Last month, I published the list of Lutfur Rahman’s mayoral advisers. The list, which was provided by Tower Hamlets council, included the name Gulam Robbani and stated his role was to advise on “on adult social care and health for one day per week at a cost of £40 per hour”.
Robbani, of course, was Lutfur’s agent in the October 2010 mayoral election and is now the independent candidate for the Spitalfields by-election on April 19.
So let’s hope he and Lutfur can explain exactly what sort of advice he has been offering because I think the following letter from John Williams, the council’s head of democratic services, to Tory leader Peter Golds will cause a fair few heads to be scratched.
Thank you for your Member’s enquiry regarding G-Social Care.
Since the Mayor was elected in October 2010 G-Social Care has been involved with the Council to provide advice to the Mayor on the Health and Wellbeing of Adults and Children.
G-Social Care was awarded a contract in accordance with the Council procurement procedures which commenced on 3rd February 2011. This contract was completed on 3rd July 2011.
From 3rd February 2011 to 3rd July 2011, G-Social Care received direct payments under this contract of £4,400.
Following a tender exercise and procurement process in accordance with the Council’s procedures, G-Social Care was awarded a further contract which commenced on 17th October 2011. From 17th October 2011 to 31st January 2012, G Social Care was paid £40 per hour and received direct payments under this contract of £13,080.00. This contract was suspended from 1st February 2012 at the request of Mr Gulam Robbani of G-Social Care.
G-Social Care have not received any funds from the Council by way of grant.
Previously, Children’s Services spot purchased services from G Social Care during the course of the financial years 2005/6 to 2008/9. The last time that any services were commissioned from them by Children’s Services was in 2008. Over the period of time specified, a total of £62,311 was paid to them for the services provided which were for contact services for children looked after, for interpreting services across the service, for accommodation for no recourse to public funds cases and for support to CIN cases. There do not appear to have been any grants made to them.
G Social Care is located at xx Cottage Street, London, E14 OAA and provides services to the following client groups:
Asylum Seekers – Family Assessment Units, Support services;
Children – Training and Education;
Criminal Justice – Escort Services;
Families – Community/Family Centres, Parent & Child Units;
Homelessness/Poverty – CounsellingOther Specialised Services: Interpreting & Translation
Records at Companies House show that G Social Care is owned by Robbani (99 per cent shares) and Nafisa Nagris Robbani (one per cent).
It seems therefore that Lutfur is being advised not by Robbani but by Robbani’s company. Another way of looking at this is that Robbani was paying himself through a limited company at the lower rates of Corporation Tax. There has been great deal of fuss about such tax avoidance arrangements in the civil service recently.
There is another issue here as well. Until it was awarded the Mayoral adviser contract, G Social Care Ltd was merely a supplier of translating, interpreting and counselling services. It advertised on the Community Care website here in 2006, a year after it was established at the London Muslim Centre, when its hourly rates were £18-20 an hour. That’s half the £40 it now charges for “advice”.
The letter above states that £4,400 was paid to it between February 3 and July 3, 2011: if that was at £40 an hour that’s 110 hours of “advice” over 22 weeks, which implies his contracted one day per week was for five hours (110/22).
The “further contract” commenced on October 17, 2011, and ended at Robbani’s request on January 31 (a few days after Shelina Akhtar’s guilty plea raised the probability of a Spitalfields by-election). That’s a period of only 15 weeks, yet the company was paid £13,080, triple the amount under the previous 22 week deal.
There is something odd about this. We have an official list from the council saying his contract is one day a week at £40 an hour. His working day seemed to be 5 hours a day in the first part of last year. If that remained the same under the renewed contract then we’d expect his company to have been paid £3,000 (15 weeks*5*£40).
In fact, the £13,080 he was paid for those 15 weeks works out as 327 hours (£13,080/£40). His contract was for one day a week, so if we divide 327 hours by 15 days, it implies he was working 21.8 hours a day.
Now, that can’t be right. So what else can be included in that £13,080? If there are any translating or interpreting services included in that amount then that’s a very different contract to mere “advice”…Robbani and the council have some explaining to do.
There’s something else worth pondering: we’re told the company was paid £62,000 by the council between 2006 and 2008. Well, that didn’t exactly boost the company’s health. Accounts lodged at Companies House show net assets of just £332 at Dec 31, 2007. They soared to £391 a year later.
