Last week, the Guardian’s Dave Hill speculated that Tower Hamlets First might field candidates in the forthcoming general election.
The article said:
For some time it has been thought likely that candidates from the local party led by Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman might stand in the borough’s two parliamentary constituencies, challenging Labour incumbents Rushanara Ali and Jim Fitzpatrick. It’s been confirmed to me by a reliable source that this is indeed a definite possibility. There is no love lost between Rahman and Labour, on whom he and his allies have inflicted several defeats. Could Labour come unstuck in the East End?
Then this:
Names previously chattered about as THF runners are councillors Oliur Rahman (no relation), who is Rahman’s cabinet member for economic development, and Rabina Khan, who is his cabinet member for housing. They are generally regarded as two of the mayor’s most able lieutenants. They might not run at all and, if they do, it will be a big upset if they win. But Labour is well aware that they could not be easily dismissed.
The deadline for nominations for the general election is Thursday and it’s my understanding from sources within the Tower Hamlets First fraternity that Oli Rahman will definitely not stand against Jim Fitzpatrick in Poplar and Limehouse, not because he doesn’t want to fight Labour, but because he holds Jim himself in high regard. Those close to Oli may even help Jim with his campaign.
In Bethnal Green and Bow the story is slightly different, as I understand it. Rabina Khan is apparently chomping at the bit to stand against Rushanara, but it’s considered highly unlikely that Lutfur Rahman will let her go for it.
The verdict from Election Court Commissioner Richard Mawrey QC is unlikely to be delivered before Thursday and this is considered too complicating a factor. Another factor is that Tower Hamlets First, that shambolic mirage of a party, would only have 29 days to prepare an election campaign…and to establish something more than a “virtual bank” to fund it. The third factor is that they know Rushanara Ali is safe: she’s been working the doors hard for the past five years.
In any case, there could well be another general election campaign later this year if the mathematics of a hung parliament prove too difficult. THF might well feel that would be a better target, especially if Lutfur is cleared in his court case. They might have more of a story to tell then.
Cabinet reshuffles
Two other names who have apparently been jockeying for position in a potential THF raid on Bethnal Green and Bow are former Respect leader Abjol Miah and ex-deputy mayor Ohid Ahmed. Come next month, when Lutfur (if he’s still in office, of course) decides who’s in his next cabinet, the fortunes of these two men could change dramatically.
There is pressure on Lutfur to drop Ohid and bring in Abjol. Well, that’s the gossip anyway. Dear Cllr Selfie, Mahbub Alam, is also hoping for a position as cabinet member for social media, but I think he’s likely to be disappointed.
Not that cabinet positions matter of course, apart from the cash they earn for their incumbents. As I’ve written before, in Lutfur Land the power resides in the kitchen cabinet. This frustrates his colleagues and it has created divisions.
Throughout Lutfur’s first term from 2010-14, he did not once hold a group meeting of his then independent councillors. I’m told the same has been true since last May with the onset of Tower Hamlets First: there hasn’t been a single group meeting. He clearly doesn’t like being in environments where he can be questioned. It’s such an odd set up.
Commissioners
We still have only two commissioners, Max Caller and Sir Ken Knight. Eric Pickles’ department maintains its search for a third but this has so far been unsuccessful. – as have been the attempts so far by the other two to ensure the council appoints a permanent chief executive. In this, they have been frustrated by Lutfur’s efforts to make the current head of paid service, the charming Stephen Halsey, the permanent boss.
So much so that they wrote to Pickles last month to express their frustrations (in the most diplomatic language, of course). Eric has since replied to say he will give them extra powers to push this task along unless the council can supply reasons to him by next Monday saying why that won’t be necessary.
Meanwhile, the Commissioners say they have approved the approved the appointment of a new monitoring officer and a new chief financial officer. The swashbuckling motor-loving motor-mouth incumbent Meic Sullivan-Gould applied for the former. But he didn’t get it. Drueni o’r fath, as they say in the valleys. Hwyl fawr!
