UPDATE May 1: I’m taking a break from blogging for a few days. Have fun.
The walls continue to cave in. Everyone knows by now of the three major developments today. In chronological order:
1. Rabina Khan was being offered the chance to stand as the Tower Hamlets First candidate, causing a row within the ‘party’ about how Lutfur Rahman took that decision.
2. Eric Pickles announced a full takeover of Tower Hamlets council via his Commissioners, of whom there are now four. [Today, Chris Allison, a former senior Scotland Yard policeman (profile of him here), and Alan Wood, a former children’s service director at Hackney (profiled here), were also appointed. Their backgrounds raise the question of whether more serious alarm bells have started to sound about aspects of the council.]
3. The Electoral Commission, following the Mawrey judgement, have banned Tower Hamlets First as a political party. Whether the existing THF councillors can still call themselves the THF group is another question. Certainly they’re still listed as such on the council website.
So Rabina Kahn, if she accepts Lutfur’s offer, will have to stand under another banner or as in independent. It’s inevitable that the police will take a keener than usual interest in how any campaign is funded.
As for who she might face, I’m asking all major candidates to write for this blog to outline the reasons why they’re standing and to give some flavour of their manifestos.
Cllr Peter Golds, who has applied to stand for the Tories and who by far has been the main figure scrutinising Lutfur all these years, was the first to reply.
Here’s his piece:
By Peter Golds
Tower Hamlets has become an authority immersed in secrecy and damaged by corruption.
One way to stop corruption is to ensure that the council is transparent. If I were Mayor then the two-way mirrors surrounding the Mayoral offices would go. I have no fear of the taxpayer knowing who I meet and when.
East End Life, with its endless propaganda, will go.
Cabinet will be reduced in size; it can be ten members but that is not a necessity. I will invite all the party leaders and the chair of Overview and Scrutiny to attend as ex-officio members, with full access to papers and the right to contribute at meetings.
Cabinet will meet around the borough and public participation will be encouraged. Only the most confidential material will be heard in secret and for that a good reason will need to be given.
As Mayor I will answer all questions from councillors and the public over matters for which I have direction. Reports from Overview and Scrutiny will be referred to council and I will respond to those. The “human rights” excuse for silence will never be repeated.
Over the next three years I will hold a question and answer session in every ward of the borough. Unlke Lutfur Rahman, I have no fear of the electorate and would relish meeting the voters.
The Mayoral “Town Hall parking space” will also go. I have my own small car and an oyster card – they are sufficient for me to get around the borough for meetings, at my own expense.
- The Mayor’s office staff will be drastically reduced and you, the taxpayer will know who they are and what they do.
- The Chief Officer will be responsible for managing staff, who will be expected to deliver policy. It will not be my job to manage staff. Devising and promoting policy will be the job of the Mayor. The Chief Officer will be responsible for directing and managing staff.
- On Day One I will examine the detailed financial outlook for the next three years. I will then be able to decide where resources should be directed.
- I will revisit the Local development Framework. Tower Hamlets has too much overdevelopment and a lack of joined up thinking.
- New development requires new schools, medical facilities and improved transport, and this will be an integral matter in planning policy.
- I support the proposed Planning Forum for the Isle of Dogs and will promote these elsewhere in the borough.
- Tower Hamlets Homes needs to be restructured and the first stage will be for an Independent Board, to be run arms length from the council and not an extension of Tower Hamlets First.
- I will meet regularly with the other RSLs and expect them to join me for open meetings with their tenants and leaseholders.
- The Rahman regime has seen the borough isolated from our neighbours and statutory service deliverers. Tower Hamlets is a proud part of London and any administration led by me will be outward looking and fully engaged with our neighbours.
- Our schools have seen marked improvement over recent years. I will ensure that this continues and that there is a full range of varied school provision for future generations.
- The recent situation of parents attending the council over nursery closures whilst the Mayor carried on squandering money on his personal vanity projects was a scandal. This will not happen under any administration that I lead.
- The Rahman administration’s treatment of our elderly and vulnerable has been wrong and I will ensure that this changes with adequate provision where necessary.
- Island Gardens, Victoria Park and Bethnal Green Gardens, are just three of our open spaces that have been neglected by Tower Hamlets First. They are part of our heritage; all our open spaces will be audited and a scheme of improvement will be devised. Local people love their parks and they will be consulted and involved in the improvements.
- Just as we saved Bancroft Library, Old Flo, another icon of the East End, will not be sold to an oligarch. I will make every possible effort to bring Old Flo back home.
Tower Hamlets has a vast budget, provided entirely by the taxpayer. Much of this is ring fenced, however managing this brings responsibility. An outward transparent administration, unafraid to face critics and learn from mistakes will help restore the battered reputation of this authority.
This is my manifesto to bring this transparency to fruition with a fresh start which will wipe the slate clean and restore good governance to our great borough.
I have never voted Tory in my life but this is mightily impressive
Totally agree, but the numbers don’t stack up. Now we have Andy Erlam and Cllr Golds dividing opposition votes. Lutfufarians must be overjoyed.
ideally all the good decent people who have fought against the crooked ex mayor and his posse should join forces, set personal ambitions aside and present the most promising candidate at the rerun of the election in june
Good point.
Yes EU citizen,. many agree with that pragmatic suggestion.
CC
Also an EU citizen and proud of it too.
Insert “broken record” – This is not a “first past the post election”.
The Mayoral election is based on a single transferable vote and it’s the first person to 51% who wins.
In other words second votes are important.
Good luck Peter, hopefully you”ll beat loser Biggs and come a mighty SECOND.
To whom J for TH?
Second to whom?
Second to Lutfur’s protege of course…we all know that will happen. 37k votes can’t be all rigged or corrupt. I think we need to realise what and who the voters want and that has clearly been shown in the last two mayoral elections.
The same people who will vote Rushnara and Fitzy on May 7th will deliver Lutfur’s protege the Mayoralty.
And the commissioners will still be in charge…
I think what people forget is that this is not an election where the person who gets the most votes in the first round wins
With a single transferable vote system, the issue is essentially about who gets the second votes and who gets to 51% first.
My recollection was that while the ex-Mayor might have racked up an awful lot of votes in the first round (and let us not forget that it is now evident that a number of these were procured in illegal ways), he didn’t get a lot of second votes.
What’s important come June is two-fold
1) Who will people back with their second vote
2) Will the Labour and Conservative parties manage to get their votes out.
Also of interest will be the extent to which parts of the Bangladeshi community will no longer feel obliged to vote for the party that let them down.
The sensible comments you have made and the figures posted by AYM are lost on those who are not listening to the realities of the voting system or basing a strategy on winning by using this as a tool to refine their voting options in these elections
This is true but why take a chance? Let’s get behind the only candidate guaranteed to beat Rahman, Biggs.
Figures from the last voided Mayoral election are no indication of what will happen this time. Common sense would say that THF, or any reincarnation of it, is to be avoided. But there are those who will follow Lutfur and his cronies no matter what, who benefitted from his corruption and expect to in the future.
There are also likely to be fewer candidates this time but with a higher profile such as Golds and Earlham. As has been said, it’s strange that candidates who have been found to have come to office through illegal and corrupt practices from a party that doesn’t, and never did, exist are being allowed to stand. This may be what Pickles has in mind in that if THF do win the Mayoralty inspectors will be at the Town Hall for a very long time to effectively render any THF Mayor impotent.
Given that Pickles is obviously making an assessment of competence in terms of the THF Councillors, it does seem very likely that the Commissioners will ultimately be around for as long as it takes for them to be convinced that competent people with integrity are running the show.
Whatever your political leanings, no one could question Coucillor Golds’ passion and enthusiasm for this borough. He has fought tirelessly for the benefit of local people of all backgrounds and put his head above the parapet on countless occasions, to fight for our rights and expose the endemic and horrendous behaviour of many other politicians, especially the crooked THF!
I’ve personally witnessed some of the vile insults and abuse he has endured at council meetings by Lutfur’s cronies, yet he has been steadfast and resolute in his reluctance to bow down to these bullies.
I also believe that he would run this borough in the manner it deserves, and reverse the 5 years of rotten practices we have have to suffer under Loony Lutfart!
You will get my vote Cllr Golds!
Golds for Mayor!
I would like to second that If you have ever sat in Public Gallery at a full council meeting since Rahman came in, in 2010 Cllr Golds has been abused by his young boy fan club continually. He sat on the podum and smirked. Against his human rights to speak. They were allowed in before the real residents of Tower Hamlets. You get my vote too
Eh,Eh, calm down, calm down! Much as I admire Peter, who has been a far more effective opposition than Labour, let’s look at the reality of numbers because if you all don’t you will see a Lutfur protege in power. No ifs or buts.
It has been pointed out a number of times that Lutfur Cllrs were let in over Labour because of the vanity politics of the Lib Dems, Tories and Greens. A prime example was the last Spitalfields by election where a really good candidate for Labour was narrowly beaten by Lutfur’s crony Robbani and the votes for the three others would have put Ala Uddin in.
People have do some serious thinking on this. It’s early days so there is time for discussion but we have to keep our eyes on the prize which is keeping out Rahman Mk 2.
Cllr Golds has been the ONLY effective opposition.
But you are comparing councillor elections with a Mayoral election and they are run according to totally different voting systems.
This is NOT a first past the post election in the conventional sense! It’s an election run according to the single transferable vote.
Look, you do realise Lutfur did not emerge out of whole cloth in 2010, but was nurtured by a TH Labour Party who indulged this crap for decades and will do again. Take something like East End Life – Lutfur’s propaganda newspaper for the last 5 years – it operated under John Biggs as TH leader 20 years ago. I don’t think Labour think a lot what Lutfur did was wrong, they just think it was wrong a man not in a red rosette was doing it.
This has ALWAYS been my point, hence me occasionally labelling Rahman as Son of Labour
As I wrote ages ago, The Labour Party nurtured, educated and created Rahman the politician.
Labour are the most corrupt and nasty political party in English local government. Read the judge’s remarks in the Birmingham judgement and his most recent criticism of Labour in the Tower Hamlets judgement.
Curious Cat.
.
The Acting SOHP is utterly correct.
Son of Labour, as I posted about year ago for the first time, was nurtured by Labour, supported by Labour, educated by Labour and encouraged by Labour.
Labour taught Lutfur Rahman everything he knows about dirty campaigns.
Voting for Labour in TH would be a big slap-in-the-face for decency and genuine democracy.
Lets win Gold for Tower Hamlets
Labour does not care about democracy. The lazy could-not-care-less Labour Party was happy and content to let Rahman get away with it time after time.
The Labour Party, a bunch of opportunist cowards, did nothing about Rahman. Instead a gallant bunch of residents did what Labour were afraid to do, they took-on Rahman and won.
Shameful Labour !
Curious Cat.
Any news on His Newtness at The Water Lily tomorrow?
I note that “Mayor Lutfur Rahman’s Offical Website” is not only still up and running and being updated* and calls on people to “contact the Mayor”, but also claims to be published by one “Cllr” A. Choudhury.
Is that not some form of electoral offence, pretending to hold an official office when you have been disqualified; and it supposedly being published by someone claiming to hold an office from which they have been disqualified?
Is the website the personal property of the ex-Mayor, or does it belong to the council? It’s not called “Disgraced Ex-Mayor’s Official Website” and it uses the official branding of Tower Hamlets, so I presume the IT department should get it closed down (if they have access to the servers; if not, they should apply to Nominet UK to take over the IP address with immediate effect), shouldn’t they?
*”The barrage of discriminatory abuse I have received over the last few days on here and elsewhere will be referred to police for hate crime.” The judge saw that complaint coming, didn’t he.
Dagmar,
Nominet controls some UK domain names. It does not control IP addresses.
lutfurrahman.com
from the public register
Registrant Name: Alibor Chowdhury
Registrant Organization: Mayor Lutfur Rahman
Registrant Street: 104 Jamiaca Street
Registrant City: London
Registrant State/Province: England
Registrant Postal Code: E1 3HY
Registrant Country: GB
Registrant Phone: +44.7961946792
Registrant Email: contact@lutfurrahman.com
https://mayorlutfurrahman.wordpress.com/
is owned by a USA company.
Automattic, Inc.
60 29th Street, #343
San Francisco
CA 94110
USA
Curious Cat.
The host is not the owner. You confuse “owned” and “published using software owned by”
The only relevance of the host is the fact that they can take a site down if it breaches the law. “Safe harbour” protection requires strict observation of the law.
=> Couldn’t
The hosting arrangements for domain names is indeed a third entity.
You overlook, perhaps because you do not know, that web sites can be removed from the Internet by:-
Nominent (for most .uk domains) removing the relevant entry from their database (DNS)
The ‘owner’ of the IP removing the IP connection
The organisation hosting the domain name removes the web pages, or changed or cancels their DNS entirely or just the A record.
