OK, it’s been a while and I won’t promise anything regular, but as it’s election time I thought this site could do with a little activity.
A senior Labour member I spoke to today believes John Biggs has it in the bag, albeit with one caveat that if there has been some sort of deal between Rabina Khan and the Tories (as quite a few have rumoured) in which Tory supporters are urged to give their second preferences to Rabina, then there could be a small problem. But on reflection he thought that wouldn’t even matter.
He thinks as this would be John’s last term, he would be free to enact some bold policies without the worry of bickering internal Labour politics (which sounds like wishful thinking to me…).
Has there been a deal between Rabina and Peter Golds? I’ve deliberately not spoken to either of them on this yet and just wanted to float that idea first.
It is also widely rumoured that she has long done a deal with Elaine Bagshaw’s Lib Dems, which is far more plausible given the potential trouble the Tories might from CCHQ.
And what’s confirmed is that she has accepted Helal Abbas’s lieutenant, Cllr Khales Uddin, as one of her candidates who was recently deselected by Labour amid allegations he had racially abused a fellow party member (he denies that). Rabina believes this shows her People’s Alliance party is a broad church because Khales was a key figure in the Election Court hearing that brought down Lutfur. He also happens to be personally popular in his Bromley North seat.
Rabina is desperate for all the help she can get having fallen out spectacularly with her old Lutfur crew, the consequences of which have seen her the target of some fairly hostile personal attacks.
And a leaflet issued by her team setting out her manifesto is one of the most grown up pieces of work I’ve seen in Tower Hamlets, but that’s possibly because she doesn’t have any party apparatus to speak of.
In it she pledges not only a cross party cabinet (on the face of it a bold and good idea, but fraught with problems) and that could be a clue to that rumoured deal.
And then there is this: she also promises to hold a referendum “to ask the people” whether they want to retain the mayoral system. The former Lutfur cheerleader, who at the time he was in power said there was nothing to see here, guv, now says “we all need a listening council that is both transparent and accountable”. Which is what they all say, I guess. However, it is welcome.
Her slogan is “for a fresh start” but that might well apply to her just as much as it does to Tower Hamlets. Her luck might be better third time around in four years’ time.
Here’s her leaflet.
And here’s a wee video someone sent me of her at a recent hustings. My source said this was Rabina “unshackled”, although to me it just likes a normal politician speaking sensibly at an event. That’s progress.
Trial by Jeory 
Nice to see you back. Thanks for the views. They really help me keep/get a perspective
If people vote for her it will be like Stockholm Syndrome on an epic scale! She is basically saying “even though I’d be a dreadful mayor and more divisive than you can possibly possibly imagine, vote for me and I promise to abolish my own job.”
I wouldn’t trust her at all. I also think it’s bizarre to think there could be any sort of rapprochement between her and Peter Golds …. she used to behave towards him in the most vile and hysterical way in the council chamber.
Will Rabina and Ohid do some sort of last minute deal or will they really go head to head? On Ohid’s literature Lutfur is not mentioned at all – at least in the English language version
What’s his role?
Great stuff, Welcome Back Ted!
An opinion, for what it is worth:
With more parties, and internal party politics, split – maybe not down the middle – but certainly split to a point where what could be seen as a safe seat, might now go to a third party challenger as a result of the split. And, then we are not even touching voter apathy, with voters either staying at home or angry enough to make (yet another) protest against the “establishment”.
I have for some time stated on Twitter that I would vote for the new Aspire party, as the two main parties in Wapping & St Katharine’s have nothing tangible offer. Apart from “riding” in only three months before the election and suddenly they want to promise the sky whilst taking a selfie video in front of discarded mattresses and other objects. As opposed to being consistent in helping throughout their term in office, or long-term campaign to get in.
In all fairness, Julia of the Conservatives has been good. But we have known since last General Election that she would leave. And the new team does not appear to offer anything of substance. Labour candidates are no better as they too have only shown up for election time.
Back to Aspire, I may have to change that line of thought, as I am impressed with your report on Rabina Khan – she could very well be the perceived outsider to take the crown in this race.
I have been at both hustings and the thing that stuck out to me regarding Rabina was that most of her points involved spending money and there wasn’t a clue as to where the money was going to come from. Rabina seems to live in a world where difficult choices aren’t necessary.
Rabina (in the second hustings in particular) was playing to the camera and not the audience. Lots of talk of “community leaders” – I’d love someone to explain to me what that means? I thought that’s who we vote in at the elections? Anyone else is surely self-appointed.
I left with a feeling that Rabina would split the borough. Her speech was very Bangla-centric and there was a level of spite about others that hinted she would only serve one section of the community (sound familiar?).