Trial by Jeory 
Ted, is it the case that it will cost a massive £130 Million to covert the RLH to Sir Lutfer Rahman House (new town hall)? God only knows how much the building will cost to upkeep.
The Council have not officially released any numbers on the cost of converting RLH, the budget does not include any numbers. The argument being that to release the budget would tell contractors bidding to do the work how much the Council has to spend. I personally think we will end up spending more then £100m. I also worry that the project management is being done by a newly recruited internal team.
Hi Andrew,
It is IMPOSSIBLE to have a budget devoid of figures.
Before that start work, they must have an itemised budget. The argument you quoted is unreal. As soon as a contractor has been engaged there is no longer any commercial sensitivity.
What are these public parasites doing in the public’s name ?????????
What did Pickles repeatedly write about ? Open, transparent, accountable and responsible to the people local government but in Tower Hamlets the Mafia always seem to rule. Whose council is it ? The public’s or the parasite’s ?
Time to complain to one of the government appointed Commissioners ?
Curious Cat.
Curious Cat, the capital budget shows £12m for the Civic centre in 2014/15 which is the cost of acquisition etc but the three year budget projection for 15/16, 16/17 & 17/18 show no values against that line in the budget. There is a quote elsewhere in the budget pack which says ‘The Civic Centre project alone will take over 5 years to complete and cost in excess of £60 million to deliver.’ The Commissioners have no direct control over this area. If the project in March 2015 is said to take over 5 years and we are meant to be out of Mulberry Place by 2020 it is going to be a very tight timetable and when you have a fixed timetable costs tend to go up as we saw in the London Olympics (where I used to work).
Think of the savings visiting the Whitechapel Mosque! Done people are do shortsighted.
Tower Hamlets clearly needs a powerful and independently minded CEO/Head of Paid Service.
I don’t know a lot about the current Fella, but he has been in post during the period LBTH has become the marketing and administration arm of THF
I don’t know but I do intend to write about that in another post.
Just waiting for THE JUDGEMENT.
I’ll read it as I post it page by page on the Internet. It is the last in a trio that started with Birmingham (postal votes, Labour), Slough (postal votes, Tories) and now Tower Hamlets (TH First).
Wouldn’t it be shocking if the case against the Respondents was dismissed ?
Curious Cat
First Labour, then the Conservatives, and now THF. What’s the single linking factor in all three cases? 😐
The only other two electoral courts went against the respondents. My take is that the powers that be have had enough of Islamist corruption and what is essentially a corrupt third world Islamist caliphate in the heart of London, because that is effectively what Rahman has created.
The swashbuckling motor-loving motor-mouth incumbent Meic Sullivan-Gould applied for the former. But he didn’t get it. Drueni o’r fath, as they say in the valleys. Hwyl fawr!
Oh, how horrible. What a calamity. It means one Mercedes less in his growing collection. How can he pay his weekly food bills without his modest council income and expenses ?
Those living in real poverty in TH may smile at the departure of one over-rewarded public parasite.
CC.
Well thanks goodness for small mercies. I do hope he has been removed from contractual relationships with the Council.
I think I have rarely come across who deserved such a post less – judging by his antics while at LBTH!
Many probably have skeletons in their ‘closets’, that’s what’s probably keeping most out of national politics. Some of the rumours I’ve heard about various cabinet members are truly shocking, considering their public positions and family situations.
I reckon the court case has been such a sensitive subject in which no one really has a clue what the outcome can possibly be? No doubt if the case is dismissed, Sir Lutfur Rahman will triumph even stronger – and my bet is that is what he is hoping for.
The ethnic media will shower us with sob stories of how much of a victim he has been historically throughout this saga going back to 2010, purely because he is Muslim and Bangladeshi. How many people will actually read ‘between the lines’ as I have no doubt the Judge will have plenty of strong criticism against the way he chooses to run his administration along with his kitchen cabinet.
Which brings me to my next point. I have heard rumors many of his powerless cabinet members and councillors are extremely frustrated and fed-up with being left out on a limb? They made the mistake of genuinely believing they were fighting for justice, only to then become victims themselves of Sir Lutfur Rahman’s injustice!
