Tower Hamlets: A bit of a flashback

Tower Hamlets Councillor Rachel Saunders gives her personal take on what has gone wrong with the local Mayoral election.  Hat tip Labour List (and Unmesh Desai!)

"Thursday night, the night Labour lost Tower Hamlets, felt like a bit of a flashback. The venue was different, York Hall instead of Canary Wharf’s Winter Gardens, but Oliur Rahman and Rania Khan were doing V for Victory signs, hard working Labour activists were miserable and Ken Clark (London Labour's regional director) was at the front of the room looking grumpy.

One difference though – in 2006 I went up to a couple of Labour councillors and gave them a piece of my mind for working as a part of a group of Labour councillors who were making deals with Respect and others to save their own skins and knife councillors they disliked. This time Lutfur Rahman was victorious, but no longer in the Labour Party, at last openly supported by Respect and by others who travel through political parties as it suits them.

This election result came after a messy summer, where two separate panels made up of NEC and regional board members decided not to shortlist Lutfur Rahman, but he got on the shortlist through an appeal. Having previously declined to shortlist him, NEC members chose not to accept his nomination by the local party, and voted instead to impose the sitting council leader Helal Abbas.

Abbas is a decent man with an impressive personal story. From his leadership of the local squatters movement in the 1980s, standing up for Bengali families in desperate need who were excluded from social housing, to his record as the first Bangladeshi council leader, Abbas was the best candidate to steer us through the difficult times ahead. Why did he lose?

It will take a bit longer than a day to articulate what went on in the Bangladeshi community over the past few weeks and months. It is important to be clear that our greatest campaign leaders and activists were Bangladeshi, and that Lutfur presented himself as “Real Labour”, exactly like Respect before him – the bonds that tie our party to the east end of London remain strong, and our opponents only win by impersonating us.

I think our loss has two root causes. One, despite London region intending to run a short selection process and leave us a long summer to campaign, the cock ups and conspiracies meant we must have appeared to our electorate to spend the entire summer warring amongst ourselves. Combined with the London mayoral selection and leadership elections that many of us were involved in, we can’t blame our electorate for feeling like we lost our focus on what should really matter. We did continue to run campaign sessions several times a week, but not everyone will have seen us. This will have contributed to the very low turnout.

Secondly, Lutfur’s narrative was up and running before our story had its boots on. Lutfur presented himself as a victim of the evil Labour Party machine. He had much of the Bengali media behind him, and the intervention of Ken Livingstone, who turned up a few days before polling day and did a walkabout with Lutfur that the BBC were available to film, meant that Labour Party process was all anyone could talk about. Added to this was a smear campaign more filthy than I could have imagined – and I’ve seen a few nasty ones since Respect came into town.

Make no mistake though, there is no difference between the coalition of people that came within one councillor of toppling us in 2006 and the people who managed it on Thursday. Previously Ken Livingstone came to Tower Hamlets to slate Jim Fitzpatrick MP and give Galloway a hug, this time he slated Abbas and hugged Lutfur. Siraj of Clifton restaurant was a supporter of Galloway then and he’s a supporter of Lutfur now. Oliur Rahman, the first Respect councillor and opponent of Jim Fitzpatrick in 2005, who has been a member of four political groups in as many years (SWP/Respect, Left List, Labour, Lutfur), was crowing at the Labour defeat.

The selection process was a mess, but the NEC were absolutely right to stop Lutfur being the Labour candidate.

We defeated Respect convincingly in May 2010, and we’ll do it again. We’ll do it in exactly the same way. Again, we have a wave of new activists who are disgusted at what they have seen and want to defeat it. Again, we have excellent local organisation and hard working talented activists and councillors. We’re stronger than before, with two excellent Labour MPs. We’ll win back the hearts and minds of the people of Tower Hamlets through demonstrating that we understand their concerns, and that only Labour can represent the whole of our community.

This time we’ll have to stand up for them in opposition at the Town Hall. If you oppose the politics of hatred and division that Galloway stood for in Tower Hamlets - before we drummed him out - then stand with us".

Oh dear, what a shame, never mind, onwards and forwards

Check out the result of yesterday's election for Tower Hamlets Mayor here.

We live in interesting times in East London.

Stop the ConDems and Vote Labour, Vote Abbas for Labour Mayor

Polls open 7am today.  It is vital to send a message to the ConDem's about the "cuts" and get the Labour vote out.

If the Party can successfully "knock up" our supporters to come out and vote we will win. 

