During my three years at the East London Advertiser, I spent a fair amount of time with George Galloway’s aides in the Respect party.
I’m fairly confident in saying that had the PwC report been written about the Labour administration in Tower Hamlets back then, they’d have milked it for all its worth.
They were as scathing about the then council leader in 2008, Lutfur Rahman, as they were about his predecessors, Denise Jones and Michael Keith. In particular, they disliked what they believed to be the whiff of cronyism…in both the awarding of grants and also the appointment of useful mates to political positions.
In fact, Respect’s decision to organise successful petition that heralded the directly elected mayoral system in 2009/10 was an attempt to end such a culture, they argued.
So it’ll be interesting to see if Galloway, or Glyn Robbins, the former chair of Tower Hamlets Respect, or John Rees, a founding father of the party, refer to any of this when they address the following rally the Water Lily centre in Mile End tomorrow tonight:
Lutfur has sent this email to his Tower Hamlets first supporters:
Dear supporter,
You’ll probably have heard by now that Secretary of State Eric Pickles has ordered officials in to undermine local democracy in Tower Hamlets, and it’s local residents that are paying for it (sic). You also may have heard that despite Pickles’ decision to send in the attack dogs, the report he ordered found no fraud or corruption in Tower Hamlets.
He’s seized on any flimsy excuse he can find to shut down the 37,395 voices that voted for Mayor Lutfur Rahman and for a council that stands up to the cuts and invests in education, affordable homes and our future.
This is Pickles versus the people. And it’s up to all of us to stand up to him.
Here’s some simple things you can do
– Sign the petition to stop the witch-hunt of Lutfur
– Join me at a rally with Ken Livingstone and other national leaders at the Waterlily, 69 Mile End Road on Weds 12th November at 6pm to discuss how we can stand up for democracy. (link to event page)
– Tweet and facebook your own opinions about all this under the hashtags #towerhamlets and #respectourvotes
– Get in touch with any ideas you have
Thank you so much for your help. We haven’t got big banks or corporate newspapers on our side, so every little thing you do really does count.
In solidarity,
Tower Hamlets First
The petition they refer to is here, and at the time of writing has 675 votes.
Note its name: ‘Respect our democracy and treat councils equally!’ And note the Twitter hashtag supporters are being urged to use: #respectourvotes.
The word ‘respect’ is popping up a lot.
So of course Galloway won’t lash out at Lutfur for his policy and process failures: they’re merely “flimsy excuses”.
Lutfur is now a convenient “Pickles versus the People” general election tool. Convenient for Lutfur, too, of course: posing the bigger question acts as a smokescreen for the criticisms.
But that’s politics.
There’s even some talk among his supporters that Lutfur may call a mayoral by-election to re-establish his authority. I’m not convinced he would press that nuclear button and in any case, I’m not sure when he would press it.
The Election Court hearing is due to start in mid-late January and it could last until March. Even then, the verdict may be reserved for some weeks.
If he emerges from that victorious, I’m not sure why he’d want or need to hold a by-election (although he could emerge victorious but tainted and damaged).
Who knows what his priorities are.
Certainly, he didn’t prioritise Remembrance Sunday again this year.
He was again a no-show at the wreath-laying ceremony at Tower Hill on Sunday, when there were huge crowds in the area observing the ceramic poppy display in the Tower of London moat across the road.
Lutfur’s reserved seat next to the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of London, Commander John Ludgate, remained empty.
I asked the council’s press office for an explanation and this was their reply:
The Mayor was regrettably unable to attend the Merchant Navy Memorial Service on Sunday due to a long-standing commitment to attend an (sic) young people’s education awards ceremony outside London. In his absence the Mayor asked Mickey Ambrose, former footballer and Duke of Edinburgh Awards ambassador to represent him and lay a wreath on his behalf.
Mr Ambrose said: “I was honoured to be a part of such a moving service and pay my respects to the courageous men and women who have served our country.”
The Mayor attended a Remembrance Service on Friday at City Hall with other Mayors and Council leaders, and is looking forward to the Armistice Day event on Tuesday at the Town Hall. The Mayor will also host a reception for war veterans after the event.
Mickey Ambrose stood and lost as a Tower Hamlets First candidate in Bow East in May. Quite why Lutfur asked him to deputise and not any of his elected councillors is a mystery.
I also asked the council what this longstanding awards ceremony commitment was, when it actually took place and where it was held.
They’ve declined to reply.
Anybody know?
Trial by Jeory 
Curious that 1) an education awards ceremony is organised to take place on the same day as Remembrance Day and 2) the Mayor accepted such an invitation knowing that it was also Remembrance Day and that he would have civic duties to attend to here 3) he didn’t learn from the previous occasion the derision it would cause. Curiouser and curiouser…
David wrote
So curious it is utterly unbelievable. I can understand a bunch of terrorists holding a meeting on Remembrance Sunday, but not any normal group or organisation.
Curious Cat
I don’t suppose a PWC report on a Labour administration would have been much different. Bit of an own goal on Remembrance Day however.
Son of Labour’s pitiful excuse written by a paid council worker is pathetic.
Every ‘politician’ knows Remembrance Sunday is the Sunday nearest 11 November. It is the same every year.