Sir Lutfur Rahman will most probably be making some changes to his cabinet (not that is makes any difference to decision making) to keep his ultimate sinking ship drifting along. He will have to accommodate Abjol Miah somehow, and my bet is the incumbent yet influential kitchen cabinet member Aminur Khan will be sacrificed for the greater good!
Let’s first pick away at his team, in no particular order: Councillor’s Suluk Ahmed, Shah Alam, Gulam Kibria, Harun Miah, Mahbub Alam, Mufti Miah and Muhammad Mustaquim are a waste of space. Councillor’s Abdul Asad, Shafiqul Haque are content with cabinet. Councillor’s Alibor Choudhury, Gulam Robbani, Maium Miah and husband & wife duo Aminur Khan & Rabina Khan are his most trusted allies (kitchen cabinet). His current deputy mayor without portfolio Oliur Rahman is skilled at sitting on the fence. Which leaves former deputy mayor Ohid Ahmed and Shahed Ali whom I both hear are thinking of parting ways with THF after the court verdict is given?
It is understandable no one wants to be seen as causing more problems of a attacking nature upon the innocence of Sir Lutfur Rahman among the Bangladeshi community in particular, as they themselves will be seen as adding salt to the wound. They also have no other political alternative as it is highly unlikely the Labour party will re-admit them. So time will tell which tough choices and decisions all these individuals end up making? They will not be a loss to Sir Lutfur Rahman as he has sufficient numbers and the media-might of his well-paid ethnic media advisers quietly sweeping any casualties adrift. But it would demonstrate that Sir Lutfur Rahman cannot buy the injustice he is inflicting upon some of his Councillors in return for £13,000 and Cabinet titled business cards.
The Selfie King seems almost too good to be true. With a perpetual smile, that is not only reserved for the camera…I wonder what that smile is hiding?
… but Respect will almost certainly field a candidate… could Abjol Miah stand again and retain his THF membership? I think he probably would.
THF has no members as per LR’s evidence to the Election Court.
I have heard of ghost voters.
How Tower Hamlets has introduced the concept of “Ghost Members”.
Stating one has “no members” will never protect any candidate from the unlawful actions of his supporters. The concept of election “Agent” including helpers etc. was spelt-out in great detail by the same Election Commissioner in his 2005 Birmingham judgement.
Curious Cat.
Yes, Respect could be revived. All that would be required would be a slight change in the name to get around Electoral Commission objectives. Galloway owns one of the names and he might be prepared to do a deal to get a foothold in Tower Hamlets again.
Some of his Bradford cllrs who resigned have now rejoined and a Labour cllr has defected so the musical chairs could return to Tower Hamlets again. As I have pointed out elsewhere the are blocks of votes in the borough looking for a home.
Interesting – Meic Sullivan Gould’s Twitter account seems to have nothing later than 2009 on his Twitter account (the one with only 10 followers)
His website http://www.sullivan-gould.com also has an expired domain name. It’s currently adverts for pumps!
On Linked In he characterises himself as follows
Interim Monitoring Officer
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
January 2014 – Present (1 year 4 months)Clove Crescent, E14
Requiring a more scrupulous regard for truth amongst commentators on the Borough.
!!!
Although I note that Trial by Jeory comes second and third after his Linked In Profile on Google – notably this past post https://trialbyjeory.com/2014/04/03/tower-hamlets-and-lambeths-top-lawyers-take-to-facebook-to-discuss-panorama/
Who exactly is this Meic Sullivan Gould prat?
On his Linkedin page, (https://www.linkedin.com/pub/meic-sullivan-gould/16/66b/82) Meic Sullivan Gould describes himself as an ‘Award winning manager of local government legal and democratic services. Formerly President of the Association of Council Secretaries & Solicitors.’
In recent years he’s held a series of short-term interim posts in various local authorities throughout the country and since 2007 describes himself as ‘Principal’ of Meic Sullivan-Gould Ltd.’
It is quite common in the public sector for staff to be paid off the payroll as a contractor through their own private company to reduce their tax liability. These companies provide conditions where tax avoidance could take place.