CC.
Mr Golds
I can’t wait to vote for you regardless of party affiliation.
An ethnic minority keeps TH hostage in a culture of corruption, oppression and dirt (as in litter). This ethnic minority refuses to embrace the language and culture of the country which has, even too generously welcomed them (something that is beyond comprehension considering how much the British people hate us Europeans).
I trust that you would represent the needs and rights of all the people of Tower Hamlets and not just one group and I hope a clean borough would be one of your top priorities. As much as i dread the idea that voting a candidate cou ld favour the gang of the former corrupt mayor, i am not going to vote for someone who comes from a dubious background and from the party of people like ken Livingston.
Rubbish.
Most, especially me, British people do not hate or dislike our European neighbours. We really do like you.
You’ve been boozing too often with Nigel Farage.
What is your nationality ?
CC.
CAN EVERYONE PLEASE STOP.
We need one candidate. It’s like Belarus. We need ONE candidate or the dickheads will win… We need one candidate whom we can all unite around. Golds, Erlam or Biggs or Abbas are ALL a billion times better than anything THF can offer but we really MUST avoid splitting our votes.
Peter you are an absolute hero but the Tories will never win. Never in a million years. So we have to vote for Erlam or Biggs. I wish one of those would make way for the other as well.
I agree.
It’ll be OK GM. It’s the first day of the school holidays and everyone is very excited. Give it a couple of weeks for things to calm down. It’s Biggs I’m afraid.
And this is what second preferences are for. Why should the Tories stand down for Biggs, when Labour lied last year to Tory voters that they had to vote for Labour councillors to stop Rahman?
If Peter Golds pledged to ablish Tower Hamlets Homes I might think about it.
All this banter on any individual to become Mayor does not convince me at all.
I want to see stated policy and ideas on how the real issues and problems of providing an efficient well run administration providing good and improving services will be brought about clearly stated by any potential candidate.
The issue of corruption is dead and buried with the council effectively in the hands of the commissioners until further notice, and Justice for TH needs to wake up and get the reality check on his claims as there will be no room for his preferred lutfur based candidate with these further measures of control brought in today by Pickles.
So if you want my vote and those of many others candidates need to set out their stall on how they will deliver strategies and innovation into there leadrrship ofvyhe borough and not stride about in the white suit so to soeak telling us how they will fight corruption
Let the votes do the talking in June. TH people will decide who they want as their Mayor, just like it always has.
You are deluded. The people didn’t speak, they were gagged, bribed and cajoled. Lutfur and his crooked bunch got in on apathy and vote rigging.
I hope that the credible candidates sort themselves out, and don’t do a ukip, and split the vote to let the shitheads like THF in, again.
I also hope that Pickles forces the entire elections to be rerun. Let’s see how recent events affect the vote.
Come June 11th, with elections held under unprecedented scrutiny nationally and locally, if Lutfurs candidate wins, claim of vote rigging, bribes and cajoling voters will sound like a broken record. Anyone who attempts to overturn such an election would find it near impossible. Agree partially on shitheads claims btw, there are a few truth to be told.
The trouble is, Lutfur is still trying to spout his vile message, and claim we’re all just racists and bigots. Unfortunately, the division he has fueled will only add to this, and the weak willed sheeplike folk who believe his lies will continue to do so.
I really hope that the elections are fair, and those who win this time do so without fear of illegality. I hope that the behaviour at the polling stations, with the canvassers, and the police has been highlighted enough to mean that things are done properly.
Am I living in cloud cuckoo land?
I really hope not GM!
What will Pickles do if lutfur’s protege wins? Ask four more pensioners to put their homes and businesses at risk with another petition? You need to wake up and realise Lutfur’s policies are the reasons for him being re elected. People in TH are more concerned about the cuts the Tories would enforce on TH no doubt backed up by the toothless Labour Party who keep nominating losers as candidates
The commissioners, however many are sent by Pickles will only help the new Mayor and most importantly the residents of TH.
Really what do you think if that happens the commissioners will run this borough until you are cold and gone no matter what party wins on the 7th of May
Commissioners are there to ensure due processes are followed and corruption is avoided. It’s the mayors job to carry out policies. To be honest they should have been sent in 15 years ago when labour was in charge but that was impossible as we had a Labour government back then. Commissioners are a good thing whoever becomes Mayor as they will have oversight of all council business.
Corruption is avoided, really corruption is eradicated or in the case of the party (or not) formerly known as THF trying to evade its corrupt practices.
Let’s see…. It will certainly be interesting.
By the way, anyone enjoying Lutfur’s cash give away would never even realise that cuts were on the horizon! Especially those groups he has syphoned taxpayers cash to for years, for one reason – votes!
Funnily enough, I agree with you about Labour. They’re to blame for this mess, locally and nationally!
Pickles has already sent in new Commissioners with new powers. If the ghastly ranter Oli Rahman, or the weepy vestal virgin Rabina Khan, win, they will find on their first day of office that they can make the tough decision whether they have tea or coffee at 11 o’clock, but not much more. That is the way it should be, because ‘Tower Hamlets First’ is corrupt and rotten to the core.
Golds should make way for Biggs? You having a laugh? Miliband and Cameron are tearing lumps out of each other nationally but their foot soldiers in TH should get in to bed together? Lol. Peter has more chance than Erlam who”ll most likely lose his deposit.
It’ll be interesting to see what people come up with as their manifestos – and how similar or different they are.
Just supposing all “the non-Lutfur and his cronies” supporters all pledged to vote for Andy Erlam on their second vote – as the only independent candidate that everybody could get behind without tearing out their hair! 😉
That then leaves scope for Andy to win and to invite a rainbow coalition of councillors to be part of his Cabinet.
Personally I’d like to see the Leaders of the Labour Party and the Conservative Party sitting around the same table and having to work at working together.
I’m very inclined to think at this stage that my vote will be going to those people who show themselves most willing to embrace coalition politics.
I see we have one rabid anti-coalition reader of this blog! 🙂
Labour and Cons are totally against SNP holding the country to ransom. In case of a hung parliament why don’t labour and conservative form a grand coalition to stick it to the SNP. I would be in favour of that. Would you ?
Yes we do and I doubt if he even understands your talking about him
*you’re
Hold On, looks like the single brain cell froze in mid thought whilst trying to reply.
The last Mayoral election:
Election Candidate Party 1st Pref % 2nd Pref % Total
Lutfur Rahman Tower Hamlets First 36539 43.38% 856 11.64% 37395 Elected
John Biggs Labour 27643 32.82% 6500 88.36% 34143 Not elected
Christopher Wilford Conservative 7173 8.52% Not elected
Nicholas McQueen (UKIP) 4819 5.72% Not elected
Chris Smith Green 4699 5.58% Not elected
Reetendra Nath Banerji Liberal Dem 1959 2.33% Not elected
Hugo Pierre Trade Unionist and SC 871 1.03% Not elected
Reza Shoaib Choudhury Independent 205 0.24% Not elected
Mohammed Kowaj Ali Khan Ind 164 0.19% Not elected
Hafiz Abdul Kadir Independent 162 0.19% Not elected
If all other parties, Conservative, LibDem, UKIP and Greens had given their 2nd preference to John Biggs the he would have won!
Much as I admire Peter, as a politician and a person it is highly unlikely that he would be elected since the last Conservative polled 7173 votes.
There are 36539 voters, real and imagined, for Lutfur and his cronies.
As has been stated above, if all other parties were to stand a United candidate then local people could wrest control from Lutfur’s cronies. Do the maths.
Come off it!
Nobody had heard of Christopher Wilford whereas Peter Golds has been around for a long time and a lot more people know him and those that hadn’t have certainly been seeing a lot of him on the television recently!
PS Thanks for the figures. Like I said – it all depends on how people use their second vote.
I don’t think ‘politics as usual” will unseat Lutfur’s candidate.
Tower Hamlets has been historically Labour. Worked well then?
Just like in Scotland, they will find the voice of the people is more important.
We, as a borough, need a unity, anti-corruption, candidate. More people will have heard of Andy Erlam than Peter Golds.
Well I won’t be “Going For Golds”.
I greatly admire him and his tenacity regarding holding THF & Rahman to account, but no way will you get in Peter. John Biggs was the closest last time and everyone should get behind him. We need to stop son of THF getting in.
I am thinking of attending the water lilly tomorrow (probably just outside) to protest. Anyone else tempted?
I’m really worried about the anti-Rahman vote being split so much that Rabina will get in. Please Peter drop out and don’t let that happen
No doubt you will be arrested under section 5 of the public order act 1986.
Read it up before you decide to go tomorrow.
Section 5 is often misused by the police.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/64/section/5
I do think your name – Justice for TH bears a certain irony, as TH has only recently seen justice served.
Roll on criminal proceedings, and let’s finish the job, bang these crooks up, get our money back and ban them from ever standing for office again.
That truly would be justice for TH!
Your name reminds me of the Grime Reaper standing over Biggs since 2010, I may be wrong LOL.
On a serious note, do you really believe if the MPS were sitting on evidence which proves corruption they would have bought criminal prosecutions long ago? It seems they are refusing to proceed as the evidence is non existent or not worthy of a criminal court. Fact is for there to be a criminal trial, you need actual evidence and not just hearsay and innuendo or papers which show scope for fraud but not actual fraud. The MPS would be absolutely vilified if they failed to act. As such they weren’t but were slurred as three wise monkeys by the expert judge.
=> Justice
Remember John Yates’ repeated reassurances about no evidence existed of mobile phone hackings ?
Read the judgement then tell us there is not the slightest evidence of fraud and other criminal offences.
CC.
P.S. The judgement contains names and addresses of crime scenes !
@ Justice for TH – As the abused kids of Rotherham know, cops run a mile from any chance of Islamaphobic or racist accusations and crying Islamphobia and racisim was the despicable Rahman’s modus operandi.
MYM
How unread or blinkered can you be!
The election court judgement was conducted not on the normal RCJ system of probability of the act being committed but under the test of Reasonable Doubt as in a criminal proceeding. So here say and etc.as you state, is irrelevant and not taken into consideration of evidence presented and adjudicated by the court in its judgement.
As attested by many observers Lufur and Choudhury are up S**T Creek without a paddle between them
Jay Kay,
Don’t forget Oxford including an under-aged girl with visible blood on her and on her clothes complained at a police station and was sent away because she, in the opinion of the police, asked for what she got !
Come on Cops. Wakey Wakey, Tower Hamlets welcomes you NOW not in 10 years time.
Curious Cat.
JK – I would have thought Mawreys findings would make it easier for the police to override fears of being called islamaphobic and rascist and bring prosecutions now. Regardless we should welcome prosecutions against clear wrongdoing.
Difficult to believe that Lutfur Rahman’s prosecution and disproportionate punishment is unconnected to his race. Why are at least 75% of his accusers/critics/opponents White if racism has nothing to do with it?
Malcolm X apparently had the answer:
On what evidence do you arrive at that conclusion?
How do you know what race people are?
How do you arrive at your calculation?
Have you examined other election court judgements? You might be surprised…..
The proof of this is that nearly all of his critics/accusers/enemies are either White or married to a White person. If you can disprove this conjecture, I will pay you £15 through Paypal.
45.2% of Tower Hamlets residents are White but Lutfur Rahman’s enemies consist of at least 80% who are white. How could this be if the verdict was notracially motivated?
That sounds very much more like your conjecture to me!
I take it you don’t think that the corruption, illegal activities and the dishonesty had anything to do with it then?
Is this the Malcolm X whose autobiography was written by the arch plagiariser Alex Haley of Roots fame who had to apologise for nicking the plot from a white author?
Possibly the same Malcolm Little who lied about his own life and whose life is now lied about about by white haters like Mohammad Yunis Malik?
The same person who was murdered by followers of his former guru, I have to use that word, Elija Muhammad?
What the f***k has this fraud got to do with Tower Hamlets?
I am Kolly Kibber and Mohammad Yunis Malik is Marc Francis. I claim my five pounds.
Lutfur X? Like all those Xs on the fraudulent postal votes?
How about Lutfur, disgraced ex-mayor, ex-solicitor, and like his shambles of a political party, full of ex-crement! Before you correct my spelling, that was an intentional play on words.
Mr Malik,
Mr Rahman cheated to get elected. His punishment for cheating was to lose his elected position.
In any religion that is a just punishment. That punishment is freely accepted by the public of Bangladesh as just. The public of England accept that too.
Because a crook has a suntan, that is no excuse for him to be a crook.
If I were to spray myself brown and then rob a bank, should I not be punished because my skin is brown ? Justice should be for all people, regardless of skin colour, race, religion etc.
Read the judgement and discover the truth you are so reluctant to admit was unbiased, accurate, clear and reasonable.
Your posting is an insult to the many “suntanned” people whose basic standards appear much higher than your own. Are you practising to become a politician ?