The organisation of this FoE hustings wasn’t great with Rabina, in particular, being allowed to rattle on whilst others were shut down for exceeding their time. Answers were limited to 1 minute sometimes, 2 minutes others, whilst at other times it seemed to be 5 minutes. Attendees were told on entry there were to be no questions from the floor – only written ones in advance. The organisers posed some VERY long questions/essays which were at times longer than the permitted answers! Then questions were taken from the floor…. The LCC hustings the Thursday before were much better and it was apparent more forethought had gone into how to run the event.
At least Rabina turned up, unlike Ohid.
If Ohid wins I’m revving up the wheels and getting the hell out of Dodge!
Missed you Ted!
I was wondering if Rabina Khan was cycling around the borough campaigning, or are we taxpayers footing the bill so she can run around in Taxi’s at our expense? All these wonderful people who have found a fresh start in her seem to have forgotten nust how much of the piss she has taken using taxi’s when she was cabinet member in Lutfur Rahman’s administration?
Rabina Khan is a FAKE and overtly too big for her own boots. She seems to think she is on the same par as to the likes of other BME female names such as Shami Chakrabarty and Salma Yaqoob!
Nice to have you back Ted. I am sure you can dig out the video of her election campaign launch at the Waterlilly back in 2015. A tear-jerking emotional Rabina constantly pointing to Lutfur Rahman in sympathy and gratitude. What a show?
Why on earth would she want to be bracketed with two non entities like Chakrabarty and Yaqoob?
Biggs is in trouble now that Helal Abbas has defected and if the rumours are true that Golds has done a deal with Rabina..The Labour party would say different wouldn’t they. I was at the Friends of the Earth hustings and none of the candidates impressed, even Biggs who appeared tired and worn out.Biggs only spoke of charging people more for services and “changing people’s behaviour,” and the others were only concerned with one or two sections of the community, not everybody. I wouldn’t trust Rabina, even less that she might hold a vote to lose her Mayoralty; a job she has long coveted.
Jay Kay. We’ll have to call you Mr Gobby. What is your evidence for Helal Abbas defecting and to whom? As far as I know he was out campaigning for Labour this week. If you want to be taken seriously you need to do a bit of fact checking.
Manifestos like Rabina’s usually make me angry as they seem to assume voters will be foolish enough to believe that money for all these wonderful things will grow on trees as soon as the candidate is elected. Nobody believes in ‘cutting Council’s waste’ any more. But in this case I think Rabina genuinely believes she can deliver, she is that foolish. She’d shown extreme ineptitude whilst being Lead Member for Housing under Lutfur and thus in charge of this pit of ineptitude and ill will that was Tower Hamlets Homes. After a few years in charge of housing she still doesn’t understand it would be illegal to cap leaseholders’ contributions and subsidise them from Council’s funds (and the Government ain’t gonna pay for this- if they did the cap woul be legal).
I’ve been also bowled over by her threat to resurrect the spectre of Estate Regeneration. You know the drill: developer gets a good deal, Council tenants cannot go back to their own homes, despite promises, leaseholders cannot afford the new flats with the money they got for their old ones, in other words social cleansing in all its glory. It looks like when you live on Council owned land you are never truly safe. (Where is Defend Social Housing when you need them?)
Of course it would be different this time cos Rabina will grow all this juicy money, so bad things won’t happen. Sadly grown ups don’t believe in money trees. I’m hopeful she’ll need a back up career plan after losing; I can see her as fairytale writer.
Dave, We’ll have to call you something unrepeatable unless you’re the Trial By Jeory blog police. I meant, of course, Khales Uddin. Thanks for pointing it out even though there was no need to be so fucking rude.
You call that rude! That reminds me of a Groucho Marx routine where a women says she has never been so insulted in her life. Groucho replies ” Get out more, meet people”!
Monja. If you want to know where Defend Social Housing is ask the Socialist Workers Party as they control it.
Welcome back – Great write up in the merry go round of Tower Hamlets Politics
Gloria. Are you standing again?
Hi Dave – No I’m not I no longer live in Tower Hamlets. Due to Eastend Homes ruining my estate I could not live there anymore . As Chair of Friends of Island Gardens very much interested in the shambles that iS Tower Hamlets Politics
You are sorely missed on the Island Gloria, even by hard core Labour voters.
Thank for those kind words, still there fighting to save Island Gardens for future generations. Despite some hoping we might go away because we know too much about a give way of Park land.
More to come before election
Rabina Khan promised residents under the management of the un-elected, undemocratic, inefficient and expensive Tower Hamlets Homes a referendum on whether to scrap it or not. She failed to deliver. Biggs promised to scrap THH as part of his election promised but disagreed with himself and extended its contract to 2020, effectively kicking it into the long grass to a time when he may not be Mayor.
Jay Kay. She can’t have failed to abolish the Mayoral system when she has yet to be elected. A small detail you seem to have overlooked.
I made no mention of it. Read my post. You need to learn to read before you spout your nonsense.