So Dave Hill has got it wrong yet again. I wonder if he will be predicting a Kennite return soon.
Probably Tony Benn!
More like Mr Benn!
Ah, today I will try the crooked world of corrupt and divisive Eastend politics, and sign off lots of chicken shops whilst channeling funds to religious groups with links to extemism and being chauffeured around in a public funded limousine like some banana republic dictator while fixing elections and cancelling essential services, all whilst calling my critics racists even though the vast majority if my political associates are practically related!
Three thumbs downs. Looks like Marc Francis has been voting multiply.
Perhaps he is rehearsing for next year’s local elections ?
CC 🙂
Well, none of your gossips are true, when these two Rabina and Oli is crying for support but community is looking at someone who is more trustworthy for his long-standing services. I suggest you go and look at Cllr Oli’s own promotional Face book post (everyone suggested that Ohid Ahmed should be the candidate). The problem with you or Dave is that you write in your blog without knowing the community feelings. We all know Ohid Ahmed and Lutfur’s relationship was not well entire last term o the basis that Cllr Ahmed wanted to tighten up the system. Cllr Ohid Ahmed carried out almost all portfolios and was successful in every area, in one point he was doing four portfolios before Shshed, Asad, Shafique joined and performed very well, officers will tell you that. Speaking loudly and the doing the job effectively are the two different things. One need to ask when PWC asked for millions of enquiries/documents, why there was not a single one in his areas, why council was regarded as one of the best council in the country in terms of best value services when Cllr Ohid Ahmed was the Lead Member of Resources, does it not tell you the ability of Cllr Ahmed. In fact Ohid Ahmed and Shahed are the only two councillors openly criticise mayor about his poor housing policies. You are talking about pressure but story is that Cllr Ohid Ahmed never wanted to do join his cabinet this term. Mayor asked for a final help and he agreed, as far as we know he completed his errands but waiting for his court case to finish.
Thanks. Ohid himself would’ve been proud to write those words. I applaud anyone who airs criticism so bravo to him. Seriously.
I’m translating tour name as someone who likes Beani Bazaar so I suppose you are from there.
I’m not sure what the meaning or point of your post is but I’ll try to decipher it. The first thing is that either myself or Ted don’t understand the feelings of a ” community”. I assume that this is the Bangladeshi community. This comprises about thirty and a bit per cent of Tower Hamlets and not all support Lutfur Rahman but it is interesting that the seventy per cent plus who don’t, in your eyes, matter at all.
The rest is inconsequential jibberish but what it does show is that there are people getting their side of the story in if things go pear shaped in a week or so when the final report is published they can start to jump ship or change sides.
Despite the predictions of the ridiculous and discredited Dave Hill none of THF councillors will be allowed back in the Labour Party so, as I have pointed out before, they will have to find a home and a political party. Don’t rule out the Respect brand name being revived along with the colours which are those of Bangladesh.
It’s hard to ascertain where comments are pointed, but the stuff I’ve heard comes from very reliable sources. I’ve also witnessed the waste, the favouritism, the cronyism, the bullying, the attempts to silence whiswblowers , often using taxpayers’ money and intimidation, the racism and attempts to stir up racial tension and division, the dodgy dealings and barefaced lies on numerous occasions. Need I go on?
For clarity, my comments are aimed at Mr Bean etc…
Ohid Ahmed is of course an experienced Parliamentary candidate, having stood for Labour in the 2010 election. Here is his result: http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/guide/seat-profiles/suffolkwest/
For some reason the Trotskyist written blog http://www.towerhamletsontrial.wordpress.com is allowing comments. Go and have a look and comment on some of the absolutely unbelievable articles. They can only come from people who deny that Leon Trotsky wasn’t a mass murderer. It’s a king of dialogue worthy of Orwell.
Interestingly it’s an encrypted connection…..
You’ll have to explain encrypted I’m afraid, at least to me. I wonder who the person is who gives a thumbs down to my pointing out that Trots lie. Maybe Stewart Madewell? Surely the most misnamed Trot in history!
