felt to have got the tone completely wrong
Nope. Lutfur’s problem. He’s the one who wanted to be mayor so badly – let me sort out the mess he created.
Let him I mean
I that so Dominic
Actually I think that the loser in this election was something called ‘democracy’, a 25% turnout for something so crucial suggests that we are tired of all them. I know I am.
I certainly don’t think that a ‘brilliant’ cabinet will make any difference, ‘brilliant’ in Tower Hamlets politics is ‘just about passes for normal’ in what’s left of the real world.
Dominc,
irrespective of Helals bitter speech, these other labour councillors apart from a few are power hunger political opportunists and will swing whichever way they can get in.
they are not seeking a cabinet position because of his speech, but because they LOST so badly and no one wants to be on the losing side… SIMPLE.
Haven’t we seen a ‘coalition’ already in the objection to Rich Mix? The 14 councillors who signed the joint objection letter:
Cllr Ohid Ahmed (Labour – East India & Lansbury ward)
Cllr Rofique Ahmed (Labour – Mile End & Globe Town ward)
Cllr Abdul Asad (Labour – Whitechapel ward)
Cllr Lutfa Begum (Labour – Limehouse)
Cllr Stephanie Eaton (Lib Dem – Bethnal Green North)
Cllr Marc Francis (Labour – Bow East ward)
Cllr Aminur Khan (Labour Whitechapel ward)
Cllr Rabina Khan (Labour – Shadwell ward)
Cllr Rania Khan (Labour – Bromley-by-Bow)
Cllr Harun Miah (Respect – Shadwell)
Cllr Ahmed Omer (Labour – Bow East ward)
Cllr Lutfur Rahman (Labour – Spitalfields & Banglatown ward)
Cllr Oli Rahman (Labour – St Dunstan’s & Stepney Green ward)
Cllr Abdal Ullah (Labour – St Dunstan’s & Stepney Green ward)
Ted – note there are no Conservatives in this no-more-millions-to-Rich-Mix ‘coalition’. Also that the Conservative on the Strategic Development Committee, Councillor Emma Jones, voted YES to diverting s106 millions to “support” Rich Mix.
However the two other Councillors you mention, Stephanie Eaton and Marc Francis are in this ‘coalition.’
Rich Mix: councillors for and councillors against – perhaps you will still do that article, Ted?
It is worth noting that Cllr. Shahed Ali was the only councillor that actually spoke vigourously against more money being given to Rich MIx, and was the only one who voted against the decision. However he was supporting the Labour party in the Mayoral elections. Shame he will be out of the picture for the next four years because he does actually manage to articulate at planning meetings.
God almighty! It’s Shahed Ali, again, posting under YET ANOTHER pseudonym!
Nobody’s surname is ‘Alan’ with one ‘l’! He’s well known for off the record and anonymous outbursts on here, and obviously ingratiating himself in an attempt to get a job working for Lutfur.
Shawn Alan – you’re not Shahed Ali are you? Anyway, Shahed Ali has already posted (pre-Mayoral election) on his lone stand on the Strategic Development Committee against more millions going to Rich Mix. He did vote against his Labour colleagues Bill Turner (named in Lutfur Rahman’s letter on Ted’s blog), Carli Harper-Penman, Kabir Ahmed, David Edgar & Anwar Khan that night – so he definitely “articulated”, and so truthfully represented the majority of residents who do not want Oona King’s Rich Mix to receive any more millions.
Of course he also stood up against Labour’s Councillor Denise Jones who pushed for £2,093,000 MILLION of S106 money to “support” Rich Mix that night. She is on the Management Board with…yes…Oona King (may think she has a chance of being the Mayor if Ken can be ousted tonight at Westminster by Jim et al) and of course Michael Keith (a failed candidate for Mayor of TH.)
So, yes, if Shahed is “out of the picture” in planning, he will be missed – especially if the s106 money diverted to the Idea Store Local at Watney Market and then to the Rich Mix, has to be clawed back. The planning application for the ‘Idea Store Local’ appeared in EEL yesterday – and that was getting £1,101,000 MILLION of this diverted s106 money! Shahed!!
Tower Hamlets Labour Group are to meet at Westminster tomorrow night. This – and Ted’s blog – gets a mention here in this post from Peter Kenyon:
Tower Hamlets MPs and Labour’s NEC are Risking Further Scandal
[…] According to respected local resident and journalist Ted Jeory’s blog: […]
Stephanie won’t do a deal – but the list above is probably not far off.
More worrying is who will be appointed as one of his unlimited number of paid asvisors, and how long before the current CEO gets a golden goodbye and Lutfur (Rahman) Ali returns?
Nah.
He can appoint a political assistant and a cabinet of up to 9.
I think there’s confusion from a distorted view of Newham where there are indeed lots of advisors. But then Newham is a very talented labour group. And the appointments are by council technically.
He has wide- ranging exec powers. But thus is where the budget becomes interesting, as that’s codetermined by the council – cllrs can agree line by line expenditure items for example severely limiting freedom of action. A power to appoint who you want is no fun at all if there’s no budget to pay them. Furthermore the five hundred quid transparency thing that Uncle Eris is bringing in makes armchair auditors of us all.
Again, senior appointments can be subject to council approval…
Independent mayor isn’t alot of fun and dint work. First term ken had labour and the greens on board (kind of). Lutfur hasnt got that.
The new LBTH constitution (to be debated at full council tomorrow night) allows the Mayor to appoint an unlimited number of paid advisors.
Will get amended?
In amy event, having the power and having the budget are two different things.
Stephanie Eaton – the only LibDem councillor in TH – may feel insulted and angry at the Labour lot, with ‘HtheW’ commenting above:
“The Lib Dems can go to hell. Treacherous scum.”
and ‘Quintus Cottage-Pie’ (FaceBook) saying to David Donoghue (re this post of Ted’s):
“I expect the Lib Dems will be up for it. Those duplicitous c***s will sign up for anything to get close to power…”
Would you blame Stephanie Eaton for wanting to distance herself from TH Labour and their supporters – maybe this would even persuade her husband to reject them too?
Look, “local voter” (or should I say Rahmanite desperado) I am saying what everyone else on the left is thinking about the Liberal Democrats.
They have betrayed their own voters. They have lied despicably to those who voted for them on tuition fees, deficit reduction and a whole load of other matters. They have not even got a date for their promised referendum on STV. They are a disgrace and quite pathetic.
My comments about the Lib Dems are about the national party and nothing about Stephanie Eaton. It would not make much difference what Stephanie did to be honest. If the Liberals want to preserve some dignity in LBTH after losing almost their entire representation over the past ten years they would do well by avoiding Lutfur Rahman like the plague.