May 22, 2014 by trialbyjeory
Photo copyright Owen Bennett
I’ll update this fully later when I’m not so rushed, but here’s the video report that I and my Express colleague Owen Bennet did today on Tower Hamlets.
What happened at the polling station in Shadwell is particularly illuminating. Watch the very genial Labour canvasser admit he voted for Lutfur.
The report is here.
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Nice picture.
When will the TH result be declared ?
Curious Cat.
Ted, I suspect that there will be many voters like the chap you spoke to. Traditional party loyalty means nothing in TH. Also, we have an interesting situation if you are a Labour supporter. You can have your cake and eat it. You get to retain Lutfur as your mayor and vote in some Labour councillors too. It’s a win win situation.
The real prize is the mayoralty. Lutfur is on course for a historic win.
Extremely low turnout. John Biggs is second choice, second rate and second best.
You damn him with your own praise
Huh? I damn who?
But this is Tower Hamlets and not Clapham MonCO. Your views are, I hope, as outdated and irrelevant as an omnibus.
So you hope JohnJee.
A very sad day for Labour and a very humiliating day for the makers of BBC Panorama!
Most of the polling stations had very weak show from Labour activists – all I saw were a few Bengali elderly men (yes, men as I did not see any women!). It seemed that Luthfur (the showman) had more support than the last election. Luthfur won the last election thanks to the hypocritical behaviour of a certain Bengali Councillor! This time he’s heading the same way – thanks to BBC Panorama.
British people have a strong sense of justice, equality and fairness. When they see injustice, racist ideology at work they don’t shout and scream – they place an X which brings disgrace to the masterminds and their poodles!
Luthfur Bhai has trounced the haters….. Long live luthfur bhai
Easy tiger!
Let’s wait till this evening at least, find out the result and you can celebrate!
The leaflet you refer to, and show in the linked Express article, was distributed unchallenged outside polling stations in SKW ward. I brought this to the attention of the Electoral Service office at Tower Hamlets Council and was categorically informed the leaflet and its distribution outside polling stations was permissible. It’s hardly surprising therefore that they were found inside the polling cubicles. I was also informed during the same call that canvassing – including large A3 leaflets – was allowed directly outside the polling stations.
Astonishing!
Grenville Mills UKIP candidate SKW
Get over it…. All done and dusted…. Hip hip horaay… luthfur Bhai zindabaad
Grenville – you really need to read the guidance on the conduct outside polling stations sometime! Particularly when it applies to your own conduct as a candidate!
The point I made on the previous post is that it is entirely normal that leaflets handed to people on the way in to vote get left behind in the polling booths. It doesn’t happen a lot but it happens – people leave litter behind them!
One of the tasks that the Presiding Officer is charged with is making sure that all such leaflets are regularly and routinely removed from the booths. I’d expect to see an odd one in a booth. To see the same leaflet in all the booths suggests systematic action by the party it promotes (e.g. people being told “take this leaflet in and make sure you leave it in the booth”).
If those involved in running the Polling Stations have not been told to clear leaflets and have not been checking booths then things have certainly changed from when I used to run a Polling Station!
My conduct was exemplary.
The issue I highlighted wasn’t concerned with housekeeping processes within the polling station, but rather the nature of literature being distributed outside. My view – perhaps outdated – is that handing out an exact replica of the voting form complete with the desired X seems unethical at the very least, as indeed is active campaigning outside the polling station. But as stressed, no one cared a cuss.
Residents who came out to vote, made their decision. I’m pretty certain Lutfur won. Last time round it was the dodgy dossier which galvanised support for him. This time, the silly Panorama programme only demonstrated one thing – the hate TH Labour have for Lufur – and by doing that pissed a lot of people off who might not have voted for Lutfur.
So thanks TH Labour, your pathetic attempts to discredit Lutfur backfired again. You only have yourselves to blame.
Even if Lutfur wins, he still has the Government Inspection to deal with. It ain’t over yet.
The only hope TH labour have left is that PWC find evidence of criminality. And to be honest, I don’t think he’s going to be removed by central government anytime soon, no matter what the auditors find; Pickles hasn’t got the balls to step in and take out an elected mayor.
Or maybe I’m wrong and Biggs won?
Maybe. Time will tell.
They are still on the first count so don’t get ahead of yourselves