The merry-go-round of Tower Hamlets politics continues: another allegedly loyal party member who was elected in May last year by promising he would deliver official manifesto pledges has thrown all his words back in his voters’ faces.
This time it’s not a Labour member who has defected to Lutfur Rahman’s growing group of independents, but a Tory: Cllr Maium Miah.
To be honest, it’s not surprising: three weeks ago I reported here that Maium travelled with Lutfur Rahman and other supporters to campaign for the by-election victory of Ed Miliband adviser’s, Jon Ashworth, in Leicester South earlier his year.
I was told by one witness that MP Keith Vaz, who was compering the victory celebrations, even hinted there would soon be a Tory defection….but Vaz apparently thought the switch would be to Labour.
No, it doesn’t work like that in Tower Hamlets. Labour is not in control of the political patronage – Lutfur is.
Expect some form of “special responsibility allowance” to end up in the defector’s pocket sometime soon.
By the way, when quizzed about his coach trip to Leicester, he assured Tory boss Peter Golds that he had been duped. Maium, an ex-Labour party member, told him he thought he was just going there for “a community visit to a restaurant and a mosque” and that when he realised its “true purpose” he made himself scarce from Lutfur’s group and “went to have a look around the city”.
If so, that seems a bare-faced lie.
Here’s the email he just sent to Cllr Golds:
Dear Councillor Golds
I write to inform you that from henceforth I resign from the Conservative Party from immediate effect.
Regards
Councillor Mohammed Maium Miah
UPDATE – 4.50pm, July 28
Lutfur is now very close to controlling the magic 17 councillors required to block any budget amendments by Labour (that’s a third of the 51 councillors).
He now has eight original independents, plus the five recent “whip defectors” from Labour, plus Maium. That makes 14, but he also has almost guaranteed two Respect members, so that’s 16. So that leaves the lone Lib Dem Stephanie Eaton in an extremely interesting position. So far, she’s been happy to side with Lutfur on several issues, but now she might just extract a higher price for co-operation. Of course, Lutfur could trump her by securing another floor-crosser from Labour.
Trial by Jeory 
I’ve lost count. How many members does Lutfur have now, Ted?
Effectively 16 plus Stephanie Eaton…..have updated the post.
Perhaps there was a job going as Ohid Ahmed’s Mini-Me.
Paul, your cronisism is admirable but let us true blues get out and shut you guys up once and for all.
WTF?
I think we are missing the argument here. Peter Golds has failed to maintain any sort of decent opposition group.
The real story should be about him resigning as leader and passing onto someone decent like Tim Archer.
This has been a Cinderella story where the ugly sisters have oppressed the real voices like Shirley and Briscoe. Although i am a tory supporter i was disgusted at what i saw at the mayoral selection and how peter continually supports abbas at every juction rather than trying to broker a deal with the mayor for the best interest of his ward and constituents.
I would even ask people to question him about where he was when we were capaiging for Matt Smith in the spitalfield ward in the pouring rain. There seems to be a heirciaical system at play where if your face fits you get everything while the rest of us tip toe around him.
I would request Tim or even Zara to make a leadership challenge at least even give us a fighting chance of securing any seats in the near future.
For the sake of the party Peter please resign and give us a chance to fight back.
What sort of deal should he have brokered with Lutfur, Steve?
I am no Tory but I would say from watching from the sidelines as a very interested spectator from a neighbouring borough that so far Cllr Golds has behaved in a principled manner. He has not supported Cllr Abbas but his political position throughout has been one which has mostly coincided with that of Abbas which is not the same thing as support.
If he is to be criticised for anything it was to take on Maium Miah in the first place and he could be vulnerable because of that. I can’t see Stephanie Eton joining Lutfur, that would be a bridge too far. But stranger things have happened in Tower Hamlets.
I’ve missed who the 5th whip defector was, can you let me know. Plus a link to any post.
Kabir Ahmed. Mentioned it here:
https://trialbyjeory.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/lutfur-shiraj-and-a-bit-of-cricket/
What’s the big picture now the dust is beginning to settle?
We have one party (Lutfer’s) which is an exclusively Bangladeshi coalition supported by a curious alliance of religious hardliners and wealthy businessmen. We have a (exclusively?) white Conservative Group who represent those living in Tower Hamlets’ riviera. And we have one group, Labour, which is a broad church representing everyone else.
The next local elections are pretty much sorted.
(Hint: elections tend to be won by the party representing the largest number of people in an electoral area).
I’d never really thought of the Barkantine estate as the Tower Hamlets riviera. Bet Tory voters there hadn’t either.