All in all, a very curious business for Mr Robbani, who, I understand used to work for the council’s social services team…(if anyone has more information on that, please email me).
UPDATE – March 22, 1pm
There is another curious element to this tale. Robbani lists his company’s service address at Companies House at an address in Sexton House, which is a new block in Virginia Quay, Blackwater. According to the Electoral Roll he used to live there until 2008 and it’s likely he still owns it and rents it out.
However, on the previous electoral roll at that address his name is spelled as Ghulam Robbani. He is now registered at a maisonette in Cottage Street, Limehouse (the same address where his company operates from), as Gulam Robbani.
Given that this by-election was caused by someone who also used different spellings for her name at different times (Shelina Ak(h)tar), that’s a little ironic.
Interesting character this G(h)ulam Robbani…
Trial by Jeory 
Good on ya Robbani. Keep up your great self sacrifice by taking more money from the public purse! Mr. Mayor should be really proud of his protege.
Oh I forgot that should add nicely to Robbanis 100+ property portfolio.
He seems to speak a lot of languages at any rate, if that ad is anything to go by
Don’t worry there will be more revelations about this man in the very near furure
Steve not sure whether you’ve ever spoken Robbani but he can barely speak English. I’d like to know what level of his new found wealth, albeit at the tax payers expense, is being used to fund Lutfur Rahman and his various activities?
Ted – all I can say is thank you. You often seem to be the only person who is keeping track of the “mayor”. It seems there is literally no-one else keeping tabs on this man. The East London Advertiser seems neutered because it depends on council advertising contracts. The national papers only occasionally take interest. If it weren’t for you and Andrew Gilligan it would seem nobody cared a jot about the beleaguered people of this borough.
All we can do is sit and watch while the “mayor” none of us real people voted for does what he wants. He is frittering away public money – council tax money which I cannot afford to pay myself, but yet I must by law – on his favourites. Is this corruption? Is it not corruption in public office to reward your friends with duff jobs paid for by money which isn’t yours? Are there any council officers left in that woeful organisation who have the spine to stand up to this abuse? After watching the new CEO and the Legal Officer in the council chamber in January it seems everything is quite neatly sewn up now. I live in the hope that Eric Pickles will one day intervene and run our borough from Whitehall.
I say to the Labour Party – this is all your fault. You made this man. You nurtured him and now look at the mess you have left us all in. I say to Ken – I used to support you. I campaigned for you for decades but not any more mate, not with the friends you keep and the way they repeatedly insult people from outside their “community” again and again and again. And I say to the people of this borough – we must organise a petition right now demanding a local referendum on the restoration of the old constitution Tower Hamlets used to have (with a council and council leader) before George Galloway came here, squatted and coiled out the mayor we must all now endure. But who would count the signatures? I think the IFE counted the signatures last time and magically there were just enough – I suspect any counter-petition against Lutfur and his junta would never get quite enough…. I have really had enough now. It all seems so skewed. Lutfur and his crony ‘cabinet’ are all Bengalis. Almost all the people this mayor hires are Bengalis. I am unemployed and cannot get a job down Brick Lane despite loads of watering experience because I am not Bengali. When is someone going to stand up for people like me? Why will I now get threatened by people just for speaking out???
Last week I rang up the council and asked how much the “City of Tower Hamlets” idiocy vanity project cost and I was told £20,000. Given that this Robbani can walk away with £13k for his “advice” (what qualifications has he got?) surely this paltry figure is a total lie? Who is keeping the books though…..
Eric, we’re desperate – send in the inspectors now please.
James, along with most other people in the borough I would be in agreement with most of what you say, save for the issue of this corrupt Lutfur Rahman recruiting only Bengalis – its worse mate – he’s only recruiting hard core IFE. It won’t be long before this guy Robbani will be the Brutus to this pretender. If Lutfur thinks that the extremist IFE will be his savior – he’s got a surprise comming his way. These IFE guys will put Ahmedin Nijad to shame.
Ken has already lost the election!!!
I cannot put into words how sick I feel about what is going on at Tower Hamlets. As a lifelong Labour Supporter I will not, and cannot vote Ken. I hope that the London and Tower Hamlets Labour Party will never allow Lutfer and his small circle that represent their own self-interest back into mainstream politics. I have seen a FOI in regards to Lutfer placing adverts on local TV stations and on the side of Rapid Response Youth Clubs which are assets owned by the people of Tower Hamlets. While people are being made redundant and being restructured in local government, this man is wasting money from the public purse without regard.