Curious Cat.
Exactly CC. Get over to http://www.glynrobbins.wordpress.com and tell him that as well. Why do some people lie to themselves?
Well MYM
I don’t believe from the posts, if you have read them, there are any racists commenting on this site and as has been pointed out you clearly have not read the judgement or followed the daily court proceedings updates of your mans performance in court.
If you had you would appreciate how ridiculous your comment is.
Welcome to the Viper Pit which i past times was said to be a cure practiced for madness in some cases.
The word racist has no meaning any more having been used by racial shysters like Rahman and crew, the late and unlamented Commission for Racial Equality, well know racial huckster Lee Grasper and the last race hustler standing from the multi million pound London Development Association fraud Simon Woolley.
They have all cried wolf for far too long and nobody comes running any more. The game is up and they will all have to go and get real jobs.
Just because Oli Rahman asserts TH is infected with institutional racism doesn’t make it true. After all, he’s been a cabinet member here for 5 years and, what? he’s done nothing to clear it up if it does exist? Also, the borough is 35% Bengali but the council is 60% and the cabinet 100% (and has been since 2010). If institutional racism exists in TH it is pro-Bengali, anti-non-Bengali institutional racism.
To Peter the letter-writer (according to the judgement)
Whether the existing THF councillors can still call themselves the THF group is another question. Certainly they’re still listed as such on the council website
Councillors can create groups of whatever name they choose.
So Rabina Kahn, if she accepts Lutfur’s offer, will have to stand under another banner or as in independent. It’s inevitable that the police will take a keener than usual interest in how any campaign is funded.
No reason for the police to interfer in an election campaign.
Cabinet will be reduced in size; it can be ten members but that is not a necessity. I will invite all the party leaders and the chair of Overview and Scrutiny to attend as ex-officio members, with full access to papers and the right to contribute at meetings.
Councillors can attend Cabinet Meetings, even Part 2’s (the secret parts). It is normal for the Cabinet chairman to let non-Cabinet councillors speak and ask questions.
Cabinet will meet around the borough and public participation will be encouraged. Only the most confidential material will be heard in secret and for that a good reason will need to be given.
The public need proper and explanatory Part 2 minutes. No more cover-ups.
* The Chief Officer will be responsible for managing staff, who will be expected to deliver policy. It will not be my job to manage staff. Devising and promoting policy will be the job of the Mayor. The Chief Officer will be responsible for directing and managing staff.
Councillors are not responsible for managing staff. The Head of Paid service is.
* Tower Hamlets Homes needs to be restructured and the first stage will be for an Independent Board, to be run arms length from the council and not an extension of Tower Hamlets First.
Sounds like another Tory privatisation of council homes. No justification for another (expensive) QUANGO. I really do hate Housing ALMOs.
>i>* I will meet regularly with the other RSLs and expect them to join me for open meetings with their tenants and leaseholders.
Many years ago the government changed the RSL to Registered Provider of Social Housing. Are you really aware of what happens in local government ?
This is my manifesto to bring this transparency to fruition with a fresh start which will wipe the slate clean and restore good governance to our great borough.
With too much waffle and devoid of specific details. Anyone who knows local government would not be impressed.
Curious Cat.
To be more precise: TH people who bother to vote (plus some made up votes, at least in the past edition) will chose the mayor for the 250k inhabitants of the borough. A ethnic minority that votes en-mass could choose (again!) for everybody else. As it happens, in TH there is
a male dominated community where male meet 3 times a day to pray (how can they afford to have so much time? Don’t they work?) and who live in a state of self-segregation and isolation who can be influenced by their preachers.
Any way enough of this Micky Mouse debate I’m off to hear the other one at the Water Lilly
Inshallah!
An aside. I just realised something this morning which I’ve discussed at more length here https://trialbyjeory.com/2015/04/29/lutfur-to-offer-rabina-khan-chance-of-becoming-tower-hamlets-first-mayoral-candidate-scrutiny-begins/#comment-25176
I checked the judgement. Para 675 does NOT specify a time limit for the ban on the ex-Mayor standing for election – he’s just banned from standing for the vacancy for the office of Mayor – period. As in “forever”.
What I don’t understand, if THF has been struck off, surely all former THF councillors are now independent?
If this is the case, how can they have the right to nominate a deputy in disgraced ex-mayor’s absence?
Aren’t the Tories now the opposition party in Tower Hamlets?
Only in a world where 5 is a bigger number than the 22 that labour hold
In English local government, councillors can form groups of councillors. Its free, easy and can be changed quickly. The Group name is purely for the administrative convenience of the council.
The name of the major Groups are normally their political party name, examples: Labour, Conservative. However any name can be used for the Group’s name including ‘Micky Mouse’ even though a ‘Micky Mouse’ political party does not exist.
Curious Cat.
Curious cat
I think the Walt Disney Corporation may have some issues over the use of Mick Mouse without prior agreement which would make the election court costs pale into a sum equating to loose change
Let them sue – not sure for what. The bad publicity would cost them billions of USD.
Its a protected trade name here and in the US until at least 2019 unless they extend the licence again by 20 years as they did so last time when it was going into the public domain
=> Shadow,
It is said by others that a little knowledge can be dangerous.
By the way, what Trade, apart from occasional ridicule, was I carrying-out ?
Is that “trade” actually a “trade” within the law ?
Curious Cat.
curious cat
your not but if you were to use it as part of a promotion as in this case a political party you would be in the sticky stuff
Shadow,
Walt Disney have no monopoly on all uses of the name Micky Mouse. A misguided parent could, certainly in this country, name their child Micky Mouse.
A group of councillors in a local authority can name their group, for identification purposes within the council, Micky Mouse or even Jack The Beanstalk.
Not all of us have as much free or idle time as you 🙂
Curious Cat.
Curious cat
I have not said that have I
I just pointed out that you cant use it without the owners agreement to associate the protected name to promote a product, service, or in this case a grouping.
I only wish I could be idle at times, but this is not possible in my work normally, maybe I just manage my time better than some
Any way enough of this Micky Mouse debate I’m off to hear the other one at the Water Lilly
=> Couldn’t
Dear Mr Manager,
para 675
It is declared that Mr Rahman shall be incapable of being elected to fill the vacancy for the office of Mayor of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets under s 164(1)(b) of the 1983 Act.
Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2)
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1983/2/section/164
164 Avoidance of election for general corruption etc.
Yours faithfully,
A Worker.
Definitively, both LR and Alibor are banned from elected office for five years and they are also banned from voting during this time.
Ah , the Irony if they were some 200+2 votes short of the goal
Where does it say five years Ted? I did look and I couldn’t find anything in relation to the ex-Mayor.
From a legal source v closely connected to the case.
In any case five years still means TWO elections ie 2015 Mayoral and 2018 Council and Mayoral
If things were right, they’d just be out of the slammer by then…
It is paragraphs 30 & 31 of the judgement.
Found guilty of corrupt practice’s.
Pity the offences committed cant be seen as individual
with corrupt (5 years) and Illegal (3years) being consecutive periods of suspension
For the sake of clarification – here are paragraphs 30-32 from the Judgement
So the ex-Mayor won’t be contesting the Stepney by-election – or any other elected office in the next five years!
I think I’m right – that means he misses both this election (ie the rerun of the 2014 election) and the 2018 election.
Curious cat
I have not said that have I
I just pointed out that you cant use it without the owners agreement to associate the protected name to promote a product, service, or in this case a grouping.
I only wish I could be idle at times, but this is not possible in my work normally, maybe I just manage my time better than some
Shadow,
I am not a lawyer (although I have pursued a few cases at the RCJ).
I am not aware there is any legal right, to anyone, to prevent the use of “Micky Mouse” or similar names for use by a group of councillors who are not trading in any sense of the term.
You believe there is. Time and resources permitting can you cite the relevant international treaty, or what is loosely known as “the law” or case law supporting your belief ?
Again I emphasise I am not a lawyer (although I might apply to the OU to do a law degree). My understand is there are two protections available to Walt Disney and others:-
* Copyright on the design of products, but not on the name written in plain text and used for non-trading purposes; and
* Trade Mark preventing others using the Trade Mark on their products. Even with Trade Mark legislation there are classes of usage. For example ‘Load of Rubbish’ could be Trade Mark protected for alcoholic drinks which leaves an opportunity for someone else to Trade Mark the same name for selling vegetables.
The Designs and Intellectual Property legislation etc. could possibly prevent others using ‘Load of Rubbish’ for all purposes but there is no genuine originality in the same and I suspect blanket protection attempts would fail.
Regards,
CC.
Peter,
You have an awful track record in working with ethnic minorities especially the Bangladeshi community, how will you address this? How will you demonstrate that you stand for everyone in the borough including the muslim community whom you have made no effort in building any relation with?
Sounds like you are having a go at Peter for treating everyone equally?
How about the Bangladeshi community making an effort to be part of the surrounding environment? They could start for example telling their children that the world is not a huge trash bin for their beloved fried chicken boxes. Or they could stop driving like raving maniacs in residential areas. And the list is almost infinite.
How about you trying to be part of the surrounding environment by stopping your overt racism. Please don’t comment on this blog again.
Sir would you like to accompany me for a walk on mile end road to make some observations about who does what? Am i a racist because i would like to live in a safe and clean area where i incidentally pay one of the highest council tax in the country? This society must come to term with the problems of a failed melting pot that has been swept under the carpet in tower hamlets.anyway it’s your blog – which i read and support – so i will stop posting.
I don’t think that comment is overtly racist. Though to be honest, I bet in areas that have more white or black young men/boys, they probably act in the same antisocial manner.
There are far too many chicken shops in this borough. Restaurants should be forced to print an id number on all packaging to highlight where the rubbish comes from. If enough evidence is found, the offending shop should be closed. We also need more community service dished out to the filthy swines caught littering. Cleaning the streets in pink romper suits 10 hours a day for 5 weekends to shame them to stop being such tossers!
Dear Ash, I think you’ve been listening to the propaganda against any non-THF councillors.
Would you like to tell us about the supposed failures in Peter’s ” track record”?
How on earth is Meic sullivan gould stll advising the council?
This is the man that said move along, no wrong doing here about Lutfur’s corupt regime!!!
He is currently in a meeting with Rabina Khan and senior officers about who if anyone should act as mayor.
Personally I think Meic should run it. Be great for his CV.
Take your tongue out of your cheek Ted Jeory! 😉
Presumably they are finally getting round to addressing the legal basis for any other Councillor “acting” as Mayor.
Who will look into how all that Section 26 funding from developers has been spent. Going forward TH residents need transparancy on the £millions generated
Good point but I think you mean section 106 under the planning obligations.
Maybe one for the in house commissioners team
Sent: 30 April 2015 17:17
Subject: Important update on documentation and data preservation notice
Sent on behalf of Steve Halsey, Head of Paid Service
The instructions issued to all staff on Tuesday, April 28 remain in place and following council acceptance of an emergency undertaking requested by the DCLG today, you are advised that this now extends to the following:
You must not destroy any information or records whether held electronically or in hard copy on permanent or temporary files, irrespective of whatever policies on information or data retention or disposal the Authority has adopted.
This notice applies to all data and includes, but is not limited to, emails, documents, annotated file notes, desk files, handwritten notes, calendar entries and council mobiles.
Staff that are worried about the impact on their mail boxes being full can archive messages themselves. Alternatively, emails can be stored in your online folder directories, along with the relevant documentation. Further information is available on thnet.
The phrase containing bolt, door, after, horse, bolted . springs to mind
Nothing like LBTH management being on top of the situation at all times.
I question your definition of “on top” especially as the evidence has vanished, permanently, and the urgent notice to staff is more than a week TOO LATE.
What is expensive Merc being doing apart from taking public money for twiddling his thumbs ?
Utterly unimpressive TH. Can the public get a refund ?
CC,
Curious cat
That’s the point I was making , if you fill in the blanks
So TH read my posting ?
Can I now claim a Fat Cat consultant’s fee from the council ?
CC.
Meanwhile at the Waterlily….
while over at the Evening Standard…..
There’s a very long article about the Petitioners and the nature of the intimidation they faced
http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/lutfur-rahman-meet-the-tower-hamlets-locals-who-risked-everything-in-their-fight-against-him-10215267.html
Candidate 3, Independent, Rabin’s Khan, endorsed by Lutfur.
Do we know who actually spoke? Was Livingstone there?
Ken was there in spirit. well, via a video pre-recording. does this help? goerge was also there. via pre-video recorded message.
According to Al Gruaniad Unison are now supporting Lutfur. This all bodes ill for Miliband.
@Ted – were you there dude?
No. Wading through Breaking Bad.
aye, far more exciting than leftist shiiit!