All good points. Yes pre Mayoral election Biggs was unrelenting in his criticism of TTH ,Fitzpatrick too. Stating the obvious, how much money would be saved. Many, many residents voted for him believing this inept ALMO would be abolished.
TTH gets worse by the week. Susmita Sen picks up £130,000 for doing zero. Nearly every council abolished ALMOs once they got the money from the Decent Homes Scheme. So Biggs stance is now very puzzling.Now we have TTH and the waste is shocking.
A army of caretakers employed, plus numerous managers and supervisors overseeing them, although they have no work to do. Their working day is barely 60 minutes. It just shows what the service charge system, nothing but a rip off. Just there to fund caretakers to sit on their backsides till they disappear home at 2.30, after their two hour lunches of course. I have spoken to many people and they say they have raised all these points numerous times with Biggs and Sen and that silly housing member Islam to no avail. Could not care less about the waste of our money.
Your point extending TTHs contract to 2020.Well again borough wide residents have allegedly been told by many TTH officers that in fact this little titbit was just for their residents consumption and in fact its a done deal, if Biggs is still in power TTH is here for ever.!
If Rabina Khan is serious THIS TIME about taking back control and ending TTH i think she will gain many votes. Biggs has proved what a complete joke he is. .Raising council tax to fund his pay increase, failure to cut council waste, still too many staff employed to do nothing. As i say i think his deceit on not ending TTH might well be his undoing. Khan if she is serious this time should be more forceful in getting across her policy of freezing council tax and the waste that is TTH.
What a catalogue of waste by Biggs when it comes to our money.Our East End, must be costing as such as the old newspaper East End Life. Journalists still on massive salaries, way over normal NUJ rates and a full advertising group who I am reliably told just sit around socialising all day. Ditto for TTHs mag too. How much is this costing? Probably more staff than some national newspapers. Anyone who promises to cull the town hall staff and freezes council tax gets my vote.
I think you mean THH not TTH but apart from that a good post.
Hustings are very much everyone going through the motions as the decision on who is Mayor will be decided by the Bangladeshi community and the power brokers. I don’t have the last results in front of me but it wasn’t a exactly a massive vote of confidence in Labour and John Biggs
The election also came just after the court case that dumped Lutfur and there was a general desire to see a change in Tower Hamlets. Biggs hasn’t been exactly inspirational and with the lapse in time, new voters many of them Bangladeshi on the roll had there been only one Bangladeshi candidate I would have had money with Paddy Power on Biggs losing.
It seems that Lutfur Rahman is being a bit dog in the manger and cutting off his nose to spite his face by mounting a candidate of his own but things could change. It’s only necessary to see how the SWP who thought they controlled the failed Respect project were dumped at the last minute by the Bangladeshis when the orders went out to vote for the Bangladeshi Respect candidates and not the whites. What matters is power not principals and it may well be that it has been decided that Lutfur is a busted flush.
Even as I write this there will be frantic deals being done over jobs and grants and it definitely isn’t over until the fat lady sings.
Sating the obvious and liking the sound of your own posts is hardly useful.
I’m sure you have a point JK it’s that I don’t know what it is. Can you enlighten us?
When the Bangladeshi community only vote for Bangladeshi candidates is it racism or corruption or both?
No GM, it’s neither. It’s called reality. It’s the same reality the the loony left are still trying to understand over the collapse of Respect which is why, like so many other things, they simply don’t mention anymore, Galloway and the Bradford Spring being some some of them.
Sorry to spoil the party. My question has been with regard to Khales, that he was suspended for grounds that were not revealed whilst virulent anti-semites within the Labour Party seem to leave charmed lives. Khales did a lot for the election petitioners and we know that Christine Shawcroft both supported Lutfur Rahman and is a member in the Poplar and Limehouse Labour Party. Were there double standards in operation? As for deals, we went through that with the Lutfur machine spinning on its Town Hall Cambridge and Highgate axis, and was proven as nonsnense then..
I gave you a thumbs up for this Peter but I am afraid the demon thumbster may well be at work again! It used to be Marc Francis.
And some news just in. The former Labour councillors Nasir Uddin and Kumar Murshisd have been seen together in Tower hamlets leading to the inevitable speculation that they are planning a political come back. For our younger readers I will post soon some information about how the tax payers of London were cheated out of millions of pounds by a politically correct system that gave self elected BME, or is it BAME, millions in grants withe no need for accounts.
Yes you did read that correctly, no need for accounts as Kumar Murshid when asked for the books of one of his scams denounced the idea as racist and imperialist.
Sorry I’ve been so long but it’s about earning a living. Have a look at this and I’ll come back tomorrow with some juicy details of how to run a community scam.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/suspended-aide-what-the-police-are-already-investigating-6658844.html. Operation Black Vote and Black Londoners Forum and the people involved are what is of interest.