Further to my last post (and the council’s failure to answer my questions), here’s why Lutfur Rahman failed to attend the solemn Remembrance Sunday event in Tower Hill on Sunday:
He was in Bradford for a “young people’s educational awards ceremony”. It was, according to Takki Sulaiman’s press office, a “longstanding commitment”.
But it actually took place on Saturday lunchtime: there are tweets from the event timed at 2pm that day.
Bradford is less than a four hour drive away from Tower Hamlets. I presume he stayed overnight in Bradford on Saturday rather than returning.
It’s his call, of course, but he does invite some pretty justifiable criticism with decisions like this.
The awards at the Shapla Community Hall were hosted by a Bangladeshi organisation called BEAP (Bangladesh Education Achievement Project).
From the video it seemed a reasonably small event, but clearly Lutfur is something of community leader in the wider Bengali community and not just east London. His audience would have been grateful for his attendance.
The video below is fascinating.
George Galloway is the warm-up act for the Tower Hamlets mayor and makes a speech defending him as some kind of ex-Labour/real Labour blood brother.
And at 7.20mins, you can see Lutfur arriving with his kitchen cabinet from Tower Hamlets, ie Cllr Gulam Robbani, Cllr Aminur Khan (Rabina Khan’s husband) and Cllr Maium Miah. If there are others, I’ve missed please let me know.
You then see Galloway embracing Lutfur. It seems Lutfur isn’t that bothered by Galloway, that he’s somewhat embarrassed by him.
They spend a few seconds posing for the cameras and Lutfur barely looks Galloway in the eye as George fawns over him. I was half-excpecting George to lap up some imaginary Lutfur milk.
It seems Galloway is now desperate for Lutfur’s approval. Is it Lutfur who has now become the Real Deal?
Here’s some of Galloway’s speech to the event:
Mayor Lutfur and me and Ken Livingstone have some things in common. One of them is that we were all expelled from New Labour for standing up for principles and standing up for real Labour values. We all three of us then defeated New Labour in election after election.
..I campaigned for a directly elected mayor in Tower Hamlets. We started the petition that created this position and I was proud to work with Mayor Lutfur in both of his successful elections. We should be proud of his victories and his mayoralty in east London.
The authority that he has built is a beacon throughout the country in educational and in other social and political achievements. There are no academies in Tower Hamlets…
I wish we in Bradford had a council like Lutfur Rahman has in Tower Hamlets.
What he has now been subjected to is nothing short of a racist attack. They hate Lutfur because he has proved that Bengalis can win elections and can carry out their promises made to the people.
Trial by Jeory 
Rahman badly let down the whole of the Tower Hamlets community by his Remembrance Sunday absence. He just does not care.
CC.
Birds of a feather flock together,hopefully they will migrate soon for good.
Obviously Mayor Rahman needs reminding that the Remembrance Sunday commitments go in the diary first and that his PA should then fit in other diary commitments round that.
He’s done this before – on at least one previous occasion – with a feeble excuse on that occasion as well I seem to remember.
Does he have no respect whatsoever for the very many Eastenders who lost their lives fighting for the UK – or those who who lost their lives in the East End during the bombing?
It’s a rhetorical question.
The answer is very clearly that he is happy to disrespect all those who lived and died for the people living in Tower Hamlets.
It seems to me that every incident like this speaks loudly and says he has no time at all for anybody who does not belong to the Bangladeshi community.
Since the awards had no relevance to Tower Hamlets can we find out whether or not he claimed any expenses for his weekend jaunt?
The simple answer is that Rahman is only mayor for the Bengali community. This is why he has little interest in the national events of non Bengalis. It’s blindingly obvious really and at best shows a blatant disdain for people who aren’t from his community and a complete disregard for how it looks.
What is worse is Galloway and Livingstone. My contempt for Galloway knows no depths but as for Livingstone my feelings are just a sense of profound disappointment and embarrassment for that I once used to admire him.
He’s doing as much a misservice to the Bengali community as he is to everybody else. If you look on the war memorials across the borough the names show that people from a range of backgrounds joined up in both wars. From memory I have seen Jewish, Chinese (large community in Limehouse in the early 20th century), and Lascars – ie Bengali sailors and early settlers in the docks – alongside longstanding east end families.
Lutfur slaps them all in the face by failing to turn up to Remembrance Day events.
i agree
Of course events such as Remembrance Sunday are in his diary. Councillors are reminded of such public events by officers, and flower etc. have to be arranged in advance. Lutfur Rahman just simply choose to not bother attending – END OF.
It’s a grave and unforgivable insult really isn’t it
Amazing the number of video cameras there. You don’t get that many at Number 10
Just a side point but did anyone see any women in the audience or indeed in the whole video? I thought I may have seen one on the right hand side. Was this an awards ceremony for men/boys only? Curious given the make up of Tower Hamlets First…
I wonder what Ribena has to say about that! Nothing, probably.