I hope that the government now steps in and that a formal enquiry is undertaken into the conduct of this current administration. I do not believe that this man represents the people of Tower Hamlets – all the peoples of Tower Hamlets. It is time for the Labour movement to be strong and ensure that the independents are ejected from the mainstream for good. Well done Ted for reporting what is happening in Tower Hamlets.
James,
What a load of racist bollocks.
I hardly know where to start.
‘None of us real people voted for’ – surely you mean ‘none of us white people voted for’!
The referendum was yes by 60% on a 60% turnout. Can’t get any more emphatic than that. Lutfur won straight off on first prefs and the turnout was as high as in the first Newham, Lewisham and Hackney mayoral elections.
What do you mean you’ve got ‘watering experience’? Watering plants?
Don’t play the race card mate. Given your experience at East London News I can think of far more probable reasons why you’re on benefits.
Gulam’s got a degree and held far higher office in the Tower Hamlets Labour Party than you ever did. Could that, perhaps, be the real reason you’re so miffed?
I could not give a damn about whatever office Gulam held in Labour… and anyway… look at him now – a traitor to Labour just like all the others; Lutfur, Shelina etc etc etc. So much for their judgement of character, eh?
You just like to put words in peoples’ mouths. I was not employed by the ELN – I volunteered. I resigned from the ELN because I was not prepared to write fawning articles extolling the charisma and limitless virtues of Tower Hamlet’s Dear Leader… that is called having principles – sadly unlike so many people promoted by THLP. And as for you – what great things have you achieved, feel free to list them below.
Steve – I’ve asked you before to clarify this utter bo***cks about Robbani holding office in TH Labour Party. You keep saying he was vice-chair. He was not.
THLP has only existed since 2006 in which time it has had four vice-chairs James Court, Lutfur Rahman (no, not him, another one), Chris Weavers and Taril Khan.
He may have been vice-chair of Bethnal Green and Bow CLP – if so it was before 2000 (when I became chair). Or perhaps in the former incarnation of THLP which was abolished in the early 80s, or perhaps the TH LGC which was abolished when its officers went feral.
Apologies – it was the old CLP, back in the days when Ruth Kelly was another leading light!
Steve O Driscoll, what High Position has Gulam Rabbani held in Tower Hamlets Labour Party.
Ted, I am sure someone will come out with the real reason why Rabbani left Tower hamlets Council when he was head of social services.
James, i feel for you mate, this is not the race card, this is the truth, jst because a white man starts talking about his problems, it becomes a race issue.
Steve or whoever you are,its people like you who play to the hands of Lutfur and also the real racists EDL and others who want to divide our community.
@ James Frankcom
“All we can do is sit and watch while the “mayor” none of us real people voted for does what he wants’.
So the 23,000 odd people that voted for him aren’t ‘real people’? What a disgusting thing to say.
‘He [The Mayor] is frittering away public money’.
As if the Labour council and the Liberals before them didn’t do that.
‘I say to the Labour Party – this is all your fault. You made this man. You nurtured him and now look at the mess you have left us all in’.
Really… The Labour party ‘made’ him? The Labour party isn’t a divine organisation that makes people or has the power to predetermine an election result. If it did I’m sure they would have worked their magic on the previous drab leadership.
‘I campaigned for you [Ken] for decades but not any more mate, not with the friends you keep and the way they repeatedly insult people from outside their “community” again and again and again.’
I doubt anybody in Tower Hamlets Labour party would let you do anything other than deliver leaflets – on several occasions I’ve been out with you – even that was a struggle.
It shows how committed you are to ordinary residents that you’re prepared to sit back and do nothing and essentially help Boris win an election. No self-respecting Labour Party member and I’d include the Zanu-Labour lot in that – would sit back and be a passive member after yesterdays budget.
‘And I say to the people of this borough – we must organise a petition right now demanding a local referendum on the restoration of the old constitution Tower Hamlets used to have (with a council and council leader)’.
Because that’s accountable isn’t it. You can’t go back to the council and leader model for several years, do some research in-between daydreaming.
@ Lex
‘James, along with most other people in the borough I would be in agreement with most of what you say, save for the issue of this corrupt Lutfur Rahman recruiting only Bengalis – its worse mate’.