No doubt of this - whatsoever. 

So we need bodies to come and help!

In Bethnal Green volunteers should come to the Party rooms 349 Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9RA, 0207 729 6682 (5 minutes walk from Bethnal Green tube and opposite York Hall Leisure centre).

Poplar and Limehouse volunteers should go to 98 Copenhagen Place, E14 7DE, 07599617125.

If you can spare an hour today at all (especially after 4pm) then please do so. 

West Ham 6 play Millwall 4 (Abbas as Labour Mayor)

Apologies for post title but I just couldn't resist it. Yesterday I was out with a canvass team led by West Ham MP, Lyn Brown in Millwall, Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets.  We were campaigning for the Labour Party Candidate for Mayor, Helal Abbas.

Last Saturday about 40 activists from Newham helped out with the campaign. 

The meeting point was in Copenhagen Place which I thought was fortuitous considering the election will be held this week on Trafalgar Day.  We were sent off to knock on doors.  The reaction from voters was again very positive. 

One person told me that he and his family will be definitely be voting Labour on Thursday "we don't want our Council tax in the hands of George Galloway for the next 4 years".  I told him I couldn't possibly comment :)

I also knocked on the door of the Chief Executive of a well know East London voluntary sector organisation and had a chat.

What is strange is that I work in Tower Hamlets and have been campaigning a few times now and I have never seen any of the opposition parties out door knocking or delivering leaflets?  Instead it appears from this report by independent local blogger, Ted Jeory, that for some - most effort has been in simply smearing Abbas and trying to poison the community against him.

Respect are up to their old tricks I see.

I posted on Facebook the other day this great quote from local MP Rushanara Ali "What’s at stake next Thursday is a billion pound budget, in one the most vibrant and diverse boroughs at the heart of our capital. For the people of Tower Hamlets this isn’t about personalities, it’s about the real issues – schools, housing, jobs and the economy. This is no time for a Galloway-backed independent who appeals to the margins and wants to turn the clock back to the politics of the past".  The bile it generated from Labour opponents was great fun.

Election is on 21 October - Campaign office is at 349 Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2 9RA - 3 mins from Bethnal Green tube and is open for canvassing and leafleting from 10am-until late every day until the election. Or you can ring 0207 729 6682 or email abbas4mayor@gmail.com for further details.

Picture is from left: Newham Councillor Charity Fiberesima, Gordon Miller, Lyn, Councillor Pat Murphy (honorary West Hammer for day) and John Cullen.

Uniting the East End: A call to action in Tower Hamlets

Bethnal Green and Bow Labour MP Rushanara Ali calls for Action in Tower Hamlets Mayor Election. Hat tip Left foot forward.

"In a week when we are all waiting with trepidation for the results of the Comprehensive Spending Review, while marvelling at the twists and turns of Lib Dem MPs as they attempt to crawl out from the tatters of their higher education policy, there is a vital campaign happening on the doorsteps of Tower Hamlets. In less than a week, residents of the east London borough will be going to the polls to elect their first directly elected mayor.

Six months ago, many, many people from across London and beyond came to help me and Jim Fitzpatrick beat George Galloway’s Respect and the parties that would later join together and form the coalition. During that election the people of Tower Hamlets rejected the politics of division and joined with us backing our Labour vision of a united East End.

Since that election we have been putting that philosophy into action, challenging the far right English Defence League when they tried to march here, challenging the coalition on cuts to our public services and more recently fighting for Labour in this election.

Ed Miliband and Left Foot Forward have long argued that Labour needs to be a campaigning movement or it is nothing. By opening up the campaign to new volunteers we helped to create, with a fantastic team of organisers, a formidable campaigning force during the general election. Our team working under the banner ‘Uniting the East End’ attracted hundreds of volunteers, which let us do the most important thing – in elections – talk to voters.

Last time we had three years, in this election we have had three weeks! As MPs, Councillors, Greater London Authority members, Labour Party activists and community volunteers we are fighting as a Labour team on behalf of Labour candidate Cllr Helal Abbas, but we can’t do it alone. We need the support of activists from across London – so let’s start building that renewed movement in the East End, home to so many of the great  campaigns of the past.

What’s at stake next Thursday is a billion pound budget, in one the most vibrant and diverse boroughs at the heart of our capital. For the people of Tower Hamlets this isn’t about personalities, it’s about the real issues – schools, housing, jobs and the economy. This is no time for a Galloway-backed independent who appeals to the margins and wants to turn the clock back to the politics of the past.

