A number of councillors and former councillors were sent the following email this morning:
Dear Sir,
It is unacceptable that the Labour and Tory party are refusing to work with the new democratic elected mayor of Tower Hamlet!
Either they accept the Democratic Process and listen to wishes of of the voters and work with new Mayor or All the Labour and Tory Councillors should resign and let the people of Tower Hamlets decide whether they want these Traitors who refuse to accept the democratic process and will of the people, be elected again!
Dara Miah
A Concerned Citizen!
Dear old Dara seems to think Lutfur should be the Great Dictator. But his email does raise a couple of interesting points. As I reported in this post, Lutfur’s business backer Shiraj Haque has been trying to persuade opposition councillors to accept roles within the new administration. The sole Lib Dem councillor Stephanie Eaton has indicated she will decline a cabinet position and tomorrow night, Tory members will decide whether to take up an offer made to Peter Golds. Quite what that offer is, not even Peter seems sure. However, I understand that it too will be rejected. It does appear very likely that the “people of Tower Hamlets” will be governed by one of the weakest line-ups in the borough’s history.
The second point raised by our Concerned Citizen is not only how the “will of the people” at the forthcoming by-election in Spitalfields and Banglatown. As yet, the required two letters from residents of that ward requesting a by-election have not arrived at the town hall. If they’re received this week, the election will be on December 9, otherwise it will be December 16. As for the candidates, none of the parties have decided who will stand. As it is Lutfur’s former ward (he had to stand down as councillor once he was elected mayor), he will have a major influence over who wins.
So does he try to ingratiate himself with his former party and back the Labour candidate, who will take the party whip and oppose him, or support the person to be put up by Respect (they’re meeting tomorrow night to decide if they will run and if so, who), or, even more intriguingly, does he encourage an “independent” to stand?
What do you think he should do?
Trial by Jeory 