As counting got under way at York Hall just after midnight tonight, it seemed certain that Lutfur Rahman had taken control of Tower Hamlets and become its first directly elected mayor on a turnout of about 25 per cent. According to the early samples, he’d outscored Helal Abbas right across the borough, apart from on the Isle of Dogs where the Tories’ Neil King appeared to have come top.
Labour councillors were huddled in groups, seething and perplexed in equal measure. They were also trying to work out which of their number were “rats”: which of them had quietly worked behind the scenes pretending to campaign for Abbas but in reality encouraging their own ward fan bases to come out for Lutfur.
A Mayor Lutfur will need 17 councillors – a third of the 51 – on his side to ensure he can push through his budget. Eight have currently declared and Harun Miah of Respect will make nine, which means he needs another nine from Labour to defect. As Lutfur will have the power to appoint councillors to paid positions, I don’t think he will have too many problems getting his numbers.
To get a flavour, I repeatedly asked two Labour councillors tonight – Rofique Ahmed and Abdul Asad – if they had placed Abbas first on their ballot papers today. Both refused to say, which is very curious for supposedly proud Labour men.
There are serious fears over how the £1billion budget will be spent, particularly in a climate of harsh post-spending review cuts. And councillors from all parties seemed up for a united Opposition fight.
What I also heard repeatedly tonight from members of all parties that the “white vote” simply hadn’t bothered to vote. The lack of mainstream media coverage did nothing to help that apathy, but there has to be extremely serious questions over this whole system of directly elected mayors. It’s madness having such an important election outside the normal electoral cycle of local council polls.
If Lutfur has won, many congratulations to his team. I’m sure they all know that many eyes will now be watching them and the way they spend our money.
Trial by Jeory 
Let the healing begin.
you must be extremely gutted that all your muckraking efforts have amounted to nothing.
You conveniently forget that in May 60% voted for the mayoral system on a GE turnout.You cant have your cake and eat it!
I hope all sides can put their differences behind them and make a new start. This has been a divisive and damaging election, but recriminations will not help. A new start is required and everyone needs to play a part. Hopefully the imminent election of a ward councillor for Spitalfields & Banglatown (to replace Lutfur, who as Mayor, resigns) will be conducted on a civilised basis and then we can actually debate POLICIES – a subject that got lost in the hateful and spiteful
atmosphere of the past few weeks.
On a turn-out of 25% the eventual winner will have absolutely no mandate to rule the Borough. In the short term “Send in the Local Goverment Commissioners”. In the long term campaign for the abolition of the Mayorality.
People shoulda bothered to come out and vote then!
Sore loser!
If people dont come out to vote its their own loss. The bothered to come in national elections but dont bother for local elections it is no one’s loss except the people who didnt vote.
Congratulations on Lutfur winning. He fought through all the muck and dirt thrown at him by all the papers. Lutfur was clearly the people choice to win throug on 1st choice!
This is the first election run by, and won by, Facebook. It’s been historic in so many ways.
The racist IFE gain control of a billion pounds of taxpayers money. a said day for democracy
racist IFE? Thats a first… i guess you joined Gilligan’s rag-tag merry men of Islamaphobes running aound with their wild conspircacies of Islamic Supremecists? More smear and muck at any Muslim organisation?
[…] 1: Journalist & blogger Ted Jeory says turnout was around 25%. He suspects some Labour councillors in the area will now defect to […]
LUTFUR RAHMAN IS THE NEW DIRECTLY ELECTED MAYOR OF TOWER HAMLETS
ALL THE LUTFUR BASHING PEOPLE… I HOPE YOU HAVE SEVERE NIGHTMARES FOR ALL THE INJUSTICE YOU HAVE CAUSED.