Shameful. Disgraceful. Remembrance Sunday is not a political event. It \’remembers\’ all those who died fighting in wars including civilians in resistance and covert operations.
Kick-out the Mayor and all his lackeys AND educate the Bangladeshies about Remembrance Sunday.
Very disappointed with the Mayor’s deliberate absence. I could understand if he was seriously ill, or had a death in the family, but how-on-earth could the Mayor and his public parasites, funded by the borough’s Council Tax payers, allow the Mayor to from London on Remembrance Sunday ?
Rahman knew, well in advance many weeks ago, that Remembrance Sunday was coming. Everyone was wearing a Poppy just to remind him and his mob.
Just how long has the Mayor lived in the UK ?
Rahman hang your head and apologise to the public for letting them down on this important national non-political day. Resign and let a better person do your job. Labour Party too. Labour created Rahman.
Curious Cat.
He knows no shame – apologising – he does not know how to . Do you know who I am !!!I am Mayor Rahman. Labour did this to us.
They too should say sorry .He is an utter disgrace to this borough and it’s proud hertitage His comptemt to our fallen is beyond words I can put on here.
You judge:
Rahman says:
‘….the report (the Government) ordered found no fraud or corruption in Tower Hamlets.’
The PwC Report states:
‘1.11 We note in addition that, as at the date of this report, there are a number of criminal investigations ongoing into allegations of fraud .’
‘2.57 We note that evidence of possible fraudulent payments has been identified and reported by the Authority to the police in connection with nine third sector organisations (not included in our sample) that received monies under the YCS programme. By agreement with the police, we have not examined these matters in detail.’
(My highlighting)
Grenville,
I am sure there must be a mistake. PWC investigated the wrong council 😉
Tower Hamlets, under the leadership, management and direction of His Excellency The Mayor would never do anything His Worship would consider to be “wrong”.
The consequences of misrule are slowly coming. January 2015 is the Election Petition hearing. Later-on a possible first appearance for some in the Magistrates Court with a committal to trial in a Crown Court.
The Mayor and his gang are sitting on the tip of an iceberg reassuring themselves it is only a small iceberg, oblivious to the massive (under water) iceberg size.
With the mayor’s chief Spin Doctor fleeing to the far north of Scotland for a 20% salary reduction, one might think the rats are beginning to abandon the slowly sinking ship named Rahman’s World.
Curious Cat.
Government Press Release
Government response: Intervention in Tower Hamlets
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/intervention-in-tower-hamlets
12 November, 2014 at 10:45am
Lord Ahmad responds to a letter in The Guardian.
Ken Livingstone, George Galloway et al are totally wrong to suggest that the proposed intervention in Tower Hamlets is an attack on local democracy (Letters, 6 November 2014#). It is entirely to do with protecting local taxpayers from an abuse of executive power and the systematic breakdown of local democratic checks and balances. The independent inspection of the council by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP found extensive evidence of poor governance, financial mismanagement and a lack of transparency over the awarding of public grants and disposal of public buildings in Tower Hamlets. This also follows the Electoral Commission’s concerns about the conduct of local elections in the borough.
The residents of Tower Hamlets have a right to expect that their council tax is properly accounted for, providing transparency and audit trails of how their money is spent, and that correct democratic processes are upheld. We do not take intervention actions lightly, but previous interventions – such as in Doncaster in 2010 – have helped tackle dysfunctional governance and restore public confidence in the integrity of councils. Localism requires transparency, probity and robust scrutiny: as Eric Pickles said in parliament last week, “there can be no place for rotten boroughs in 21st-century Britain”.
# http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/06/local-democracies-under-attack-tower-hamlets-manchester
Can we have a petition as well- to ask for his removal from office? 😉
Excellent and sensible suggestion.
Required:-
1. door to door paper petition with the same wording at the top of every page;
2. online petition – several commercial and semi-commercial companies offer a free petition service.
CC.
I think it’s next year that people are entitled to launch a petition against the whole idea of an elected mayor – five years after a successful petition I think? Unless the Localism Act eliminated that.
10 years, i think
Regardless of what the law states, i.e. minimum of a 5 year gap, you can still go to court and argue that the circumstances considered when the legislation was made are different from the status quo, therefore less than 5 years is reasonable.
Curious Cat
Not a lawyer.
If the poster is a direct copy, someone didn’t do a good job of proof reading.
Lindsey German
SPOT the war Coalition.
Reblogged this on Socialist Fight and commented:
Rally to the poorest borough in London under such appalling attack for Capital;ism represented by Tory, LibDem, Labour and UKIP leaders.
What has this to do with the Mayor’s misrule of Tower Hamlets ?
Surely genuine socialism is about serving the public equally according to their needs not about favouring some and seeming to circumvent the systems created to prevent abuse ?
If you need psychiatric help, dial 111 for help.
Curious Cat
An interesting radio interview https://audioboom.com/boos/2646737-tower-hamlets-mayor-rahman-rally
It’s all here:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewgilligan/100289986/lutfur-rahman-is-he-the-biggest-liar-in-london/
and an interesting article by Gillian in The Telegraph
“Lutfur Rahman: is he the biggest liar in London?”
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewgilligan/100289986/lutfur-rahman-is-he-the-biggest-liar-in-london/
I of course meant Gilligan!