Has Rabina Khan been anointed as Rahman’s successor? John Rees seems to think so. http://www.counterfire.org.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/30/unite-leader-macclusky-backs-dismissed-mayor-lutfur-rahman
This is looking bad for Miliband if the Tories go for it, as I think they surely must.
That page seems to have disappeared – the link produces this response
“Sorry – we haven’t been able to serve the page you asked for.”
I’ve tried search for it on the Guardian website and it’s not there
Maybe the Guardian Editors have finally stepped up to the plate?
Can sombody who knows more about this do the link, or is just Al Grauniad?
No – it’s dud – see my comment above
Take a look at @robindepeyer’sTwitter. Timeline https://twitter.com/robindepeyer/status/594035048594169856?s=09
I was at the Waterlilly last night for the first 2 hours. There were many speakers most of whom came out with the same tired old lines we’ve heard about the petitioners, about the judge who they say isn’t a judge, the decision is undemocratic and unjust, people must decide, not a single unelected judge. All sounded rather desperate.
A fighting fund has been set up for people to donate to the lying crook Rahman’s legal costs.
I find it odd they claim they want justic and democracy both of which have now been served but they don’t want to accept it and substitute them for their own versions.
So – obviously no confidence issues on the Rabina4Mayor front! Maybe a little over-excited? 😉
Well having attended the event at the Water Lilly last night and witnessed the rally myself have the following to report.
The rally as expected was well attended by some 1800-2200 thousand supporters difficult to judge as event had an overspill hall. It was well managed but a few too many speakers with their own agenda for my liking
As the majority of scheduled speakers were well known in advance mainly from the left, the tone and nature of the meeting was as expected, standard fire and brimstone speaking in most cases. Quite an even spread of women men speakers mainly white.
Christine Shawcroft as reported announced they will be setting up a legal fighting fund. But given the costs to date of an estimated £1million would require each of the 37,500 who voted for him(rounding down for dodgy votes) to be about £26.66 each. This is without the additional cost of any appeals if possible. Lets hope they get a bank account and register the money raised this time!
Christine spoke as expected, quite well, but has lost some of her sharpness as last I saw and remember her.
As Dave Roberts commented unite spoke and are backing Lutfur, not some minion but a senior official claiming Macclusky’s support. As Dave reported this is a serious development for Labour giving their unions financial backing to the party.
The usual rhetoric from Glynn Roberts and Hugo Pierre and promises of support and help hoping lutfurs supporters onMay7th elections will help them. Unlikely!
There was a speaker from the peoples assembly stating he was a part time judge didn’t specify in what capacity but he did speak well in my opinion.
Usual white enraged local resident support and of course NUT and anti war speakers.
There was two Bangladeshi speakers from the Bangladeshi lawyers solicitors group not very impressive wouldn’t want to represent me on a parking ticket case I might end up with detained at her Majesties’ Pleasure.
The two video recordings from George Galloway busy fighting for Bradford West Seat the usual rhetoric but whilst not a fan in any way like to see persons like him in parliament as they do ask the hard questions to the main line parties in some instances.
The message from Ken Livingstone was in general support and liking the political attacks on himself whilst in his own Mayoral ship, as that the investigative journalists were the same who attacked him and Lutfur in this case.
No real strong commendation of labour as would be expected this close to an election that is to close to call. Ken is not stupid hence the video message and tone.
Lutfur spoke very well, pity he did not prepare and speak in the same way at the hearings but that may not have saved him looking at the evidence we have all viewed. He then went through the 3 possible candidates for the mayor As expected it being Rabina Khan.
She spoke and this being the first time I have seen her speak I must say I was not impressed by her clearly theatrical style ranging all the emotions and mannerisms of a cheap Bollywood actress. Stating how thankful she was to be here, but not (repeated 4 times) as it was on the back of the “Great Lutfur” any more praise for the great man and she would have suggested he be beatified at some point. She reminded me of the fake sincerity Margaret Thatcher put on in her public and TV performances for public consumption , I did not like them and I did not like this. Performance for the gullible masses.
As expected the main framework of the speakers was of a downtrodden community having engaged in the British way of life and politics daring to be elected and having engaged in democracy, Turing their backs on Islamic extremism, having this snatched away from them by the establishment with the help of the established parties in a totally undemocratic way. If you did not have a grasp of the recent case and its findings it makes for a sensible statement.
In the overall analysis for the forthcoming elections given the ground swell of support from the Bangladeshi community and particular from the affront the Muslim groups feel has been sent to them by the case its going to be a hard fight. The only saving grace is its after the main elections and labour if BIggs is going to have any chance of winning will need all there troops out, and I mean all from all over the south east.
Any candidate thinking of standing is going to have their work cut out and a lot of support and I Mean people on the ground with a lot of financial backing. If you don’t have that, forget it, you will only dissipate anyone else with a real chance of removing these people and loose you deposit
God, I doubt if Ted would allow me to write want I really want to. Perhaps I shall make little corn dolly voodoo dolls with pics of Lutfur, Livingstone, Galloway and now that twat MacClusky on them, and enjoy enacting bad things to those to make me feel a little bit better. Sad, I know. But they really have got the bile in my stomach boiling.
These loony lefties really are great at showing their true colours. Their poor, downtrodden, ‘why me?’ mentality whilst sipping champagne and no doubt paying minimal taxes (if any). The shear hypocrisy is enough to make you want to vomit into Galloway’s hat.
And as for Livingstone and MacClusky, I wish they’d just F off! Making videos of support? I’m surprised they we not connected via satellite like the true celebs they think that they are!
I hope members of Unite / Labour (let’s face it, they are one and the same) are happy with them splashing the cash to fight for Lutfur’s own rotten brand of justice?
Who do these people think they are? If I was a member of either, I’d be horrified! Come on Milliband, at least try to pretend that you’re not the unions’ puppet, and have the balls to condemn both Unite and Livingstone!
And don’t get me started on that puppet du jour Rabina Khan. I particularly like the ‘weeping Vestal Virgin’ description.
I was thinking Mother Rabina, obviously after a bit of work. Or Tower Hamlets budget version on Eva Peron?
Don’t cry for me Tower Hamlets…my cab fares were not that pricey! All through my wild days, at Mulberry Girls School, now I’m up for Mayor, here’s your free houses…..
Actually, Tower Hamlets the opera / pantomime would be great. Some of those THF members might get a bit flustered at the sight of all those dames though……He’s behind you!
Oh shit, IFE sort of rhymes with pricey – can i re-write my stolen verse from Evita?
I chose my words with caution!
Nice analysis. As you would confirm this was an open event for all to attend. Lutfur supporters or not. Not a staged rent a mob we see on political events on television. The venue was absolutely packed and many were refused entry after the video hall was packed out. Much was made of the lack of woman in the audience, say what you think about that. But no mention of the thunderous standing ovation (twice) for Rubina Khan from the male dominated audience. I thought it spoke volumes. Yes she came across very emotional, but so would many if suddenly you were thrown into the limelight as a mayoral candidate with a realistice chance of winning. As you say winning this mayoral election will not be an easy ride for anyone but it’s this kind of support that wins you elections.
Justice for TH
No need to mention the applause as is expected in these events.
Most politicians understand the only really important applause is when the returning officer reads out your name as the winning candidate.
Likewise the very small attendance of women at the event given the nature of THF representation and the cultural realities found in the Bangladeshi community at present.
However if Rabina khan was to be put into a managed debate with the other candidates or interview with any half descent political commentator she would be peeled like an orange and exposed for all to see.
With what’s occurred in Tower Hamlets and in the run up to the mayoral election I think she will be found wanting unless she hides herself away from these situations, which will be very difficult looking at the timing of the election and the medias thirst for news and political commentary after the main election.
Lutfur was shredded by the media and commentators alike. Had the most vocal critics from the opposition. Still people voted for him overwhelmingly. It’s the people in TH who decide elections not political commentators or you and I for that matter.
Some people stuffed the ballot with ineligible voters for him. How many of those ‘votes’ will be cast for the ‘Independent candidate’, Rabin’s Khan?
We need NI voting rules with I’d.
Maybe THF should release a ‘lads’ calender of his cabinet babes to raise much needed funds to help fight the evil establishment oppressors? Undoubtedly, some people will delve deep into their pockets at the prospect of some hot Khan on Khan action. Phwoar!!!
I’m sure it’d make a least a modest (or should that be immodest?) amount to help fund the cause.
Come on girls, you know it makes sense! It’d be a great stocking filler idea, and just in time for Christmas, Eid, Diwali or Hanukkah!
Or is my suggestion a little bad tasted, for the entire internet, let alone this blog?
Grim Reaper
What are you thinking! sounds more like a “creature feature” than a lads calendar
Grim Reaper –
Forget the Internet. Ask the woman folk in your family if they approve of your comments, unless you are devoid of any morals. I’m surprised at how you seek to cheapen Jeory’s blog, which is much respected may I add.
Devoid of morals, really, it was you who was suggesting in wit a married Muslim women should do a lads mag calendar in aid of a corrupt former mayor, very appropriate! In some cultures of the world this suggestion would be enough for terrible retribution to be sought.
Remember its a blog not Tatler
Get over it girl. That’s what happens when you stand for public office. You have to take the comments, and criticism. If you can’t take the heat…..
By the way, the females in my family hate THF, and actually have a sense of humour.
I suggest you try developing one.
Also, It’s funny how you only refer to related females? I may be female, ad/or have lots of female friends also. Not just relatives! I may even have a female employer and colleagues! Shock horror! Shouldn’t be allowed!
Your veiled sexism is hard to hide when the bile starts a bubbling! Eh Justice for TH?
Bigots have a way if exposing their views eventually…and it didn’t take long to winkle yours out!
Just as well I toned my comments down! I hope. I wonder if I’ll be moderated?
I doubt from your comments you are a woman unless you have had a recent change of gender, I do apologies.
Maybe (in a high pitched voice) I’m a LAAAADY!
Grim Reaper
If you think the commentator is a woman your in for a likely shock mate.
I don’t think insulting someone in this way that offends their moral compass is correct and is well of the mark for legitimate criticism of corruption, bribery, illegal behaviour, ridicule for idiotic policy and implementation and general incompetence which is the rough and tumble of politics.
With this bunch, morals are not exactly in abundance….in fact, I’d guess that they may need to look up the definition.
Like claiming dodgy taxi fares? Vote rigging, inciting hate and division, hypocrisy on an Olympic scale….need I go on?
Another thing, all I said was lads calender to raise money. Are you suggesting something more titillating? Please keep your fantasies in your heads.
Naughty boys 😧!
HaHa, I tend to keep my fantasies restricted to my wife, as it avoids complications
There’s a funny response to that, but I shall show restraint.
I was wondering where J for TH’s morals lie regarding THF candidates posting nazi salutes online then claiming he was hacked?
To me that seams far more heinous
Sorry, posted before finishing…
To me, those vile postings then the lies seem far more heinous than my tongue in cheek calender joke…. I wonder where you hid your moral compass when this was exposed?
Answers on a postcard please!
I must apologise, obviously the boys could do a Chippendale type thing for the ladies and gay guys to enjoy too. That’s bound to raise a few……pounds!
Having ensured equality, I now feel all warm and fuzzy in my soul. My work here is done!
Yes Grim more than happy to clarify.
Shitheads is how you described them earlier and I agreed there are a few. A total disgrace to post such bile and to attempt a cover up with blatant lies.
I’m glad that you appear to share my views on the horrendous anti Semitic postings, when pushed. But I note your scathing comments were distinctly absent during the postings though? Please, correct me if I’m wrong….
I’m sure Rabina Khan is thick skinned enough to deal with the odd smart and/or cheeky remark on here and elsewhere on her own. I’ve seen her in action attacking other councillors with her venom infused vitriol at full council meetings. I also suspect that she has a sense of humour.
She’d better have both if she’s going to stand to be Lutfur’s rep with us mere unworthy mortals, as the road is gonna get a lot bumpier.
Buckle up, a helmet might also be advisable!
I only clarified as you asked me directly. I feel others rebuked and made their points perfectly well in earlier posts.
And yes she’ll have to buckle up for the bumpy ride ahead (no sarcasm/pun intended)
Surely no person with a functioning brain would, in any circumstance relating to local government, wish to be A Representative of the election fraudster and booted out-of-public-office Mr Lutfur Rahman ?
Curious Cat.
Sb Rabina
Rabid Khan more like! Foaming at the mouth and chomping at the bit to do as she’s told, no doubt….
Justice for TH. You and the lying crook of an ex-Mayor really don’t get it do you? The matter of the judicary involving itself in democracy is dealt with by Judge Mawrey as is the manner in which Rahman got himself elected.
I would really hate it if my comments were eating away at you. I really would, that is not my intention. Take time out on the 11th June to make your voice count. The weather is lovely out there, hope it stays that way.
Oh Yes indeed but that was before he was proved and adjudged guilty of corruption!