He hasn’t ‘only recruited Bengalis’ he is quite happy to have Labour Cllrs in his cabinet. Tower Hamlets Labour group have banned their Cllrs from participating in that cabinet so the fact that Lutfur has no white Cllrs in his cabinet has nothing to do with ‘recruiting Bengalis’ and everything to do with White Cllrs being banned from joining it.
What’s wrong with Bengalis ? How many is too many ? I suppose you could argue that members of the Mayor’s cabinet are only after money and have no principles etc but that’s a entirely different argument.
Finally, in a response to the are they qualified undercurrent to many peoples posts and James’ ‘what qualifications has he got?’ I don’t think that’s something you / others would jump on if he wasn’t Bengali which is quite sad really. What qualifications do you need to be a consultant? What qulificatiosn did you have in relation to your non-job at the ELN?
@Wapping
‘I cannot put into words how sick I feel about what is going on at Tower Hamlets. As a lifelong Labour Supporter I will not, and cannot vote Ken.’
I think that’s unfortunate my hand will be shaking in the polling booth but I think Boris will be worse and Ken can be constrained by GLA members to some extent.
‘I do not believe that this man represents the people of Tower Hamlets – all the peoples of Tower Hamlets. It is time for the Labour movement to be strong and ensure that the independents are ejected from the mainstream for good’.
I completely agree. But that’s not his fault it’s our fault, Tower Hamlets Labour Party has a tendency to externalise problems. We have a history of having no plan and subsequently we lurch from one disaster to the next. It’s only a matter of time before region let these nut cases back in.
The sooner Michael Keith gets back in the better LG are drifting in the wind.
James I only disagree that its the fault of the Labour Party to make this man. I blame the people who on that dark day in October 2010, stayed at home and let this happen. only 24 % turn out on elcetion day.
i hope these people are happy.
O’Driscal – it definitely was not a 60% turnout… I think you just invented that figure. I think it was about 23,000 votes which is about 10% of the population. By “real people” I mean the 90% who did not get involved. You just like to smear anyone who does not fall into your silly socialist make believe paradigm and you insert the word “white” in to discredit anyone who opposes it. Very predictable indeed. As for ever meeting you – we have never met.
In my view – and I am not alone in this view – a very small clique organised the dodgy petition from within the LMC. They were the same people who Galloway thanked and the same people exposed by Andrew Gilligan as having infiltrated Labour and conspiring to change the constitution and get their man in the top job.
Lutfur was the Labour leader of LBTH when that petition (which Labour was supposedly against) was approved by the organisation that he led despite up to a third of the petitioners on that form being invalid. There was then a referendum which was somehow won (by Respect) despite all the Respect councillors losing their seats…very fishy….and this in a council known for its electoral fraud and corruption. If you ask me the whole thing stank.
As for the other hysteria… I would have thought someone tendering to consult a local government authority would need to have qualifications. If not – they ought to need them. By “watering” I of course meant “waitering” (sorry for the typo, I am not infallible like you) and as for benefits – I am not on any benefits because my wife works, and unfortunately, I – like a record number of young people at the moment – am currently unemployed… you can mock us if you like.
Milosh – you say “Labour has banned white people from joining Lutfur’s cabinet” – what a load of utter bollocks. Labour has banned ALL its councillors from joining Lutfur’s cabinet…but predictably the only ones willing to take his pieces of silver have been Bengali… and they are not at all known for doing whatever it takes for money and power are they? Oh no that would be a stereotype – whoopsy.
What I am saying is that as far as equality goes, in LBTH there is one rule for Bengali people and one rule for everyone else. Everything right now seems tipped in favour of one community. The other communities are totally ignored. The example of not a single non-Bengali being employed in any Brick Lane businesses is a case in point. That is discriminatory and unfair and because these Bengalis don’t want to employ anyone other than their own people. They even discriminate against people from Dhaka! Just because I dare to raise that subject does not make me a racist; I wonder if you understand the meaning of the word.
I would contend there are frequent incidence of “black on white” racism in LBTH… the problem is Labour and their ilk are in total denial about it to the detriment of people like me who have to live in this shit hole. The mayor and his entirely bengali cabinet live in a bubble. They ought to be representative of all the various communities of this borough – when we had a council leader and cabinet this could be done, with this elective dictatorship we now have it is not and everyone who is not Bengali (or in local Labour’s case – gay or Bengali ) is systematically excluded.
