I’ve written before about the strange parallels between the 2010-15 Clown Period of Tower Hamlets politics and the current circus of Corbyn’s Labour party (threats of legal actions, Respect and Momentum, infiltration, intimidation, Ken Livingstone, Jon Lansman etc etc…
So it wasn’t particularly surprising that last night, as Labour’s NEC squabbled over their party’s rule book and who could stand for leader, a similar meeting was being held at the Teviot Centre in Poplar by the collection of councillors currently calling themselves Tower Hamlets Independent Group, or THING.
This meeting, held to discuss among other things who would be THING’s mayoral candidate for 2018, was not only attended by Lutfur Rahman, but he presided over it as well.
And, quelle surprise, it ended in bitterness – and allegations of physical intimidation.
By way of background, Lutfur has apparently for the past couple of months been anointing that seesaw of a councillor, Ohid Ahmed (one day’s he’s a defecting independent, the next he’s back with THING), as his chosen candidate for 2018.
Quite why he’s chosen Ohid is anyone’s guess. It’s mysterious. Why not stick with Rabina Khan, who polled 27,000 votes in last year’s mayoral election and who could quite easily broaden her support base? Perhaps he’s worried if Rabina won in 2018, he’d never get back in after his ban expires in time for 2022. Rabina was not of course Lutfur’s first choice for mayoral candidate after he was kicked out of office last year. He had to be persuaded to back her. He originally wanted a man.
So at the meeting last night, there was a disagreement about the process to choose the official candidate.
The disagreement, according to those there, turned into a full blown shouting match with what some felt was an air of physical intimidation.
So much so that group leader Oli Rahman, Aminur Khan, his wife Rabina and Shah Alam have filed an official complaint to their own party about Mr Selfie himself, the not-always-so-mild mannered Mahbub Alam.
The complaint was sent to THING’s chair, Abdul Asad, who has apparently since resigned for personal reasons.
Here it is:
Cllr Abdul Asad
Chair of TH IG
Date: 13 July 2016
We are writing to you as the Chair of the THI group to make an official complaint regarding the verbal, physical behaviour and conduct of Cllr Mahbub Alam at the group meeting took place on 12 July 2016.
We are shocked and saddened how Cllr Alam behaved, getting up from his chair threatening leader of the group Cllr Oliur Rahman, Cllr Shah Alam and Cllr Aminur Khan. We believe, his behaviour was a breach of council’s code of conduct and our group Constitution. We expected him to be reprimanded, however to our disappointment that did not take place.
His behaviour was unacceptable and we seek for you to take appropriate action. Cllr Mahbub Alam stood up from his chair and threatened firstly Cllr Rahman, then Cllr Shah Alam and Cllr Aminur Khan, then Cllr Mahbub Alom tried to attack Cllr Khan physically, which was totally unacceptable.
We are now asking you as group chair to take appropriate action and if no action is taken then we will have no alternative but to complaint to councils monitoring officer.
We, look forward to your reply.
Kind Regards
Cllr Aminur Khan
Cllr Oliur Rahman
Cllr Rabina Khan
Cllr Shah Alam
Throughout much of this, sources tell me, Lutfur sat there allowing the fighting to continue before finally intervening.
I suspect the upshot of it all will be another split in THING, with the group of four forming their own group.
If you thought Lutfur was gone for good, think again. It’s amazing how bankruptcy can focus the mind.
Trial by Jeory 
Antics that would look backward in a kintergarten playground and yet they think they are suitable for public office. Worse – The Despicable Rahman has held public office (albeit briefly, and gained through corruption). This meeting makes the Labour contest look like a well-organised and orderly affair in much the same way as The Despicable Rahman makes Corbyn look like a colossus of statesmanlike behaviour.
I note that their skills in written English haven’t improved either.
The shameful thing is that peasants like this are given funding and airtime. Tragic, on every level.
Tim. I wonder who are these two thumbs downers.
In the same week as the UK plunged from crisis to crisis and a buffoon was appointed foreign minister, The Royal Borough of Tower Hamlets was determined to publicise its most famous politician and his squabbling rabble.
If there was ever a need for a moderate non-political group in Tower Hamlets politics the evidence has emerged yet again.
Does anyone really expect his former Royal Highness, King of Tower Hamlets, to pop-up again as a real election candidate ?
Anyone got an update on the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority’s investigation and also on the Met’s investigation ? Its been too quiet for too long.
Curious Cat
I Love the EU.
Good question about the other investigations Curious Cat. I had assumed that the Met had dropped the affair as it was too politically hot to handle. They are at least partially to blame for the fact that The Despicable Rahman gained power in the first place and any investigation would involve washing a lot of dirty linen in public.
Concerning Tim’s comments on police cover ups I am of the understanding that the Tower Hamlets Chief Super who actually did the covering up, one Streeter, has now been promoted to something in Scotland Yard.
Overall the whole THING thing has become street theatre and the party continues to decline. Expect to see defections to Labour and or Tories as various incompetent opportunists seek to protect their only source of income, their councillors allowances.
Unless the corruptly and illegally elected THInG recruit some more candidates and supporters they’re going nowhere. If the gang of 4 split they’ll go nowhere even faster as no mainstream political party will want them.
Jay Kay. I wouldn’t be so sure about them not being allowed into other parties in the borough. The Lib Dems could do with a few councillors due to the lack of any at the moment so there could be a home for them there. I was surprised when Peter Golds and the Tories accepted what was his name when he defected from Respect to the Conservatives so anything is possible.
I am also not surprised at the current lack of interest by the left in their former white hopes of Respect and Tower Hamlets First, now of course THING. Two of the most vocal supporters, after the Socialist Rapists Party, were Glyn Robbins of Respect and the Trades Union and Socialist Coalition and Dave Hill who describes himself as a Guardian journalist.
The latter is in fact allowed to write a blog, which can be found on the Guardian website, only because his wife is a Guardian executive, and the former is also that favourite of Comment is Free, an activist/writer and blogger!
Google both of them in relation to Lutfur Rahman to see just how wrong that section of the left get things and how they then drop the whole thing when it goes pear shaped.
I would agree that on the face of it no normal party would touch any of Lutfu’s band of crooks with a barge pole but Tower Hamlets isn’t, in this respect, normal. I have tried to point out to people over the years that Bangladeshi and Kashmiri politics, which is what essentially Respect and the various movements it spawned were, are just that. The politics of various mostly rural parts of south Asia transported to East London, Bradford and other places. I remember when Galloway was elected in Bradford a manufacturer of left wing tee and sweat shirts produced one with the slogan ” Bradford Spring”. There are probably a lot of them still in a warehouse somewhere.