I wonder what the electorate will make of the candidate Rabina Khan’s taxi fare expenses claims, many Bangladeshi women don’t have the opportunity spend £120 on their weeks shopping let alone a 4 mile taxi journey claimed by Rabina at £120+ that costs £2 on the bus.
This notwithstanding is one fare, she in 1 month claiming over £1100 taxi fares on journey’s were the majority would be using public transport at a fraction of this cost.
Its a scandal and she should be ashamed of this when so many local people have to strive to make ends meet
Incidental does anyone know what taxi firm this council account is with? and who owns/runs it?
Could reveal some interesting answers to these costs
As tweeted The MET has finally announced an investigation into the election fraud as reported in tonight’s standard
Looks like they are serious with the credentials of the detective superintendent appointed to lead the investigations from the major crime and homicide unit at the yard.
how appropriate as they come in for the kill
About bloody time. The net is tightening, I wonder who will slip through?
I hope that they turn the investigation internally also, as many have witnessed wrongdoings in the borough for years, and (this will shock you!) not all by Lutfur the loser!
About bloody time. The net is tightening, I wonder who will slip through?
I hope that they turn the investigation internally also, as many have witnessed wrongdoings in the borough for years, and (this will shock you!) not all by Lutfur the loser!
Also, if perish the thought, labour get in next week, I wonder if they’ll try to squash any investigation?
So glad the lazy and unimpressive Met has been reading this blog/forum/advice web site, and finally listened to all the good ideas posted on here about a well-overdue P-O-L-I-C-E investigation which their European counterparts would have done instantly.
It was first mentioned on here about securing the evidence. Then a day later up popped HMG ordering the London Borough of Election Sleaze to preserve all possible evidence.
What other good advice can we offer to the “Authorities” ?
Curious Cat.
Evening Standard (1st May 2015)
Tower Hamlets: Scotland Yard probes new allegations after Lutfur Rahman corruption verdict
I must confess I did wonder if more allegations might arise as a result of the trial judgement – but they seem to be limiting themselves to those identified within the report.
I have some considerable sympathy with Cllr Golds’s perspective – why have the Met been sitting on their hands all this time? Was it a resource issue or was it a post Lawrence kick-back of the worst sort (i.e. one extreme to the other)? Or maybe even a bit of both?
I do think the public are entitled to an explanation.
Two reasons. They have been paid off or they are afraid of the racism accusation. Or a combination of both.
Before explanations for the public, the public need to do the investigative work themselves ‘cos cowboy Hogan-Howe and his cowhands are aimlessly wandering around trying to find their stray horses.
“Gee. I just don’t get it. What do one of those votes look like?”
Aim I really mistaken in detecting mass reluctance for the men in blue to metaphorically remove their fingers and begin acting like real inquisitive cops dedicated to upholding Free and Fair Elections without fear, favour, bias and reluctance ? Public press statements written by expensive police spin-doctors is not the type of law and order the public want and pay-for.
How many of you read most, if not all, the judgement within 48 hours of it becoming available? If you can, and the cops can’t – and seemingly they haven’t yet finished – one has to question how many serious crooks have escaped prosecution because the Hogan-Howe cavalry arrived far too late to save the evidence from destruction ?
Having studied virtually all of the judgement, my impression is there is enough data for the police to have started knocking-on doors within hours of the judgement being released. Note I wrote ‘police’ and not ‘Hogan-Howe’s cowboys’.
CC.
why have the Met been sitting on their hands all this time?
Dats simple me man. Its cold outside on dem London streets. Dem been warming their hands before dem go out the warm office.
Try posting on http://www.glynrobbins.wordpress.com and or http://www.counterfire.org. Both censor but let’s try.
From today’s Evening Standard.
RAHMAN ASKS SUPPORTERS FOR £5000 EACH TO PAY COURT COSTS.
By Matt Watts.
Lutfur Rahman was today criticised for asking people to in one of Londons most deprived boroughs for up to £5000 each to pay his legal bills.
The disgraced ex-mayor of Tower Hamlets launched the fundraising drive as he made his first appearance after being sacked for electoral fraud.
Telling last night’s Defend Tower Hamlets Democracy Rally that he ” may have fallen but I am not broken”, he said he was now exploring a possible legal challenge to the High Court judgement that removed him from office.
Christine Shawcross, from Labour’s National Executive Committee, a trustee of the legal support fund, asked the supporters to donate ” as much as they could” as she said ” taking on the judge and winning justice” would cost ” a mind boggling amount”.
Forms suggesting donations of up to £5000 were distributed to more than 1,000 supporters at the Waterlily Conference Centre in Whitechapel.
Rahman has already been ordered to pay£ 250,000 costs following the Electoral Court trial and is estimated to have run up legal bills of about £1 million.
Peter Golds, the leader of the Conservative group on Tower Hamlets Council, told The Standard: ” asking for for that amount is a lot in any borough, especially Tower Hamlets “.
John Biggs, the Labour candidate for Mayor who was last year beaten into second place by Rahman’s fraudulent re-election campaign, said: ” Mr Rahman needs to realise that he was the architect of his own downfall. His job was and is to do what is best for the needy people of Tower Hamlets, not for him “.
Speakers including George Galloway and ex- London Mayor Ken Livingstone, who both appeared via video link at the rally, backed the disgraced politician.
Mr Galloway, Respect candidate for for Bradford West, suggested the case was a result of prejudice against Muslims. Mr Livingstone blamed the ” politically motivated ” judgement on an ” underlying fear of Islam”.
Rahman dismissed the ruling of Election Commissioner Richard Mawrey, who found he and his supporters used religious intimidation, rigged votes and wrongly branded Mr Biggs a racist to gain power. Rahman claimed: ” These votes were cast freely and fairly. People in Tower Hamlets are smart, they are astute. They did not vote because they were bribed and intimidated”.
He went on to endorse Rabina Khan, who was appointed to his cabinet when he first won election in 2010, to continue his legacy as Mayor.
Earlier Unite chief of staff Andrew Murray said he was bringing a “personal message of support ” for Rahman from the union’s chief, Len McCluskey.
The new election will be held on June 11th.
@Dave – what’s this dig on Lutfur asking for money?? You got choice to give him money or keep the dosh! Copy something more original!
Is you gangsta geez? Or am you white man talk gangsta innit?
Come come Mr AB.
That news report was original.
How much are you donating to your mate’s money-raising appeal ? Don’t be shy.
What exactly is the precise legal challenge ? Would love to read all the legal details.
CC.
AB, we know that Lutfur is put on a pedestal by some of these people, God only knows why?
A bit like telling them it was their Islamic duty to vote Rahman, they may feel that the same applies to donating towards defending his honour, and digging him out of the cesspit of his own making. What if some of his poorer disciples use limited funds on him rather than their children’s’ food/clothing/heating/electric or get into debt to bring them closer to Lutfurness? If they are prepared to believe he is decent, honest and/or fair, then let’s face it, they must be pretty gullible.
Maybe we should ask Channel S to hold a Save Lutfur Appeal, ‘Lutfur Aid’? Or he could start a religious cult? Where the people donate their life’s savings, as seeing their preacher in a more expensive Bentley brings them closer to heaven? If they shake their buckets at me, they will not be impressed with my donation – though it will be most personal!
I wonder if any funds raised will be managed as thoroughly as THF finances? On the back of an Eastend Life?
Lutfur was found guilty, and it was a mess of his own makin, and he should be penalised. I only hope that when the criminal investigation goes into full swing, the rest of his cronies get theirs!
💋 me teef!
As they used to say at the beginning of every edition of Monty Python’s Flying Circus ” And now for something completely different”, or not as the case may be!
This is from Inside Housing the monthly magazine of the Chartered Institute of Housing.
Mayor ” skewed” housing budgets.
The disgraced former mayor of a deprived east London borough appeared to ” skew” housing budgets housing budgets towards areas where his support was strongest, a damning judgement said.
Lutfur Rahman, the mayor of Tower Hamlets, was last Thursday found guilty of election fraud and thrown out of office by a specially convened court.
The judgement also said allegation that the Tower Hamlets First leader had targeted cash cash to refurbish council homes towards areas where he had strong support from the Bangladeshi community stood up ‘ on one view of the figures’.
Rival Labour politicians had previously accused Mr Rahman of funneling Decent Homes funding towards three wards where he had strong support. This allegation was strenuously denied by Tower Hamlets First, which accused Labour of racism in response.
But judge Richar Marey, sitting in the High Court, said: ‘Although stoutly denied by Mr Rahman’s partisans in evidence, the reality is that the focus of the mayor and his cabinet became more and more on the Bangladeshi community… On one view of the figures, the council’s housing budget had been skewed towards those areas of the borough (mainly in the western wards) where support for the mayor and his associates was strongest’.
The allegations around the use of the money did not form part of the charges against Mr Rahman and were therefor not fully tested in court. Judge Mawrey said the court was ‘ not concerned with the rights and wrongs’ of the decent homes cash , but that the claim that the mayor was simply following the advice of officials in its allocation ‘fell a little flat’.
A Tower Hamlets council spokes-person emphasised the judgement cleared council staff of certain allegations.
This is from the current edition. As we are on the subject of housing I wonder could we get a response here from Glyn Robbins the self styled ” housing activist” and vociferous Lutfurite. He has started to delete comments from his site which are critical and pose questions he can’t or won’t answer.
I seem to remember Lady Porter elected to leave the country to avoid prosecution around the “Homes for Votes” Scandal in Westminster.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homes_for_votes_scandal
Different scenario but obviously Mawrey thought he spotted some similarities in intent.
Porter was pursued through the courts for the £millions of liability to the Council. It took years to sort out.
Rahman is no heir of the Tesco fortune as in the case of Shirley Porter. It would take a time period similar to the formation of the solar system to reclaim the monies from Rahman’s limited assets. However the misguided supporters of this corrupt person could organise another whip round for him.
Do his supporters include Saudi Arabia?
My memory is Shirley Porter, Conservative, escaped by running away to Israel with all her millions. She never paid the money due.
Curious Cat.
=> Shadow
Not being a lawyer, I never-the-less have a legal opinion:
Those that fund litigation, thus encourage the commencement of court proceedings, can be liable for the opponent’s cost should the opponent win.
Any lawyer wish to tell me I am mistaken or new case law has changed this potential burden ?
Curious Cat.
.
=> Grave
Do his supporters include Saudi Arabia?
Depends entirely on the religious domination. Does anyone know which version of Islam Mr Rahman embraces ?
CC.
Settled £12.4M in 2004. Returned to UK 2006.
Aym,
Thank you for the update.
Most kind and very useful to know.
CC.
Thank you AYM – I was about to make the same point.
Bottom line in order to return to the UK she had to pay £12.4million
She reduced the initial bill (a judgment debt of some £27m plus interest and cost) – but it must have been at some significant cost to her own wealth as she would have also had to pay her own legal bills for a case which dragged out for some 18 YEARS.
The flat she now lives in is owned by her family. One might conclude from this that she dare not bring any significant assets into the country.
This is what John MacGill the District Auditor had to say
Duh – I left out a backslash! The quotation finishes after the John macGill citation.
There is no reason to believe that Rahman couldn’t do a disappearing act to Bangladesh if there is a chance of criminal charges and especially if he is struck off as a solicitor which is pretty much a certainty given the judgement and comments by Mawrey.
He may well take the view that the game is up in the UK with the possibility of porridge and absolutely no chance of an income. Life in Bangladesh is good with money so expect an early sale of the assets and a lengthy holiday in Dhaka.
It would be interesting to know how many of the laws cited in the House of Lords case re Lady Porter are still extant and whether any might possibly have some application in this instance.
I say this because they relate to PRINCIPLE re behaviour of Councillors and what they can and cannot do.
Shirley Porter got done by the Councillors Surcharging legislation subsequently abolished by Labour or Tories.
CC.
If you read the article you will see that’s only ONE of the relevant legislation which is cited re the behaviour of Councillors.
The judge really liked Peter Golds.
Para 646
The court considered Mr Golds to be an impressive man and a reliable witness
What is our fallen Son of Labour going to challenge ? He has lots of choices according to http://law.slough.info/law46/law46p000.php
342
It follows that the court is satisfied that false registration, false voting contrary to s.61(1) and personation by persons who are in law the agents of Mr Rahman has been proved to the requisite standard.
373
The court is therefore satisfied that agents of Mr Rahman were guilty of breaches of s.62A of the 1983 Act and thus of corrupt practices.
377
With regard to the unlawful completion and use of voting documents by third parties, the court was satisfied that both corrupt and illegal practices had taken place and had been committed by persons who were, in electoral law, the agents of Mr Rahman.
378
With regard to the unlawful alteration of ballot papers already completed, the court could not be satisfied to the requisite standard that corrupt or illegal practices had taken place and no finding is made on that issue.