Over this weekend, and on election day on 21st October, readers of Left Foot Forward have a chance to help defeat the Galloway candidate in Tower Hamlets, and make Labour’s Councillor Abbas a mayor who will finally turn the page on the politics of division, and start putting the people of Tower Hamlets first.

Please come and join us in this campaign, details of how you can help can be found below. The campaign office is at 349 Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2 9RA and will be open for canvassing and leafleting from 10am-6.30pm every day until the election. Please ring 0207 729 6682 or email abbas4mayor@gmail.com for further details or to let us know when you are available. With your help we can ensure a Labour victory on the 21st of October.

(picture Dan McCurry at Labour Party conference)

Labour's Abbas for Mayor: Uniting the East End

On Saturday Newham Labour  activists came to help our sister Party in Tower Hamlets canvass for Helal Abbas in the Chrisp Street Market area, E14.

I was with two teams of 10 members and supporters.  There was other teams led by Stephen Timms MP and the Newham Executive Mayor, Sir Robin Wales.

When we first arrived we had a little bit of a heckle from some very excited bloke who shouted at us (from across the road in the Somerfields Car Park) that we should "be ashamed to be voting Labour" due to the recession.  To which I responded that we were very proud to be Labour and that maybe he should just not vote for us then?   

Apart from that the canvass went really well and on route we "bumped" into the candidate Helal and local MP Jim Fitzpatrick, in the middle of the market (see picture).  All sections of the community  seemed aware of the forthcoming election and willing to come out on the day to support the Helal.

(Election is on 21 October - Campaign office is at 349 Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2 9RA - 3 mins from Bethnal Green tube and is open for canvassing and leafleting from 10am-6.30pm every day until the election.  Or you can ring 0207 729 6682 or email abbas4mayor@gmail.com for further details).

Helal Abbas - Labour Mayor for Tower Hamlets Campaign Launch

Picture is from the launch yesterday by Tower Hamlets Council Leader, Helal Abbas, of his campaign to become Labour Mayor. (picture by Dan McCurry)

I wasn't there but from Facebook reports I understand there was lots of Party members and 28 Tower Hamlets Councillors present.  There was also at least 2 Newham Councillors.

The Labour Party has expelled 11 members including 8 Councillors for supporting the "Independent" candidate and quite rightly anyone else who campaigns against the Party will also face expulsion.

There was 5 campaign sessions in Tower Hamlets this weekend. The campaign office is at 349 Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2 9RA and will be open for canvassing and leafleting from 10am-6.30pm every day until the election.

Or you can ring 0207 729 6682 or email abbas4mayor@gmail.com for further details.

I'll be seeing what Tower Hamlets trade union affiliates can do to help.

Abbas 4 Mayor

"Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!" Despite the inevitable fuss and bother the local Party are pulling together around its Council leader, Helal Uddin Abbas (centre with file), as the Labour Party candidate to be Tower Hamlets Mayor.

No one person is bigger than the Party.  Our elected National Executive Council leadership have decided overwhelming to back Abbas in very difficult circumstances.  Abbas is an able and experienced leader and politician.  He was very positive towards the trade unions when I was the Tower Hamlets UNISON Labour Link officer and I have always thought he was a decent and honest secular socialist. 

I understand that there has been a failed legal attempt to challenge this decision. Nominations close at noon tomorrow. 

I shall look forward to the campaign!

Hat tip for picture to Dan McCurry.

Lutfur Rahman removed as Labour Candidate for Tower Hamlet's Mayor

I once got myself into a little bit of bother over a post that included the words "However, this being Tower Hamlets the story developed"...

Well, my "inbox" this afternoon has been flooded with emails referring to this statement from the Labour Party NEC. 

"Having received a number of serious allegations concerning both the eligibility of participating voters and the conduct of Lutfur Rahman, the NEC has decided to investigate the allegations made. As a result, administrative action has been taken to remove Lutfur Rahman as a candidate pending the investigation. Nominations for Tower Hamlets mayor close this week and in the circumstances the NEC had no option but to impose another candidate. The NEC has voted to select Helal Abbas Uddin as Labour's candidate".

I understand that John Biggs has stood down as a candidate and is supporting Helal.

Hat-tip Dave Hill's London blog.  Neither Marsha or Andy are best pleased! (neither of whom like me are members of Tower Hamlets Labour Party).  While Ted missed a scoop by going to the Gym.