A GREAT NIGHT FOR LUTFUR
EVEN NEIL KING CAME OUT LAUHING AND I QUOTE HIM…
“NO MORE LABOUR IN THIS BOROUGH”
THAT SAYS A LOT…
I feel sorry for Abbas. He needs to reflect. He needs to take some time out and think:
1. Have I been a puppet?
2. Have I betrayed my people?
3. Have I lied about my faith/been disrespectful in any way.
The great thing about showing respect for your own community and faith is that people then respect you for who you are. Think what Obama has done. The problem with our Bengali leader [wonnabis] is we do not want to learn. My advice to Abbas et al is- PLEASE COME CLEAN AND WORK WITH LUTHFUR. Do not go behind his back and kill his character, as it alway has boomerang effect! There will come your time, but you have to work for it.
This represents a massive self-destruction binge by the Labour Party, for which the finger of blame should be pointed firmly at Rushanara Ali, Jim Fitzpatrick, Harriet Harman and the Labour Party NEC (with the honourable exception of Christine Shawcroft).
This was an appallingly inept response to the islamaphobic onslaught by Gilligan et al (in part inspired by Fitzpatrick letting the genie out of the bottle) and which sadly, you, Ted, were swept along by.
Firstly, the NEC based their removal of Rahman as Labour candidate on technical grounds that were without merit (and have never been investigated); and then they cast over the second placed (white candidate) in favour of a useless also ran, whose only reason for selection as Labour Candidate was that he was not Rahman but was a Bangladeshi. In doing so they gave two fingers to the white voters of TH, and it was the Labour Party itself that turned the election into a battle inside the Bangladeshi community – a battle that they never stood a chance in, despite the presumption that this community is always solidly Labour. In fact, as the Respect vote in the 2004 Euroelections (when it topped the poll) had already showed, this community is far from being loyal voting fodder for whichever donkey with a red rosette the Labour Party thinks it can put up.
The Labour Party will be damaged for a considerable period of time and now faces two choices:
1) raprochment with Rahman and the readmission of him and his supporters back to the Labour Party, probably their best hope of reconstruction; but with it the price will be humiliation for Ali and Fitzpatrick and a significant dimimution of their role in the Party (I predict both would stand down at the next election rather than risk deselection in such a scenario).
2) Civil War and refusal to serve in a Rahman cabinet, with a likely further haemorghaging of Labour Party members to join Rahman outside the party; there is also the possibility of a resurgence of Respect with Abjol Miah running in the by-election and winning the seat.
Either way the prospects do not look good for Labour. At a time when the Tories and LibDems are launching the biggest ever onslaught on the post-war welfare state, the Labour Party should be focussed on a united resistance with the trade union movement to this onslaught, rather than a self-indulgent destructive binge based on the reputation of two rather mediocre MPs. Respect will now have to lead the whole community, white as well as Bangladeshi in resistance to the cuts deluge coming.
Interesting thoughts.
To add…I would say the TH community came out strong and showed their support for Lutfur for the injustice that happened to him and the tidle wave of media islamaphobia and false accusations. I think it shows the strength of people and their choice in candidate when they see wrong has been done.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
A small part of the TH community came out to vote overall – not exactly coming out strong.
When the remaining 74% of the population wake up and realise the implications of the vote (or see how the council ends up being run) then the exact extent of Lutfur’s support (or support for an elected mayor full stop) across all communities across the borough will become apparent.
For me this is end of Part One…
[…] Labour member sided with Rahman: Ken Livingstone campaigned for him this week, while the blog Trial by Jeory reports that some Labour councillors seemed to have voted for the eventual […]
Am Bangladehi,am Labour member and a loyal Labour member. I just hope the Non bengalis who stayed at home and did not vote, relly understand what they have done and they will be the ones who will be affected.
As for Labour taking back Lutfur and his mob, dream on,but Im sure Respect will have him. Like the Labour party in parliament we will take time out and regroup.
I say decency and honur and respect died yesterday when the Great Abbas came out of york hall and the jeers and taunts and dirt words used against him, his family and supporters was disgusting. I hope your Proud, this was supposed to be the party for good muslims. please my IFE friends do not ridicule my religion
Abbas, will not resign from the party he will fight, and he has the courage to stand up to the IFE and all their secret groups.
[…] Luke Akehurst and Jessica Asato as well as regular tower Hamlets watchers Andrew Gilligan and Ted Jeory. I can’t add much but I will say the 25% turnout meant that the winner was able to mobilise […]