431
The press release of 15 April 2014, therefore, did amount to a breach of s.106 of the 1983 Act. But there was more to come.
450
The court is satisfied, therefore, to the requisite standard that the press release of 23 April 2014 contained false statements concerning the personal character and conduct of Mr Biggs and that Mr Rahman did not have a genuine belief in the truth of those statements and neither he nor Mr Choudhury had any reasonable grounds for belief in their truth.
459
In respect of the payment of canvassers evidence by the four witnesses listed above, the court is satisfied that there was a breach of s.111 of the 1983 Act.
500
It follows that the court is satisfied that the conduct of Mr Rahman and his agents Mr Asad and Mr Choudhury in making grants does amount to the corrupt practice of bribery under s.113 of the 1983 Act.
507
In the circumstances, the court must find that, in relation to payments to the media, Mr Rahman was guilty of bribery.
511
In the view of the court, public money was misused to pay a publicist for Mr Rahman.
574
Though it may thus be academic whether Mr Rahman is regarded as personally guilty of undue influence or guilty through his agents, as set out above the court finds Mr Rahman personally guilty.
632
In view of its findings as to the personal responsibility of Mr Rahman and his agents, the question of whether there was also general corruption under s.164 of the 1983 Act may seem academic but, for the sake of completeness, it is confirmed that the court is satisfied that general corruption did take place and met the criteria of that section.
634
The result of the decisions reached in this judgment will be that Mr Rahman’s election will be avoided and he will be disqualified from standing in the new election. The findings will necessarily lead to adverse consequences for Mr Rahman.
635
Given the nature of THF as a ‘party’ and the reality of its control by Mr Rahman, this means that the election of all THF Councillors must be taken to have been achieved with the benefit of the corrupt and illegal practices found by this judgment to have been committed.
640
The court considers that it has the power to name Mr Choudhury under s.145 and has no hesitation in formally naming Mr Choudhury as personally guilty of corrupt and illegal practices. This means that he must vacate his office as Councillor forthwith and will suffer the statutory period of disqualification under s.160 of the 1983 Act.
Curious Cat.
Curious Cat. An excellent summary of the situation. Could you post this on http://www.counterfire.org http://www.glynrobbins.wordpress.com and http://www.obv.org.uk as all of these sites are convinced that none of this is true.
Operation Black Vote, whatever one of those is, has reproduced the Giles Fraser article from Al Grauniad with the strapline ” This will shock you”. Presumably they mean we should be shocked at the outrageous treatment of Lutfur! They do have something in common though. Both of them have had their grubby little paws in the public purse.
Dear Mr Roberts,
Thank you for your very kind invitation.
I am immensely happy to available myself of the wonderful opportunities you so kindly revealed.
Yours sincerely,
Curious Cat
Simon Wooley must be taking a mind altering substance. I thought he had more intelligence and integrity than to blindly support this corrupt fool
The words integrity and intelligence are not ones I would apply to Mr Wooley, shadowonthehorirzon. Slippery, crafty and devious maybe.
Do you have to be a practising solicitor to be struck off? Anybody know? My own professional institute treated people who were not in practice in exactly the same way as those who were working – the notion being that if you claimed a certain status then you had to uphold the rules of conduct.
I took a look at the Solicitors Regulatory Authority website and took a little look at their Manual of SRA Disciplinary Procedure Rules 2011 (Revised Version published on 30 April 2015) – which does seem to be pretty comprehensive!
I’m not quite sure which bits of the Manual Mawrey had in mind when he referred the ex-Mayor to the Solicitors’ Regulatory Authority.
Appendix 3 seems to be very relevant.
Re. last comment I forgot to include the reference for Appendix 3 http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/discproc/part8/content.page
This is the beginning of the Disciplinary Procedure Rules http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/discproc/content.page
Try calling yourself “a Solicitor” and eventually the SRA will catch up with you – especially if people complain…….
See this page http://www.sra.org.uk/bogus-solicitors/
This is the SRA Policy on Criminal Prosecution http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/enforcement/we-are-investigating-you/criminal-prosecution.page
Also relevant is the SRA Policy on Concurrent litigation http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/enforcement/we-are-investigating-you/concurrent-litigation.page
Obviously all of this relates to people calling themselves a Solicitor when they’re not qualified – but the bulk of action I imagine will relate to those offering legal services when the individual is not a registered member of the SRA and does not hold a practising certificate.
My understanding is solicitors, formerly officers of the Supreme Court and now down-graded to officers of the Senior Courts, purchase an annual Practising Certificate. This enables them to provide legal advice to paying customers. No Certificate = No Customers. Certificate-less charging for legal assistance or advice is unlawful.
Curious Cat.
I think you’ll find the issue is also what you call yourself.
Sufficiently distanced from ‘legal’ and its derivatives.
Can’t image Indoor Cleaning Services PLC or Home Gardens (Tower Hamlets) Ltd generating income from discretely providing advice of a legal nature, can you ?
CC.
* non-existent companies; CoHo register checked today.
There would seem to be enough to strike him off as things stand at the moment. He has brought the profession into disrepute and that is enough. Most cases are of course to do with misappropriation of funds and running off to South America with the secretary but I think they can get him on the judgement.
When a judge uses words like corrupt, unlawful and illegal in relation to events that Rahman either carried out himself or had others carry out with his knowledge and from which he benefited there is enough there for the order of the boot.
Radio 4 yesterday at 8am or before, it was the Today Programme, made a reference to more investigations whether by the police or mot I don’t know. I understand I Player will have it but I have no idea of how to retrieve it. Can anyone help?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05spjs4
The iPlayer has a radio option here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer select radio on top bar
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio select radio 4
Select day and then programme
It used to be that £2000 was called a Jeffrey after the amount of money that Archer arranged for Monica Coughlan to be given to ensure here silence about he being a client of hers.
I think we can now call the same sum a Giles after the equally sordid affair of Giles Fraser pocketing that much from Lutfur Rahman. Both of them a couple of crooks.
…and so… to more allegations of voting fraud!
The Telegraph article is titled thus
Fresh voting fraud in scandal-hit borough of Tower Hamlets
Postal ballot papers for Thursday’s general election have been sent out to a block of flats in Tower Hamlets which has been a building site for months
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/local-elections/11580951/Fresh-voting-fraud-in-scandal-hit-borough-of-Tower-Hamlets.html
Nothing will change on this unless and until they tighten up the postal voting system.
How on earth is this possible ?????????????????????????????
The LBTH elections office should NOT have these addresses on its records as valid addresses for electoral purposes
What on earth is going-on in Britain’s biggest election cesspit ?
Definitely NOT impressed !
What f***ing next ?
Curious Cat.
Plus an interesting and well written post on the UK Human Rights Blog
http://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2015/05/03/spiritual-injury-voids-mayors-election/
Yes. Agreed. Thanks.
CC.
Anyone know what’s happened to Alibor Choudhury? Was he at the Waterlily? No mention of him. What’s he up to?
Lutfur was nothing without him. Who will fill the gap for Rabina?
Of course now little Oli is back at the DWP, maybe one of his first customers will be Murziline. Can one assume her services are no longer needed.
Let’s get this thread which is supposed to be about Councillor Peter Golds back on track.
Published this morning is a comprehensive article by Peter Golds on the Conservative Home website
“Cllr Peter Golds: How the Metropolitan Police and the Electoral Commission turned a blind eye to fraud in Tower Hamlets”
It’s an extremely long list of all the things which were reported to the Police and/or Electoral Commission – and no action was taken. (For those who find a 200 page document a bit of a long read!)
He finishes
Maybe Stephen Halsey, the temporary Head of Paid Service would like to review and reconsider his statement about the elections process being robust following the latest debacle in the ongoing Tower Hamlets Elections scandal?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/local-elections/11580951/Fresh-voting-fraud-in-scandal-hit-borough-of-Tower-Hamlets.html
Yes, excellent article by Peter. I think the next focus of the media, after Thursday, will be H Division of The Met. It is quite clear that they have some questions to answer. Peter names a DC Carr who should be for the chop as well as several others. Is Streeter still in charge or has he been promoted sideways?
The Al Grauniad website is playing up but there are two interesting articles that you should all read. Google Birmingham teachers and intimidation and Huge Muir articles. The two will come up. The Muir article is interesting as he is for racial quotas and making Islamophobia a crime.
His article has been absolutely taken to bits by, I assume,
Guardian readers so let’s get in there as put our Tower Hamlets boots into this shameless racist. He really is disgusting and wouldn’t get a job anywhere else except the Guardian.
Perhaps someone could give the two links as I can’t put them up after having tries several times.
This is the one about the intimidation of Birmingham schoolteachers
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/03/birmingham-headteachers-say-subject-campaign-intimidation
This is the Hugh Muir article
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/03/diversity-election-hardly-party-time-manifestos
I had to smile at all the people who weighed in to comment – and ask him why he hadn’t reviewed the policies on diversity of the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the DUP, UUP, SDLP, Sinn Fein, the Alliance Party in Northern Ireland.
Also re. the quote he uses in the article which he says comes from the Labour Party policy document
I’m wondering if the Labour Party plans to review the nationality of the employers as well as the workforce where people are paid less than the living wage. It only seems fair to get a complete picture of all the relevant factors contributing to poverty in different communities across the country.
It prompts me to wonder if Tower Hamlets has ever done an assessment and analysis of all the businesses and other economic activities in Tower Hamlets and the extent to which those working in them are paid less than the living wage – and what factors have been identified as to why that is.
Thanks for this YCMIU. I sometimes wonder if Comment is Free is run by masochists. Even allowing for the fact that Muir is obsessed with race you would think by now that the editors know that they are totally out of touch with even the beliefs of Guardian readers. If you are in a hole stop digging.
They have run a whole series of these stupid articles by the likes of Dianne Abbott, Giles Fraser, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Simon Woolley and other race has beens and wannabes which are totally trashed by the readers. The editor of the section is or was Joseph Harker who is of the opinion that all whites are racist. I’ll dig the article out.
Have a look at http://www.hurryupharry.org and the second article about Miliband and Islamophobia.
Are the powers that be taking the whole thing seriously? http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/get-involved/our-campaigns/national-campaigns/electoral-fraud/
Not until they are repeatedly kicked in the arse AND publicly named as crap and indifferent. Shame really. I thought they were supposed to be real cops.
CC.
I would suggest they have been kicked in the arse by Ted, Peter Golds and the petitioners. The whole thing of course was started by Andrew Gilligan almost five years ago with the first TV programme about the whole mess. He had previously been instrumental in bringing down Livingstone two years before both of which campaigns have not exactly endeared him to the Marxist left or commentators on Al Grauniad.
I don’t know whether or not I did it here but I am reminded by friends that I was prescient about the prospects of Lutfur getting the boot when an electoral court was convened. It wasn’t too difficult to work out. Basically it started with a number of apparently unrelated things. Livingstone’s downfall meant that a mouthpiece and funder for all kinds of loony left political correctness had gone.
Finally the tide of political opinion began to change. All of a sudden it was open season on the whole Livingstone/Lee Jasper race relations industry apologising for slavery and excusing Islamic terrorism because everything was the fault of the west.
Opinions that had been marginalised because people were afraid to voice them for fear of losing their jobs became mainstream. The real indication of the change was of course Comment is Free. When, as with the current Hugh Muir diatribe, almost ninety nine per cent of comments are hostile, when Lutfur apologists like Giles Fraser get the same treatment it is clear that we live in interesting times.
I expect to see police officers charged with if not actual criminal offences then certainly disciplinary ones.
Going for the Prescient Award again Dave? 😉
I can’t help but think that a new Editor at the Guardian might shake things up a bit. When does he start?
If that person want’s to stave off bankruptcy they will need to get rid of a load of dead wood. At the moment they are keeping going with the interest they are getting for the sale of half of a well know car sales magazine which is in an offshore account.
Could be a she and might.
I expect to see police officers charged with if not actual criminal offences then certainly disciplinary ones.
Then ‘someone’ needs to complain to the IPCC otherwise, knowing how excellent police cover-ups can be, nothing much will happen. Some cops will receive “advice”, that’s all.
Curious Cat.
One of the downsides of all this for one of Lufur’s staunchest supporters, Dave Hill of Al Grauniad, is that if he gets the push by the new editor, Rahman won’t be able to get him a highly paid job on East End Life. As his wife is an Al Grauniad executive I should imagine he’ll be all right though.
It occurs to me that one of the first cases the police should be investigating is that of the allegations of wife beating made against Helal Abbas Uddin. As people will recall, and Peter Golds refers to it in his long post on Conservative Home, five years ago the CPS , after a police investigation, charged the then editor of London Bangla Shah Yusuf with various breaches of electoral acts because of an advert placed in the paper which denigrated Abbas. They then, without explanation, dropped the case.
He persisted with a private prosecution and a couple of months ago won an admission of liability and damages from Yusuf which means that Abbas was right and the CPS and the Met were wrong.