Remind me the turnout on the barkantine pd vs turnout on the pds with the wealthier newbuild on the island?
Behave.
Don’t know what they were; would be an interesting fact – does anyone have it out there?
I am carefully studying comments from Imran Khan and always thought he is either Josh Peck or Peter Gold. It is now reasonable for me to guess that this is Peter Gold. The important point Mr Khan for you to note that Abbas lied when he said he didn’t get the invitation for the visit of Imam, he got rid of Lutfur as candidate by submitting a dodgy dossier with full of lies. The community of Tower Hamlets stood against this but extreme right wing people like Ted, Rush and Peter and Josh supported Abbas. Cllr Maium Miah resigned yesterday from Tory party criticising petty politics of both Tower Hamlets Tory and Labour group Leadership, he clearly stated he couldn’t be part of both leaders joint conspiracy against the mayor, this is not what his local people wants.
Ted, be bit reasonable and ask Labour party NEC to suspend Abbas and others (whoever involved in this conspiracy) otherwise I think there should be a petition to withdraw suspension from Phil Wollas, we can not have two different rules for two different people in civil society. Harriet Herman MP advocated for Phil Wollas suspension, why isn’t she doing same thing here?
Ash,
It comes as a surprise to me that I am an openly gay Jewish Tory. I am in fact a fifties something solicitor in a partnership in East London but not the Tower Hamlets bit. I have an interest in the politics of the area because I am a Muslim of the variety that doesn’t want to impose Sharia law or blow up non believers.
In order to be taken seriously Ash it necessary to do a number of things when writing emails such as your last. The first is to have some kind of a coherent point of view. It would seem , from what you are saying, that there is some kind of an unspecified right wing conspiracy, your word, involving journalists and prominent members of the Labour and Tory Parties both locally and nationally.
For some as yet unexplained reason and for ends which you do not make clear these people have at some point all met and reached an agreement to do whatever necessary to prevent Lutfur becoming Mayor. That is what you are claiming and when it is put like that you look more than a little silly.
You then wander off into totally irrelevant, at least as far as I can see, side issues as to whether or not Abbas was invited or not to meet with some Imman or other. I have no idea what that was about, can you enlighten us?
The use of the concept of the dodgy dossier was first coined by the extreme left, at one time some of Lutfur’s most ardent supporters but who now seem to designated him a non person. The use of the “Dodgy Dossier” is analogous to the old method used by the gutter press of attacking someone by asking them ” So, when did you stop beating your wife” ?
As far as I understand the situation the NEC of the Labour Party were presented with a series of sworn statements from people living at properties who were shown Labour Party membership lists which listed people they had never heard of as being resident at the addresses.
One such address was 333 Hanbury St E1 a flat owned by Lutfur’s sister. The woman who had been renting the flat from an agent in New Rd for the previous eighteen months was shown the membership list which had Lutfur’s sister, husband and another man as living there. She produced her rental agreement and other evidence and signed a declaration of the true situation. Nothing dodgy about that Ash.
The NEC of the Labour Party took the view that the dossier was true and expelled Lutfur as they were entitled to do. Is there anything you don’t understand about that.?
The rest of your email is impossible to deal with as it is incomprehensible drivel.
Call me pedantic but I should have written in the antepenultimate paragraph ” which had Lutfur’s sister, her husband and another man living there”. I do apologise and insist that there is no comma after husband whatever some style gurus may claim.
May I correct a few facts:
The Labour NEC were not shown sworn statements made by people living at any properties. They were shown statements made by two cllrs Abbas and Bill Turner which made a series of claims regarding membership abuses which may or may not be true. Those statements also made allegations against Luther which he has never been given an opportunity to answer.
Imran Khan claims to be a solicitor in which case he will be aware of the provisions of the Human Rights Act. They make clear that every person should be entitled to a fair trial. In this case there has been a manifest failure to give Lutfur a fair hearing.
Labour’s NEC failed to investigate the allegations on the grounds that he had left the party and stood against the Labour Party. Many members of the Labour Party believe that was an unfair decision which the party will come to regret.
I understand that Mr Madewell used to be a member of the International Marxist Group and is an extreme left winger who has publicly called for the overthrow of democracy and the imposition on all of us of some kind of Eastern European communist dictatorship.
Having had the misfortune to meet the gentleman on a couple of occasions in Brick Lane and Plashet Park during the 1970s I have to say that I think that he is slightly unhinged, bonkers that is!
I would like him to go back to his statement and rewrite it, in English preferably. Trot speak is no longer fashionable!
Mr Madewell, you are conspicious by your absence.