As for the referendum – the earliest it can be done – and I checked – is the next time there is a council election in LBTH which should be about 2014/5… so a petition can and should be organised now to start the process of putting things back to how they were.
James
Just bugger off and write some more sick pornographic fantasies about female councillors
Oh boo hoo!! You’re never one to misrepresent, exaggerate or distort are you Stevie?
ok…that’s enough, you two.
I know it’ dangerous to read while driving, but it’s a dead straight road. In the rear view mirror the town of Kafkaesque, but, like this thread, I’m heading for the Life of Brianville where ever smaller groupings have progressively more vitriolic internecine arguments…
@ James Frankcom
Milosh – you say “Labour has banned white people from joining Lutfur’s cabinet” – what a load of utter bollocks. Labour has banned ALL its councillors from joining Lutfur’s cabinet…but predictably the only ones willing to take his pieces of silver have been Bengali… and they are not at all known for doing whatever it takes for money and power are they? Oh no that would be a stereotype – whoopsy.
Wow James wow. You should read my comments again carefully. You/ others frequently accuse the Mayor of surrounding himself by Bengalis. He hasn’t. White Cllrs are banned from joining his cabinet; it’s quite a simple concept to grasp.
I did explicitly make the point that: ‘I suppose you could argue that members of the Mayor’s cabinet are only after money and have no principles etc but that’s a entirely different argument’ which you make in a very racist way which I think is a shame because I thought you were a nice guy. Unfortunately you seem to have gone the way of Wais Islam, THLP seems to do that to people.
I can think of at least 3 white Cllrs who would quite happily serve in the Mayors cabinet but they are prevented from doing so. So it is not fair to say oh look at the Mayor he only works with his people etc. White Cllrs who would like to work with him are prevented from doing so. I can think of several more white Cllrs who do not want to join his cabinet but think expelling the independents like this was the wrong strategy to take.
Yes all Cllrs are banned from serving with him but the fact that only Bengali Cllrs have openly broken ranks demonstrates that they are willing to stick their necks out for something they believe in. You don’t have to agree with them, I don’t – maybe money is a factor but ethnicity isn’t. The Mayors all ethnic line up is not of his making.
‘What I am saying is that as far as equality goes, in LBTH there is one rule for Bengali people and one rule for everyone else. Everything right now seems tipped in favour of one community. The other communities are totally ignored. The example of not a single non-Bengali being employed in any Brick Lane businesses is a case in point. That is discriminatory and unfair and because these Bengalis don’t want to employ anyone other than their own people. They even discriminate against people from Dhaka! Just because I dare to raise that subject does not make me a racist; I wonder if you understand the meaning of the word’ .
Wow James wow. Was your Job application rejected? Nobody is ignored if the ‘other communities’ are too lazy to vote, fail to organise themselves in an effective way to pursues their community interests you do not criticise the people/community that are organised. Furthermore how many Bengalis do you think work in Canary wharf? I have stayed in several top hotels in Tower Hamlets never once have I seen a single Bengali person working in any of them. Maybe they’re not ‘qualified’ Blue eyed blond eastern Europeans seem to be though.
‘I would contend there are frequent incidence of “black on white” racism in LBTH… the problem is Labour and their ilk are in total denial about it to the detriment of people like me who have to live in this shit hole. The mayor and his entirely bengali cabinet live in a bubble. They ought to be representative of all the various communities of this borough – when we had a council leader and cabinet this could be done, with this elective dictatorship we now have it is not and everyone who is not Bengali (or in local Labour’s case – gay or Bengali ) is systematically excluded’.
Wow James wow. If you don’t like it why don’t you move to the shires? I dare say your blood pressure will benefit. You’re unemployed right, were you aware that the Department of work and pensions support applicants who want to move around the country to find work?
The fact that the Mayor has a entirely Bengali cabinet has nothing to do with him white Cllrs who want to join it cannot, we can all think of one white Cllr who’d be happy to. I’d much rather have the council and leader model but this is another example of where Labour (probably formerly Labour for you after this) externalise their problems. Was there an effective No campaign in 2010? Don’t blame the Mayor for winning that argument you ought to look at the people that lost it.