In particular look at the article entitles ” Labour memo on 1990s Racism claims”. Scroll to the bottom and look at the Focus leaflet of a black man which would appear to be a part of a Labour leaflet. In fact the one on the left is a Lib Dem leaflet for which Paddy Ashdown suspended the local party made to look as it it comes from Labour. Are Trots disgusting or what?
Replying to myself, come on guys, the TUSC candidate Glynn Robbins is a Trot.
So now we know……
The 11 candidates for Bethnal Green & Bow in alphabetical order are:
M Rowshan Ali (Communities United)
Rushanara Ali (Labour)
Elliot Ball (30-50 Coalition)
Jonathan Berry (Cannabis is Safer than Alcohol)
Alasdair Iain Henderson (Whig)
Teena Lashmore (Liberal Democrats)
Paula McQueen (UK Independence)
Jason Andrew Pavlou (Red Flag Anti-Corruption)
Alistair Polson (Green)
Glyn Robbins (Left Unity Trade Unionists & Socialists)
Matt Smith (Conservative)
The seven candidates for Poplar & Limehouse in alphabetical order are:
Elaine Bagshaw (Liberal Democrats)
Maureen Childs (Green)
Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour)
Rene Magenzi (Red Flag Anti-Corruption)
Nicholas McQueen (UK Independence)
Hugo Pierre (Left Unity Trade Unionists & Socialists)
Chris Wilford (Conservative)
Should make for another interesting election count!
http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/home/election-2015/election_18_candidates_for_bethnal_green_bow_and_poplar_limehouse_1_4029366
Whose going to be doing voting frauds this time ?
Just Curious 🙂
Whig! “We’re pro-EU, pro-immigration, and
pro-gender equality. We’re on the side of
thoughtful people who are politically aware
and want to vote for a better tomorrow.
These are crazy times in British politics, and the Whigs will show
how politics should be done, with a confidence that comes from
being on the right side of history.”
http://whigs.uk/manifesto/
The one to watch is Glynn Robbins who describes himself as a ” housing activist” but who has never done a proper days work in his life and was, in a previous existence, Respect. Beware Trots!
This is actually making me wonder what’s happened to members of the Tower Hamlets First Coalition (we know it’s not a party, had to dig around to find a bit of paper with the words ‘constitution’ on it and doesn’t have a bank account).
I’m wondering if the Election Court is going to say it doesn’t exist?
So nobody wants to have their name aligned with it come the Judgement?
Maybe? Just maybe?
No, Tower Hamlets First!
THF’s existence does not matter. The election actions of anyone helping the election candidate, even when the candidate is unaware of their help (but should have been aware) can damn the candidate’s victory. That is English law.
CC.
The words would be ” aware or ought to have been aware” apply in a Tower Hamlets context especially ward by ward. It would be difficult for a candidate to say they weren’t aware of someone handing out leaflets when they saw them actually doing so, knew them and may have been related as well.
I saw the revolting Giles Fraser in The Guardian this morning pontificating about something or other. I wonder if he will hand back the £2000 Lutfur Rahman gave him for chairing the ridiculous Fairness Commission which spent two months coming to the conclusion that life in Tower Hamlets was unfair if you are unemployed and on benefits.
Fraser is another one who is utterly shameless along with the Rev Alan Green of Bethnal Green. All have taken the Lutfur shilling and now don’t want to be seen anywhere near him. No chance of the money being given back I suppose so that it could fund stuff like CABs and a Law Centre, things that people actually need?
=> Dave Roberts
I came across this recently. Not completed but work appears underway. Its a judgement from a familiar (as in Tower Hamlets) election judge 🙂
Election Petitions – three legal issues
Who is an agent ?
http://law.slough.info/law44/law44p032.php
Curious Cat
Thank you CC. This may well have an impact on and implications for those on the receiving end of the capitulation of the legal action of Helal Abbas Uddin against London Bangla. Electoral law is very largely being made as we go along and the Tower Hamlets case will, I predict, have far reaching consequences.