It seems to me that he should do two things. Make a complaint against the CPS and the Met to the IPCC and launch a private action for damages against both. Once this is done various possibilities occur under the FoI which might start to reveal a can of worms. In fact it’s almost guaranteed to as if the editor has admitted liability what defence do the CPS and the Met have? None I would think.
Eric’s Fond Farewell to Tower Hamlets
At less than 2.1/2 minutes before 6 p.m. on election eve, with the sweat pouring from his troubled brow, Eric the Pickles from up North (now M25 junction 27), penned his final and last minute Order to London’s sleaziest (Thanks to the their protectors The Met Police) borough council, Tower Hamlets.
Basically Eric don’t trust the rotters in Tower Hamlets council.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/additional-directions-to-the-council-of-the-london-borough-of-tower-hamlets-and-related-documents
Letter from DCLG to Tower Hamlets council dated 6 May 2015 on further directions
“The Secretary of State notes the comments you make about delivering the mayoral election and the by-election in the Ward of Stepney. He also notes that you suggest there were a number of factual inaccuracies and unsound assumptions in my letter of 29 April.
“Having considered your comments, the Secretary of State remains of the view that my letter of 29 April accurately characterises the circumstances of the Authority, and that the risks of poor governance and financial mismanagement are significantly greater than he was previously aware.”
……………. etc ……………….. etc …………………
Curious Cat
I think you’ll find Paul Rowsell Deputy Director – Democracy at the
Department for Communities and Local Government actually wrote the letter.
Any suggestions as to what else the Commissioners should be looking at should be addressed to paul.rowsell@communities.gsi.gov.uk 🙂
In the meantime, this is the news item on the LBTHwebsite – posted 5th May – which confirms there is no Mayor – until one is elected and that all decision-making lies in the hands of the Cabinet collectively. Now I’m really worried!
New government powers planned
Following the removal of Lutfur Rahman as mayor by an election court last week, further changes are being proposed to the way the council is run.
Last week, the council received a letter from the Secretary of State outlining plans to issue additional directions to the authority.
This would give existing government-appointed commissioners new powers.
The council now has until May 6 to respond to this proposal.
The Secretary of State, Eric Pickles, has appointed two new commissioners, Chris Allison and Alan Wood, to join the existing team of Sir Ken Knight and Max Caller who were sent in by the government in December to oversee several functions of the council, including allocation of grants.
The council has also received a direction which clarifies an earlier direction to appoint a permanent head of paid service.
A council spokesman said: “The DCLG has outlined its plans for further intervention. We welcome all constructive engagement with the government.
“Throughout this process, and the parallel process of the election petition hearing and judgment, our priority has continued to be the provision of excellent local services to our residents. This continues to be the case.”
Following the judgment of the election court on April 23, the Electoral Commission has now determined that the former mayor’s party, Tower Hamlets First, can no longer remain registered as a political party.
This means that although Tower Hamlets First councillors remain in post and can still be known as such, future candidates cannot stand in the party’s name.
Deputy mayor Oliur Rahman, who had acted in place of the mayor since the court judgement, confirmed on April 29 that he was unable to continue to do so. Until a new mayor is elected, those powers now lie with the cabinet members collectively, unless they choose to appoint one of their members to act in place of the mayor.
Following the court judgement, the council has put in place a package of measures to ensure a fair election.
Voting for an executive mayor and a councillor for Stepney Green Ward will take place on June 11.
May 5, 2015″
Yes indeed. You are correct. Gemma Penn typed the action directions.
However very busy Mr Rowsell, who is very busy all the year round and too busy to worry about public complaints of bad election laws, was obviously told by Eric want to write.
In some ways it would be good for Eric to continue his existing Secretary of State rôle.
I was very unimpressed with the Labour Group’s Leader’s letter. It was horrible. Conversely Peter Golds business-like letter was very professional, very competent and most reassuring.
Curious Cat.
Added to which this might be of interest.
PROBE INTO VOTES BY SCOTLAND YARD.
East London Advertiser May 7th 2015. Mike Brooke.
Detectives Look Into 47 Claims of Election Fraud.
New evidence has emerged from 47 allegations reported to police about reelection malpractices in the 2014 polls which re-elected Lutfur Rahman as Tower Hamlets Mayor for second term.
Scotland Yard has now appointed a detective superintendent from the Homicide and Major Crime Command to to take charge of a study of of the 200- page High Court report that ousted Lutfur Rahman from office on April 23rd, following a six-week election petition hearing.
Five new allegations of election fraud which had not been previously reported to to police were identified in the court judgement. Four are now being assessed to see if a criminal investigation should be carried out, Scotland Yard confirmed on Friday.
The inquiry team applied for an extension of the time limit for criminal proceedings to be brought ” due to the exceptional circumstances of the case”, which has been granted under The Representation of the People Act.
” We received 164 complaints of electoral malpractice in Tower Hamlets in the lead up to, during and after the election last May”, a Scotland Yard spokesman revealed. ” Every allegation reported to police was investigated to establish if any criminal offences had been committed”.
The Met supplied evidence to Crown Prosecutors about four allegations. Now Fifth has been added to the investigations.
But the man who brought down the now-discredited mayor is now calling for the investigation to include allegations of ” widespread Town Hall corruption” following auditors Price Waterhouse Cooper’s report into council funding allocations before Christmas.
Anti-corruption campaigner Andy Erlam, who has put his hat into the ring for the re-run election on June 11, wants council spending to be investigated.
” At last the Met Police have swung into action”, he added. ” Now that Eric Pickles has grasped the nettle, I’m delighted the Met has too”.
Police this week pledged to to protect ” the integrity of the democratic process” for today’s general election and the re-run election for mayor in June, with additional fficer on duty at polling stations.
The Town Hall declined to comment.
Does the person who voted this down think there should be no investigation? Or do they just not like ELA reporting?
Why exactly are the Town Hall declining to comment – and who decided this was the right approach?
Where is the statement about “co-operating fully with the investigation but there will be no further comments etc”?
The down voter will be Marc Francis.
Curious Cat.
It looks like Glyn Robbins has allowed you long post about the electoral court decision to stay up on his web site. It has yet to appear on either Counterfire or Operation Black Vote and I doubt that it will which is a testimony to the lies and corruption of both. Maybe dave.hill@guardian.co.uk would also be interested in it as he is a long time apologist for Lutfur Rahman.
Can’t find my comment on Glyn Robbins site. Was going to do a copy-and-paste.
Can’t remember what I posted. Was it from
http://law.slough.info/law46/law46p000.php
– that one page judgement summary list ?
“342
It follows that the court is satisfied that false registration, false voting contrary to s.61(1) and personation by persons who are in law the agents of Mr Rahman has been proved to the requisite standard.
373
The court is therefore satisfied that agents of Mr Rahman were guilty of breaches of s.62A of the 1983 Act and thus of corrupt practices.”
……………….. etc etc etc ….
Curious Cat
(today we have Tower Hamlets-style spiritual influence and election expenses fiddling – who claimed Tower Hamlets has a monopoly on local corruption?)
CC. Go to the about third one down, it has nine entries and is something like ” statement on the election” or some such. It was there a few minutes ago.
Done.
CC.
No thread on GE?
Entrance to Shapla Polling Station moved to Well close Square ( north side).
Early voters confused.
Black/ yellow no cross tape delimiting no go area for party members – of which there are none present.
Police present and being monitored by other police.
All quiet suppose 11th June will be more interesting.
My Polling Station was extremely quiet. Just one lone chap from the Labour Party outside standing near but back from the entrance ie. a nice judgement as to proximity.
Absolutely nobody else in sight except for a steady stream of voters. I noted a lot of elderly people and quite a few younger people.
What’s going to be very interesting is:
1) what sort of turnout percentage is achieved
2) who they vote for given the absence of candidates associated with the ex-Mayor.
Commentary on the Directions from the government in Local Government Chronicle
http://www.lgcplus.com/news/politics/pickles-imposes-additional-directions-on-tower-hamlets/5084810.article
Article in the Evening Standard about all the extra Police at Polling Stations for today’s General Election
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/hundreds-of-police-officers-guarding-tower-hamlets-polling-stations-10231302.html
There seems to be an amazing amount of ignorance about the fact that it’s not unusual to see a policeman outside a Polling Station to ‘keep the peace’.
Interestingly I’ve also found the Electoral Commission “Polling Station handbook for Police and Crime Commissioners”
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/148462/PCC-Polling-station-handbook.pdf
Interestingly I’ve also found the Electoral Commission “Polling Station handbook for Police and Crime Commissioners”
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/148462/PCC-Polling-station-handbook.pdf
Created 30 July 2014, the one page PDF file states
“Polling station handbook for Police and Crime Commissioner elections
This document is in development and is not currently available.
If you have any questions about this document in relation to upcoming Police and Crime Commissioner by-elections, please contact your local Commission Office. ”
————
Clearly demonstrates how unfit-for-purpose (except derision) the Electoral Commission is.
CC.
Very much my way of thinking!
To the “tetchy person” who voted down my post, I also speak as somebody who has been a Presiding Officer at a Polling Station in more than one Election.
General Election results
Bethnal Green & Bow
Lab hold with a 46.0% majority, 64% turnout
candidates votes %
Rushanara Ali 32,387 61.2%
Matt Smith 8,070 15.3%
Alistair Polson 4,906 9.3%
Paula McQueen 3,219 6.1%
Teena Lashmore 2,395 4.5%
Glyn Robbins 949 1.8%
M Rowshan Ali 356 0.7%
Jonathan Dewey 303 0.6%
Alasdair Henderson 203 0.4%
Elliot Ball 78 0.1%
Jason Pavlou 58 0.1%
Poplar & Limehouse
Lab hold with a 33.2% majority, 62% turnout
candidates votes %
Jim Fitzpatrick 29,886 58.5%
Christopher Wilford 12,962 25.4%
Nicholas McQueen 3,128 6.1%
Maureen Childs 2,463 4.8%
Elaine Bagshaw 2,149 4.2%
Hugo Pierre 367 0.7%
Rene Mugenzi 89 0.2%
The Election Troll – who doesn’t like anybody reporting facts – is at it again!
Compare these results to the General Election in 2010……
General Election: Bethnal Green and Bow 2010
Electorate: 79,581
Turnout: 50,728 (62.4%) +10.9
It’s numbers, percentage of vote and percentage change
Rushanara Ali Labour 21,784 42.9 +8.4
Ajmal Masroor Liberal Democrat 10,210 20.1 +7.8
Abjol Miah Respect 8,532 16.8 −19.8
Zakir Khan Conservative 7,071 13.9 +2.0
Jeffrey Marshall BNP 1,405 2.8 N/A
Farid Bakht Green 856 1.7 −2.8
Patrick Brooks Independent 277 0.5 N/A
Alexander van Terheyden Pirate 213 0.4 N/A
Hasib Hikmat Independent 213 0.4 N/A
Haji Mahmood Choudhury Independent 100 0.2 N/A
Ahmed Abdul Malik Independent 71 0.1 N/A
General Election 2010: Poplar and Limehouse
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Fitzpatrick* 18,679 40.0 +4.7
Conservative Tim Archer 12,649 27.1 +2.6
Respect George Galloway* 8,460 17.5 -0.7
Liberal Democrat Jonathan Fryer 5,209 11.2 -2.8
UKIP Wayne Lochner 565 1.2 +1.2
English Democrats Andrew Osborne 470 1.0 +1.0
Green Chris Smith 449 1.0 -1.7
Independent Kabir Mahmud 293 0.6 +0.6
Independent Mohammed Hoque 167 0.4 +0.4
Independent Jim Thornton 59 0.1 +0.1
Majority 6,030 12.9
Turnout 46,700 62.3 +12.2
Labour win (new seat)
…and <b.The Local Elections in 2014 – which have now been undermined following the Electoral Court
Election results by party
Party name Seats won % of votes
Labour 22 38.59%
Tower Hamlets First 18 34.94%
Conservative 5 12.13%
Green 0 6.29%
Liberal Democrat 0 3.19%
United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) 0 2.86%
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 0 1.21%
Independent 0 < 1%
The Peace Party – Non-Violence, Justice, Environment 0 < 1%
Red – Flag Anti-Corruption 0 < 1%
Turnout: 47.20%
Bottom line – the Conservatives appear have doubled their vote since last year
For those wondering what happened to George Galloway – he was trounced!
PLUS he was reported to the Returning Officer for breaching the rules relating to campaigning during the period of the actual vote. Expect that one to get followed up.