To paraphrase our mutual friend Ken Livingstone Tower Hamlets Labour party / Politics is ‘riddled with gays’. We do very well on that front, what planet are you on? In what way are gay people excluded from anything? They might face discrimination perhaps even heightened discrimination but they’re not excluded.
James, I’m tempted to ask which female councillor and what sick pornographic fantasies, but going back to something you have said here: the cost of the lost bid for City Status. You were told £20,000 was spent. Agree that does sound light. Of course Canary Wharf Group paid for half of the Bid, so should we add on another £20,000? In the absence of waitering jobs on Brick Lane (- have you not tried the establishments on Commercial Street which are full of what you might perceive as ‘friendly’ faces -) why not return to freelance journalism and do something on the failure of the City Status bid? You’ve found out that we lost at least £20,000 on bid documents, events, promotions that must have been flawed. So which officers contributed to these flawed bid documents and set up these flawed events, okayed flawed promotions etc? We already know that TH looked like a dodgy prospect after the debacle of Trinity Memorial Gardens with its Tower of London backdrop being hired out as a party venue, so again with the Bid, which officers were responsible for packaging and selling our culture and heritage in such a disastrous way? On Canary Wharf Group, seems the Bid was just window-dressing for these big-boy developers; they could drop £20,000 (and more) to look supportive of the borough that is home to Wood Wharf and which – co-incidentally, surely – they have just secured full ownership of…pending their planning application for this multi-million pound asset and expansion of their domain? Of course, as a supporter of OPEN Shoreditch, James, (surely?) which saved the Light Bar from the Corporation of London/Hammerson demolitions in Spitalfields for more City offices, it will be no surprise for you to see how the then Lord Mayor and Hammerson boss gave the weakest endorsement of the City Status Bid back in July 2011…more window-dressing while the Corporation progressed their plan to demolish the Spitalfields Fruit and Wool Exchange, and Hammerson pursued plans for a “path of progress” from Spitalfields to Bishopsgate for “City type occupiers” with their purchases in Tower Hamlets such as the Nicholls & Clarke and Tabernacle Street sites. The City Status Bid was a waste of money, including £20,000 of ours, but it was also shackled to the money and the agendas of huge property developers. Flawed is the least of it. Here is a recent piece in the Guardian on Mr Bear and his plans for more City expansion into Spitalfields:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/nov/06/city-property-benefit-developer-mayor
And back to Mr Robbani: what does he want for Spitalfields? The Labour candidate, Ala Uddin, as you must know James, is against the demolition of the Exchange. (And has taken a stand along with Richard MacMillan, Lib Dem.)
I heard from those within Spitalfields Society that Cllr. Helal Abbas with the planning committee recently blocked a proposal to demolish it – they’ve done a great service to the community by so doing, thank you Abbas. At the same meeting – I’m reliably informed- a large group of bussed in IFE/Lutfurites were there in favour of the planning proposal trying to intimidate everyone… so I wonder what is their interest in this site? Maybe another Islamic college there aren’t enough of those around here…
The Spitalfields Society spoke IN FAVOUR of the planning proposal!
Mr Philip Vracas spoke for the Spitalfields Society.
There were three (max allowed) speakers and he and his Spitalfields Society spoke in favour of the demolitions of the Exchange, bank and pub, and also in favour of an office block there, including over old Dorset Street.
Mr Vracas/this Society may have an “interest” in this site – doubt it is for “another Islamic college” though. As you know them, you should ask. (Hope you’re not getting confused with the Spitalfields Community Group?)
I know Wais. Bloody good bloke. He doesn’t spout sanctimonious arse all the time.
@James Frankcom Well done, you’ve got these corruption apologists in a real tizzy. See how long the blustering replies are. No real facts, mostly waffle made to sound authoratitive. TH could do with more people like you. Thanks.
For clarification, there is a 10 year moratorium imposed before a new referendum can be held to decide whether the electorate wants a directly elected mayor or a leader and cabinet model. That means the system can’t be reversed, before 2020. No petitioning can change that. Similarly, regarding the current incumbent, Lutfur Rahman, he can’t be removed before his 4 year term of offices expires in 2014. Unless, that is, he is found guilty of a criminal offence..
He could be removed if it could be proved that a significant majority of the orginal signatures on the petition to trigger the referendum was fruadulent.