Whilst peoples from around the globe descent into our borough of Tower Hamlets to watch the amazing river of poppies at the Tower of London. At the time of remembrance Sunday at Tower Hill, once again, he cannot be bothered to at the very least, ‘showcase’ respect for our fallen as the Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets. It’s all about priorities – Would he, or has he since taking office, ever missed attending the annual midnight (21st February) public gathering at Altab Ali Park to lay a wreath at the ‘Shahid Minar’? Never! This is a disgrace.
As you correctly state Ted, the ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ Jolly Boys outing to Bradford could not be complete without the entourage of its usual members, from which one name you have forgotten to mention, and I can understand why one would be confused, is none other than a ‘Aktaruz Zaman’, (of a certain address) who stood as a THF candidate in the ward of St. Peters on 22 May and lost. Then five weeks later, the THF candidate ‘Mohammed Aktaruzzaman’, (of another certain address this time) stood in the Blackwal Cubitt Town by-election on 3 July 2014 and lost again. One man with two names, and of two addresses in the space of five weeks? No surprises there then in comparison to the various examples of dubious practices within the PWC report?
They seem to have hired a mini-bus for the occassion, from which his trusted aid, and I think Mayoral advisor for community affairs, emerges as the driver, none other than Mr Shazid Miah, who is Chief Call Centre operator if you wanna have any chance of getting through to Mayor Lutfur Rahman in his office.
To: Mr Ahmed
If what you are stating is actually true, the police need to be informed. It is likely to be a criminal offence and regardless of possible offences in one or more of the many Representation of the People Acts, or Defrauding the Returning Officer, it is a criminal breech of the Perjury Act 1911 (c.6) section 5.
False statutory declarations and other false statements without oath.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/1-2/6/section/5
If you don’t want to complain to the police, then fill-in http://u22.net/cat with your contact details and daytime contact number. I’ll ring you for the addresses and anything else you know, I am more than willing to make a complaint to the Met Police. Should you wish, I’ll keep your details secret from the police.
Curious Cat
Not a lawyer. Not a policeman. Not a lover of bent council officials or of bent politicians.
Thanks for the offer. It is true and I believe written about on this blog before. I think he changed his name by depol so that his name appears upon the ballot paper in a more favourable position. He also found the time to move adresses (home) within this extremely short period of time, not forgetting his nomination form would have been submitted 28 days prior to election day. This means he changed name and addresses within literally a week, taking into account the result of his first election came 3 days late!
But as the PWC report illustrates on various sections, this is true ‘Lutfur Style’ – de de de, de de de, Hey Stupid lady.
Gangnam Style, Yeah.
Who paid for the minibus?
There are three academies in Tower Hamlets and two or three free schools.
And?
The Indian Army (which would have drawn recruits from what is now Bangladesh & Pakistan as well as India) was the backbone of our forces against the Ottoman empire and suffered terribly in some of the fighting in what is now Iraq.
To be honest there wasn’t much of a turn out from the Bangladeshi community to even see the poppies if anything but a tourist/ art installation. Kinda says it all really. Actually I too was a little afraid to have a (big) poppy in my car for fear of the radical nutters vandalising it. Before you say it- I’m Asian (Indian) too. So sad really that I couldn’t express my support openly for something so noble and poignant for fear of reprisal. But I did try! Then again you just need to go to East London cemetery to see how much Lutfurs lot dont give two hoots about the the desecrated grave stones, some of whom were servicemen. He is a disgrace, but Galloway- he’s just so, so much worse.
NRI or British ?
If you were born here, then you are English !
Curious Cat
here is how the majority of us normal people who don’t live on the jeory/Gilligan Island view things: http://glynrobbins.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/lutfur-rahman-revisited/
Yes, Glyn, you’re just the ordinary man in the street aren’t you? Strictly non-political, just shocked at how the nasty people are having a go at His Worship.
Is this the same Glynn Robbins of Respect and SWP fame who claims to have been a housing activist amongst other things none of which seem to be true?
You may disagree with Gilligan and Ted, as is your right. However, unlike the extremist-linked, Medieval Monarch of a Mayor, Gilligan has been subject to scrutiny, challenge and court action and not once has he been found to have done anything wrong.
What a nonsense claim.
One of the most famous public inquiries of all time – the Hutton Inquiry – found him to have done something wrong.
On this stuff, it’s never been tested in the courts but even the hopelessly tame PCC found against Gilligan.
Oldford you are wrong – again. I was only referring Gilligan’s reporting about the mad Mayor. The Mayor took Gilligan to court over his claims about the Mayor having extremist links. The court found in Gilligan’s favour.
That’s untrue. Ted can confirm if you don’t trust me I’m sure.
The poppyganda this year is quite sickening. Its a very curious symbol, for the british east india company, then the crown forced indians to plant it to drug the chinese.
I hope the chinese dont bear a proxy grudge.
Yes, “British” history is not all wonderful. The British invented the first concentration camp (in South Africa), murdered and slaughtered people all around the world, hung starving people who stole bread to eat (England), drowned people on suspicion of being witches (if they drown they were innocent but if they floated they were guilty = sick logic), deprived the Arabs of their lands including Palestine, etc. etc. etc . I’m glad I was a post WW2 baby.