Bradford West
Lab gain from Respect with a 28.3% majority, 64% turnout
candidates votes %
Naseem Shah 19,977 49.6%
George Galloway 8,557 21.2%
George Grant 6,160 15.3%
Harry Boota 3,140 7.8%
Alun Griffiths 1,173 2.9%
Celia Hickson 1,085 2.7%
James Kirkcaldy 100 0.3%
Therese Hirst 98 0.2%
This is the guardian report on his campaign and result
George Galloway loses Bradford West seat to Labour’s Naz Shah
Respect party leader beaten comfortably by rival after campaign characterised by personal attacks, threats of legal action and claims of breaches in electoral law
That leaves George Galloway free to stand for Mayor of Tower Hamlets!
I wish he’d just F Off!
If he got in, talk about out of the fire and into the frying pan!
I wonder if Pickles will now push for holding the entire Lbth elections again? If fraud and improper conduct was evident enough to oust Rahman and Choudary, surely the same would apply to the other crooks who got in via the same rotten means?
Come on, hold them all again, ban postal votes and have real police at all polling stations.
I guess it depends on what happens as a result of his breaches of the electoral rules. Will he be allowed to stand again in an election?
Plus do people in Tower Hamlets really want somebody who has failed in a very significant way in another place?
Or somebody who could present the risk that yet another election might get declared to be void?
My own view is that those people of Bangladeshi heritage who are fine upstanding citizens deserve somebody who does not cheat to get what they want.
After all Rushanara Ali demonstrates it can be done – she’s increased her vote in both percentage terms and actual votes.
He’s out of time to apply in Tower Hamlets but he could have a swansong in the London Mayoral.
No – he said he wasn’t going to apply for that.
He said a few other things too. None of them would have surprised Judge Mawrey! However social media appears to have been making the most of the very bizarre nature of his remarks in his speech at the Count.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/05/08/george-galloway-loses-bradford-west-respect-party-speech_n_7239950.html
Interesting article by David Morley in the Guardian today
George Galloway may have lost his seat – but this isn’t the last we’ll see of him
The ex-Bradford West MP, a tireless and pernicious rabble-rouser, sees himself as be a true defender of the working people. He won’t be retiring any time soon.
Perhaps the most interesting comment comes towards the end
Now that Rabina Khan has declared her candidacy I thought it might be timely to have a look at her career. http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabina_Khan, as with all wiki entries needs to be read with care. Lee Jasper’s being a case in point!
I started making inquiries about her and people who have been around Tower Hamlets and in particular its arts scene for many years can’t remember some of the claims. Can anyone help?
I have a copy of her book Rainbow Hands, sometimes Ayesha’s Rainbow, and found it the Bangladeshi equivalent of Mills and Boon, a dire cliched multi cultural boring read that might have been commissioned by the Commission for Racial Equality.
What is interesting is to compare some of the blurb with he more recent anti white statements about colonialism when she was defending money to Bangladeshi and Somali groups and for mother tongue teaching.
I’ll regale you with some of the worst of the purple prose.
” For the past thirteen years, ( this is 2003 ) Rabina Khan has lived in Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. She has worked on a variety of community initiatives to help develop understanding between people, to access opportunities into education, housing, health and employment. At the moment she is working with the Environment Trust and her love of reading has prompted her to write this story.
Rabina is married with two children and her strong desire is to see them grow up in a harmonious, multi-racial society, without fear of prejudice. She wrote her novel to show how people of different backgrounds can come together to challenge racism and bridge gaps between themselves”. Hang on in, it gets worse!
Review of Rainbow Hands.
This beautifully told story must make us all sit up and think. It delves into racial tensions without falling into the well-known trap of complete bias.
This author has managed to portray the many issues and cleverly let us see both sides of the same coin.
She has allowed us into two families, one Bangladeshi and one from the East End. We see prejudices from them both.
We start with Mrs Peters, a wonderful elderly lady and truly loyal East Ender, finding a Bangladeshi family moving into the flat next door.
She reflects over her life, the good old days when her beloved husband was alive, and recalls their struggle to bring up their children. Every memory evokes images for us all and fills us with nostalgia.
We then learn the true values of the Ali family from Bangladesh and how hard they had to work for any kind of recognition. Each family seems resigned to keep themselves to themselves but they hadn’t reckoned on Ayesha.
The little eight year old eats into everyone’s hearts and her desire to plant a sunflower, something so simple, draws the families together. She is a delightful, inquisitive child, yet even she cannot penetrate the heart of stone that reigns in Graham, Mrs Peters youngest child, although now a man.
He hates anyone with a different skin colour to himself. His mother tries in vain to get him to change his ways and then she is tragically attacked.
This is an ideal situation for Graham to blame the Ali’s son. A couple of prejudiced policemen are called to to the scene but they had not reckoned on Detective Sergeant Brown, a pride to any force, as he sets about getting to the bottom of this horrendous attack.
The research is deep and meaningful and steeped in recent historical events. It will make you angry, it will make you smile, it will make you sad, but it will certainly make you want to keep on reading it.
Wendy Lake. Writer and Novelist.
Talk about pass the sick bag Alice!
I would suspect that much of the CV is fake. I know that she claimed to have worked in a well know Brick Lane based youth and community project but nobody can remember her.
Her business affairs could do with a bit of scrutiny as well. As Ted has pointed out in another part of the site she has folded a publishing company but is involved in one at the moment with a gentleman who is a serial starter and folder of limited companies.
http://www.companycheck.co.uk/company/06416568/SILSILA-PRODUCTIONS/directors-secretaries/ if this doesn’t work 00416568
Have a look at Mr Habibur Rahman.
I took a look at Google Books and found you could read it online
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=J9eMgAdld5kC&lpg=PP1&dq=rainbow%20hands&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=rainbow%20hands&f=false
It appears to be a self-published effort via this outfit http://www.authorsonline.co.uk which looks very much like a ‘vanity publisher’
People should have a read and make their own minds up.
And they all lived happily ever after!
I wonder who is giving these thumbs downs. Any guesses anybody?
PICKLES out
Tower Hamlets friend, Eric Pickles is OUT.
The new Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government is:
The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP
Greg Clarke has been Chairman of The Football League since 2010 and was previously Chairman and a Director of Leicester City FC.
Born: August 28, 1967 (age 47), Middlesbrough
Conservative Party
Magdalene College, Cambridge,
London School of Economics and Political Science
Bring-back Eric – the public’s champion !
Curious Cat
He used to be a colleague of mine in the Open University Business School. I never understood why he wanted to sell his soul to the Tory Party. In previous incarnations he plotted to emasculate further the trade unions but he didn’t realise the enormity of what he was proposing. Not promising
If you used to teach at the OU Business School it’s no wonder that the Environment Trust went under. I have an MBA from the OU and wasn’t impressed by the quality of the teaching. But I was by then actually running businesses!
Well we all have different experiences of teachers, Dave, and it would be impossible to deny that we have our weak links just like any other organisations. But since we consistently come first or second in student satisfaction surveys and are one of a very few Business Schools accredited by AMBA, AACSAB and EQUUS we must be doing quite a lot right. I’m just sorry your experience wasn’t better. If you’d like to tell me privately what the problems were, it would be helpful feedback.
I closely examined OU computer course material 15 years ago. I thought it was and sub-standard and created by people who didn’t know much about ‘computers’ or how to teach students about computers. Some summers OU computer students come to me asking for helping understanding their course work.
Pickles has been demoted and is . Shame !
It appears there will be announcement as to what’s coming next for our friend Pickles
Looks like he’s going to become the new ‘anti-corruption czar’.
Should be interesting!
Very long overdue. Never-the-less immensely welcome. Think he might visit liker TH first ?
CC.
Let’s hope so.
Been patiently waiting for ages for a hint of Pickles but absolutely none on http://www.number10.gov.uk
Hope he doesn’t just fade away.
CC.
The newspaper report I saw said the announcement is coming later this week.
Peter Golds was officially selected tonight 11th May as the candidate for the Conservative Party in the TH Mayoral election on the 11th June. We had a very well attended selection process with Peter and Ahmed Hussain both standing as candidates, after they both presented and answered questions from the audience Peter was elected as our candidate.
To my unbiased opinion, Peter Golds seems the Right man for the job.
You can trust Labur to selfishly sabotage the public’s best interests for Labur’s political gain. Labur don’t really care – except for their own egos and own interests.
Look at the TH election petition – Labur were content for Son of Labour (Lutfur Rahman) to carry on as usual.
Lets add Andy Erlam as deputy mayor !
Curious Cat
Neither Labour not anybody else, turned Rahman into a lying crook. It wasn’t just labour that stood by and did nothing, it was also Central Government, the Electroal Commission and the Police.
Good point Jay Kay.
Obviously an independent public enquiry is needed – will we get it ?
Failures by:-
1. Labour (ignoring the public interest)
2. Central government (HMG, not bothered)
3. Electoral Commission (unfit for any purpose)
4. Met Police (blind to anything resembling real work)
Hardly an impressive list of organisations.
Curious Cat
P.S. How is the Mayor’s appeal going ……………. ?
Interesting situation emerging on the NEC front
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/11/labour-christine-shawcroft-suspended-lutfur-rahman-tower-hamlets
“Christine Shawcroft faces disciplinary procedures after defending former Tower Hamlets mayor kicked out of office last month”
Christine Shawcroft is of course a former LBTH Councillor – and she gave evidence at the Electoral Court re. NEC minutes and proceedings of the NEC – which gave rise to negative comments from Mawrey about processes adopted by the NEC. I don’t recall anybody else from the NEC being given the opportunity to refute or expand on her evidence.
I would imagine the Labour Party might very well see this as ‘bringing the party into disrepute’ – which might well explain why she has been suspended and Livingstone has not.
I THINK I also recall that she and John Biggs never got on well – but others will have much more accurate memories of their relationship and I may well be wrong.
This is another article on the same topic https://labourlist.org/2015/05/nec-member-christine-shawcroft-suspended-for-continued-lutfur-rahman-support/
Many did not get on with John. He has a personality which even a supporter will find at times a hardship to warm too let alone like. Lets hope labour grandes send him on a charm and personality course pdq so he can warm to the electorate.
Save money.
Vote for Peter Golds instead – He is Tower Hamlerts best.
CC.
Biggs is now assuming that he is in as Mayor, this isn’t the case and a lot of work has to be done. I started this debate with an observation about how vanity candidates with vanity politics let Gulam Robbani in in Spitalfields and the same could happen next month.
It is possible that Rabina Khan could be elected, by a narrow majority yes but still elected. It’s time for people to realise that and to start to think and act tactically.
Oh, and that he actually gets out and campaigns.
A lot of the infighting going on now stems from the days when there was a continual competition for the leadership of the Labour group and then leadership of the council. Shawcroft was definitely of the loony left and was in constant conflict with Biggs and Keith. I don’t know if she was in Livingstone’s Socialist Action but was certainly involved in the Trot controlled London Labour Briefing along with the editor of East End News Jenny Fisher.
Happily they are has beens. The revolution by the working classes never materialised so they switched their hopes to ethnic minorities and were well and truly shafted. They still don’t understand what happened.
Just saw a result for the Trades Union and Socialist Coalition in Rainham North or some such place down the A13. They got 0 votes. Their candidate didn’t even vote for himself! Glyn Robbins is also silent on what happened. He doesn’t get very many visitors to his site so pop over and say something nice to him people. http://www.glynrobbins.wordpress.com.
I thought I had replied to Dave’s comment about the OUBS but I can’t see it so maybe I didn’t press the button. I said that it is impossible to deny that we have our weak links, like every other organisation but that since we came first or second in pretty well every student satisfaction survey, and are one of very few business schools accredited by all of AMBA, AACSAB and Equus, we must be doing some things right. But if Dave would like to let me know in private the sources of his problems, it would be useful feedback.
….and the candidates are….
http://www.itv.com/news/london/2015-05-14/full-list-of-opponents-in-battle-for-tower-hamlets-council-to-be-revealed-today/
Erlam and Gold or Gold and Erlam is the strongest and the best – providing Gold’s national political party doesn’t interfere in local affairs.
Biggs and nasty Labour are useless in Tower Hamlets – content to let Son of Labour get away with all his hanky panky yet again.
Don’t like anything resembling (to me) Moslem fundamentalists. Moderate Moslem countries don’t tolerate them !
Curious Cat.
I’m flattered Peter has pinched my “goingforgolds” as his website and twitter name.
All this talk of an invisible Biggs is wide of the mark. He has been out on the streets lots since his campaign launch. A one minute web search shows that.
proves only that several web sites have information.
We live in the days of gross manipulation. Creating web content and sending-out press releases often distorts reality.
Child on the 168/170 to school.
Anybody noticed the new Header image on Trial by Jeory? 😀
Surely that is NOT from the propaganda department of London’s most notorious council ?
Telling the truth. Unbiased informing the public. Gosh whatever next ?
CC
Al Gruaniad are deleting comments referring to Giles Fraser and the £2000 from Lutfur. Scumbags. Dave Hill is claiming he never ever supported Rahman and it’s all right wing lies and smears.