Here are the figures from the original petition, received by the Council on
16 November 2009:
17,189 entries checked:
Valid – 10,233 (59.53%)
Invalid – 6,956 (40.47%)
No Full Name – 2,094 (30.10%)
Not Registered – 3,408 (48.99%)
No Address – 788 (11.33%)
Non LBTH Addresses – 642 (9.23%)
Underage – 14 (0.20%)
No Signature – 10 (0.14%)
With 7,794 signatures required – the number of valid entries exceeded the
required figure by 2,439 entries, hence the referendum.
The fact that 40% of signatures were invalid must in itself raise great concern.
Further details here: http://bit.ly/GOwWzu
That is so not true and you just made it up whereas I have actually checked my facts with the relevant government department and with LBTH itself.
I recommend you look at the case of the City of Stoke on Trent which went from the original council and cabinet to an elected mayor (in 2002) and then voted to go back again (in 2008).
http://www.birminghampost.net/news/2008/10/24/stoke-votes-to-lose-its-elected-mayor-65233-22110351/
Let’s start organising a petition now. We need activists in each ward. I am happy to coordinate this campaign if nobody else has the nerve.
Ted – can you scrub the last post. There was no need for me to sound so antagonistic to Grenville. I want to say, simply:
I recommend you look at the case of the City of Stoke on Trent which went from the original council and cabinet to an elected mayor (in 2002) and then voted to go back again (in 2008). They changed their system within six years. The soonest we can have a restorative referendum would be 2014.
http://www.birminghampost.net/news/2008/10/24/stoke-votes-to-lose-its-elected-mayor-65233-22110351/
Let’s start organising a petition now. We need activists in each ward. I am happy to coordinate this campaign if nobody else has the nerve.
James
I’d be pleased to work with you on this but you may first want to independently check my understanding of a 10 year moratorium which I was advised existed by John Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services at Tower Hamlets Council only last week.
It’s shameful that the discussion has sunk into one of personal abuse, accusations of racism and contrived reasoning. The issue raised focuses on the Mayor’s integrity, or lack of it, as it relates in this instance to appointing an adviser. For clarification again, the correct figures for (1) the Mayoral Referendum where that 37% of the electorate voted for an Elected Mayor, and (2) 13% of the electorate supported Lutfur Rahman in the subsequent Mayoral Election. However you interpret these results, they make a mockery of representative democracy, and in that regard James Frankcom’s concerns are valid. It’s irrelevant to compare the results with similar referendums/elections in adjacent boroughs; poor turnouts elsewhere doesn’t make ours any more acceptable. And that’s a key point. Unless we can convince considerably more electors to vote across the entire demographics of the borough – to become involved in their community – those who are elected will never be truly representative of the wider community. The risk therefore exists that those elected may serve minority interests
Grenville, do not wish to take away from the discussion you are having with James, but cannot post a further clarification above, in response to James’ comment on that Planning Committee meeting.
@James
Sorry, should not have put just The Spitalfields Society as there were three who appeared at the Planning Committee to speak in favour of the demolitions/new office block:
The Spitalfields Society: Philip Vracas
Osborne Street office, works with “community groups”: Ms Miah
Artillery Lane office, works in “ethnic minority enterprise” and “regeneration”: Miss Emem Ekong
The Minutes are not available yet, James, so you will have to accept that these three spoke in favour of the demolition of the Exchange for a new office block, and that includes The Spitalfields Society.
You should ask Mr Vracas what his interest is in a new office block for city occupiers on Commercial Street and on old Dorset/Duval Street. All he declared was that the street should be ‘got rid of’ as it has ‘memories of vice, murder and cock-fighting.’ Crikey, that would mean the Ten Bells (THE Ripper pub) and Flower and Dean Street would also have to be obliterated (and half of the East End.)
Mr Vracas’ Society and the other two obviously have agendas or what you might call an interests in this new office block. You should find out what these interests are first James, before you defend the Spitalfields Society here.
The agendas/interests of ALL of those in favour of demolition/new offices should be investigated. The “bussed-in” group you refer to were in the public gallery (handily wearing large pre-printed arm bands with ‘Yes to Fruit and Wool’) and their interest is not clear either. You are saying “IFE/Lutfurites” looking for a college; all I can say is that one of them works/worked in the community but does not even live here. (Ms Miah and Miss Ekong may not live here either; Mr Vracas probably does.) The official side of this will appear in the Council Minutes, which may be interesting as of course Council Planners also want the Exchange demolished.
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