One doesn’t need a Poppy and a fake smile to acknowledge the suffering of the now dead including the soldiers murdered by their own side (the British) because they were mentally unfit to participate in the wholesale slaughter of innocent lambs sacrificed by the gross incompetence of the British Upper Class donkeys who didn’t have a clue about military campaigns.
Shame His Worship couldn’t be bothered to attend his local Remembrance Day ceremony.
Thank goodness that at last parts of the British establishment are keen to improve the public’s shameful treatment in the LBTH.
Can’t imagine anyone erecting a memorial to The Mayor for his services to Tower Hamlets.
Curious Cat.
Someone who plainly cannot lift his sights out of Tower Hamlets. After that history lesson on the British East India Company, I suppose ‘Flanders Fields’ are two words that mean nothing to you?
Yet another person who is completely unaware of history and contrives to make symbols fit his mindset.
The poppy is a plant which grows in abundance anywhere where ground has been disturbed. You see it a lot of building sites.
After the end of the First World War it was also seen a lot on “Flanders Field” and other places where there were lots of massive shell holes and trenches as well as trees which had been blasted to smithereens.
So the poppy is seen growing where many men died. It’s red – the colour of the blood they spilled for their country.
When you know this is it any surprise that it was chosen as the symbol for the remembrance of those who gave their lives for their country?
=> You couldn’t make it up!
There is nothing romantic about your so-called ” Vlaams veld (singular) of velden (plural)”. It was never a single field but many fields and villages and towns.
It is a place of tragic senseless slaughter caused by the arrogance and stupidity of pompous rulers all linked to the British (and other) Royal Families. The main ones being German, Russian and British.
People were conned and virtually forced to march to their deaths. The British generals generally lacked any proper military awareness and tactics. The men living in absolutely appalling and inhumane conditions were literally waiting to be killed or injured, mentally and/or physically. Nothing glorious or sentimental about that.
The post WW1 memorials are a tribute to their suffering and loss of their young lives. Composer George Butterworth for example.
One of the best things our continent of Europe has done was to create the Council of Europe where politicians could discuss grievances without resorting to war. One of the worse was to shamefully ignore, like frightened pacifists, the slaughter in Yugoslavia.
Now we, the people of Europe, are facing a military war in Ukraine caused by the delusional feelings of mentally unstable Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile fellow human beings all around the world are being killed solely because despots want power.
The Mayor didn’t have to wear a Poppy. He would have been welcome without it, to share the remembrance of the tragedy of war with the people of the borough he claims to represent. It seems his ego was too great to join the public tribute. It shows the contempt he probably feels for most residents and for the things that matter to most of them.
Curious Cat
I was responding to fugstar not you!
The Flanders field poppy, palaver rhoes , is a different species than the opium poppy, palaver somniferum .
The Flanders poppy, as described below, was a weed commonly growing in decaying agricultural fields before the advent of herbicides. The use of the Flanders poppy symbolises destruction and waste of life.
=> Aym,
Very interesting and informative. Thank you.
Do you happen to know the local name (presumably in Dutch) for palaver rhoes ? I’ve tried unsuccessfully to find it.
for the uninformed
Belgium was created in 1830. It has 3 languages:
Dutch in the north and down the coast (called locally Vlaams). The Dutch extends to the coastal areas inside the tip of France
French in Brussels (the capital) and in the south. The Belgians have invented a French word for 80 (in French French is “4 x 20”).
German in the east new to the German border.
Ah Europa. Meine Heimat. Ik ben wel ‘thuis.
Curious Cat.
cc FYI
Carl Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern biological naming scheme of binomial nomenclature approximately 1735
Palaver rhoes is Latin for the corn poppy; palaver archas is the Dutch translation.
=> Aym,
Thank you. The organisation and theory of botany is fascinating. Did you hear the Radio 4 short 15 minute talks by a woman professor at Kew on the subject ?
I could not find on google.nl
However using your alternative (English) name of I found this on http://www.vertalen.nu/vertaal/en/nl/corn+poppy (taal = language, vertaling = translation)
corn poppy, field poppy, Flanders poppy = grote (= large) klaproos
red poppy, corn rose, red weed = gewone (= normal) klaproos
I loosely translate, as a non-Dutch person, klaproos into flat rose.
Its a nice change from the Tower Hamlets sleazy.
Thanks again.
Curious Cat.
I would support a statue of Lutfur Rahman in LBTH.
That way the pigeons can do to it, that which he has been doing to you.
🙂
It’s a shame he doesn’t disappear for the other 364 days of the year.
One point, who paid for the Mini Buses to Bradford !!!
Try a Freedom of Information request.
[…] hire out the remembrance garden for City bankers' Christmas piss-ups. Turns out this year that an important rendezvous with Galloway took precedence, even though it was the night before. What a true adornment to East London Rahman […]
…and last year he turned up disrespectfully late.
A black Labour MP is not prepared to support Ken Livingstone given the nature of his comments
“Mr Lammy, tipped to stand in the next mayoral election, said: “I can’t support Ken frankly on his statements over the last few days”.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30085124
Whatever happened to the Mayor’s expensive, slick and overstaffed propaganda machine ?
Things seem to be getting worse in Tower Hamlets. Its bound to end in disaster.
Curious Cat.