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BI – ELECTION LOSS ADDS TO LABOUR WOES
Shahanara Begum:
Following the defeat of the Labour Party Candidate in Spitalfields and Banglatown las
t Thursday Cllr Marc Francis sent an email to Labour Group Leader Cllr Abbas expressing his discontent at the management of Labour Group and resigning from the “Shadow Cabinet”.
After becoming the Opposition to Mayor Lutfur’s administration the ex-Labour Cabinet Members became mouthpieces of their previous positions in order to hold the current administration to account. It is from this position that Cllr Francis has resigned. He has not resigned the Labour Group Whip. This is the transcript of the email Francis sent to Abbas late evening last Friday: “Abbas, It is no secret that I was critical of a number of the decisions taken by Tower Hamlets Council during your previous four years as Labour’s Leader and sceptical when you became Group Leader again in May. However, at the encouragement of colleagues, I was willing to put those reservations to one side to serve in your interim administration and ensure Labour’s policies in the Housing, Heritage and Planning portfolio continued to be driven through to implementation. Like many others, I was deeply concerned at the methods you used to secure Labour’s candidacy for the Mayoralty and the nature of that campaign. But I was even more disappointed by your lack of interest in housing issues during the five months you were the interim Council Leader, especially on the reforms we were introducing to leasehold services and the Choice Based Lettings scheme to help overcrowded families. I also very strongly disagree with the decision to put £2 million into the Rich Mix Centre and the way this was done.
However, it is actually the general sense of drift and negativity under your Leadership that I believe is even more damaging to the Labour Party in Tower Hamlets than individual actions. With the Coalition Government cutting the Council’s budget and our residents’ rights, it is essential Labour’s leaders in Tower Hamlets stand up and be counted. Instead of doing that, you and some of those around you seem incapable of focusing on anything other than your personal dispute with the Mayor. This is borne out by yesterday’s disastrous result in the Spitalfields & Banglatown byelection.
Our candidate, Abdul Alim, worked hard to win and the loss of this council seato to Respect is certainly no refection on him or the ordinary Labour party members who put so much into the campaign. but sometimes working hard is not enough, especially when polling on a bitterly cold day. We have to inspire people with a reason to go out and vote too. From the residents I spoke to on the doorstep, there is clearly lingering unhappiness about the approach you have taken as Labour’s Leader locally. No doubt you will dispute this fact. But the result was unequivocal. And the responsibility to inspire any more than the 553 people (6.3 per cent of the electorate) to vote Labour in the ward you represent and which was one of our safest, must lie squarely with you. I am sorry if that sounds harsh, but leaders have to take the rough with the smooth and the electorate has given Labour’s its clear message.
Labour Group decided last month to retain the previous Cabinet Members as spokespeople until other arrangements are agreed. I’m afraid, however, that I have completely lost confidence in your Leadership and cannot continue to serve in your “Shadow Cabinet”. I have waited until now to notify you because I did not want my resignation to become an issue in the election. Given yesterday’s dreadful result and that a decision how Labour Group will determine spokespeople appears to be some way off, I am resigning with immediate effect. I am copying this email to members of Labour Group so there is no misunderstanding of the reasons for my decision. Yours sincerely, Marc” Francis’s decision not to work with Abbas follows that of Cllrs Shahed Ali, Kabir Ahmed and Abdul Asad announced last month. Frances had also broken the Labour Party Whip at the last Council Meeting when he voted on a motion regarding
licensing.
This move has placed pressure on Labour Group Leader Abbas to make way for new progressive leadership. The feelings within Labour Group and Party Members suggest possible candidates to be David Edgar who is an accountant with a strong academic background, Sirajul Islam who ran in the Mayoral contest and able to work amicably with all sections of the political spectrum, Abdal Ullah a previous member of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) and community activist or Amy Whitelock who has proven herself to be competent, eager to learn and fresh addition in the last election and unmarred by internal politics. Cllr Helal Abbas was unavailable for
comment.
Fozol Miah who’s victory at the election at Spitalfields and Banglatown sparked the current disagreement said: “Marc is a competent and extremely hardworking councillor and popular with politicians accross the spectrum, it is unfortunate that the turmoil within the Labour Group has meant the resignation of such a talented
politician.”
Cllr Miah who lost his seat at the last election for the same ward won by 666 votes, Labours Abdul Alim received 553, Conservative Matt Smith came third with 135 votes, Maggie Crosbie of the Green Party getting 52 votes, Ferdy North of the Lib Dem Party got 33 votes and independent candidate Jewel Choudhury
received 28 votes.
What a partisan article. This “newspaper” is openly anti-Labour (demonstrated by its hysterical backing for Lutfur Rahman) and your silly comment “And the responsibility to inspire any more than the 553 people (6.3 per cent of the electorate) to vote Labour in the ward you represent and which was one of our safest, must lie squarely with you” is totally one sided.
Where does the responsibility lie for Respect only being able to inspire 666 people to vote (about 6.5% of the electorate)??
This constant infighting between Bengali candidates is particularly uninspiring for non-Bengali voters; almost all of whom feel marginalised and are now choosing not to vote for anyone at all.
oh resident of Norton Folgate, our neighbouring cousin from the Big City. The people of Tower Hamlets have finally spoken and for years we just accepted Good ‘ol Labour, until we realised how diluted their views were and how they became puppets of the elitists. Lutfur Rahman showed that the community believed in justice and this was represented in the Mayoral elections. Labour lost the trust of all those that believed in them. It is now time for change and we the youth believe that!
Dear Norton Folgate Resident,
there appears to have been an omission of a quotation mark on Cllr Marc Francis’s resignation letter which should have been at the end of the fourth paragraph. The comment you ascribe to me is indeed that of Cllr Francis. I had provided Mr Helal Abbas to respond to Cllr Francis’s resignation letter however he did not wish to comment therefore I was unable to provide a more balanced view as I had wished. I hope this clears up any confusion.
I am sorry you feel London Bangla does not provide a balanced view, can I direct you to the article I had written about the recent by election? I felt it was a balanced piece highlighting the positives of all the candidates, indeed I had purposefully omitted negative information I had regarding one candidate as I did not feel it was right to tarnish a good persons reputation by dragging up the past.
I hope this addresses your concerns. many thanks for your feedback and we hope you will continue to enjoy reading London Bangla.
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections.
What is a bi-election? An election of two people, perhaps?
The in-fighting amongst the established left in Tower Hamlets, and the notable defections of certain councillors, over the last decade reminds me of the very worst excesses of certain other Labour local authorities in the eighties (including some where Labour lost their overall majority, due to voter disgust). The hijacking of the political process by single-issue campaigns and pressure groups with covert agendas is divisive, and is destroying the confidence of voters in their elected representatives.
When are the ordinary people of Tower Hamlets going to get the clean politics and clear choices that they deserve? In the face of dramatic spending cuts from the current LibCon national government, the last thing that the borough needs is factionalism.
Well love the mispelling on By(e) Election did anyone proof read this?. Have to agree with GSOB that too many councillors are backing single issue causes. They want to be “SEEN” to be doing something to reassure the voters. However it just means they can sit on their collective backside and claim more expenses. Personally I think the best way for them to decide issues is lock politicians in a room and let adults sort it out. Anyone who wants to be a politician should automatically be barred from political office.
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