By-election in Spitalfields and Banglatown

By Shahanara Begum

The By-election in Spitalfields and Banglatown triggered by Lutfur Rahman’s  election as Mayor will be held on the 16th of December. Currently the other two Councillors of the Ward are Shelina Akhter and Labour Group Leader CllrAbbas. There are six candidates contesting the seat: Abdul Alim (Labour), Jewel Choudhury (Independent), Maggie Crosbie (Green Party), Fozol Miah (Respect), Ferdy North (Liberal Democrat), Matt Smith (Conservative).

We have interviewed each of the candidates to see how theywill deliver for the people of Spitalfields and Banglatown. Fozol Miah the Respect candidate was the Councillor of Spitalfields and Banglatown from 2006-2010 and lost his seat in the election last May.

He is running again because he feels he has delivered for the community during his term as Councillor and has gained an in depth understanding of the residents needs. Miah said, “I am deeply rooted in Spitalfields and Banglatown where my father set up his business in 1972. I studied at Christ Church School and have many friends and relatives living in this Ward.”

Amongst his achievements he recounts “I campaigned strongly and successfully with others against the enormous hole Crossrail planned to create in the residential heart of the ward.” “I also successfully campaigned for changes to legislation to stop the spread of strip clubs and their like and to stop the privatisation of our council homes.”

Miah feels the Olympics will bring much needed investment in the Spitalfields and Banglatown area in order to tackle, “drug abuse and anti-social behaviour and to get toilets into the market areas to stop tourists using our doorways as a substitute toilet.” Miah says he will capitalise on his good working relationship with Mayor Lutfur in order to attract further investment to the Spitalfields and Banglatown area. Miah feels he is the best choice for the residents of Spitalfields and Banglatown because he “is a local man deeply committed to the community” and the better choice compared to “person[s] unknown in the area and with no experience of politics or local government.”

The Labour Party candidate Abdul Alim has extensive experience “of working in the Public, Private and Voluntary Sector,” and as “the manager of a restaurant near Brick Lane.” He feels this places him in an ideal position to assess and understand the needs of the residents of Spitalfields and Banglatown. Alim feels having “lived in Tower Hamlets since 1976 and [going] to school locally” gives him a deep understanding of the communities’ needs and priorities.

Alim works and has worked with Labour Government ministries and departments to secure for others “the same chances and opportunities I have been lucky enough to have”. His activism is also far reaching outside of Tower Hamlets and he has “spent more than 10 years campaigning for the Balagonj Education Trust and Balagonj Shomithy supporting educational opportunities in my native Bangladesh.” Alim feels it is time politicians moved away from “small politics and personalities” and worked on things that really mattered: ” jobs, housing, crime, drug abuse and anti-social behaviour and the savage Tory/Lib Dem cuts.” “That’s what I’ll be focusing on if I’m elected as a Councillor for Spitalfields & Banglatown,” he says.

Alim says the residents current priorities are “jobs, training and more employment opportunities,” as well as “improving existing housing stock and building more social housing.” He feels “only a Labour Councillor working with our Labour MPs can fight for Spitalfields & Banglatown” to deliver on these needs. Alim feels “honoured and moved” by the support from both Bengali and non-Bengali voters. Independant candidate Jewel Choudhury has lived and worked locally for many years and has good relationships with many local politicians. He is currently in the process of setting up a youth club. He has worked as an Employment Advisor at the TUC Law Centre in Whitechapel. His experience affords him the understanding and experience of the needs of the people of Spitalfields and Banglatown.

Choudhury feels as the Independent candidate he will be able to work across parties with Councillor colleagues and the Mayor if elected as he “would not be bound by political party directives or be dragged into political disputes therefore could focus solely on working for the people of Spitalfields and Banglatown.” Choudhury works hard and will continue to build on his activism to alleviate crime and overcrowded housing conditions in the area. He says “I love the rich cultural and religious mix of people in Spitalfields and Banglatown and will strive to work with all people.” He also says “I love living in Spitalfields and Banglatown which represents the heart of Bangladeshi heritage and history and I will capitalise on events such as the Baishakhi Mela for the benefit of the Ward.”

Matt Smith the Conservative candidate has impressive academic credentials and puts forward clear, coherent policies on how todeal with priorities of the local population. Smith who is from a working class background and having studied at a state school has had an unprecedented amount of success stemming from sheer hard work, high intellect and passion. Smith lives locally and has extensive political experience. Smith studied Modern History and Politics at Oxford University and was awarded nearly £20,000 in scholarships and exhibitions to study law. He was called to the Bar by theInner Temple.

Smith has worked at the Bethnal Green Advice Centre and the Toynbee Hall Legal Advice Centre with a wide cross-section of the community. Smith feels the “lax planning and licensing laws” are the main contributing factor to a myriad of problems in the area such as “crowds of drunk and rowdy revellers vomiting and urinating” and therefore will push for “planning decisions to be made locally rather than at unaccountable meetings at the Town Hall”. Smith says “The people if Spitalfields and Banglatown have been badly let down by politicians and political parties who have played pass the parcel with Town Hall for too long.”

“Only the Conservatives can deliver change the people of Spitalfields and Banglatown deserve.” Ferdy North the Liberal Democrats Candidate lives in Spitalfields and has a strong background experience of housing which he feels he will be able to utilise for the benefit of the high number of over crowded social housing tenants in Spitalfields and Banglatown.

North will also be focusing on job creation, citing the high number of unemployment in the area. “I want the Mayor to work much more with the City of London to provide internships and jobs for young people in this area. We should also be growing our own jobs – I want to see a new enterprise zone to bring empty shops around Brick Lane into use for local entrepreneurs and a commitment from Lutfur that he will push for a larger share of the proposed East End ‘ Silicon Valley .'”

North feels the need for “politics of dividing people in Tower Hamlets needs to stop”. He feels as a community activist he will be the face of “real representation”.

The Green Party have put forward Maggie Crosbie, a mother of two living in the Borough. She is involved with various local organisations. She set up a homeless health visitors group in Spitalfields and sat on the Health Authority’s equal opportunities committee and also initiated an advocacy scheme for Asian women.

She played a leading role in an Arts organisation to engage and give people a voice through writing and performance working with poets, writers, drama, graffiti artists in schools and psychiatric settings in Tower hamlets. Crosbie is currently involved in a local Dyslexia support group and organising a major “Learning with Difference” conference in February 2011. Crosbie feels strongly about the tuition fee increases, and particularly the effect this will have on Tower Hamlets students.

It was noted that all candidates except the Conservative candidate Smith are willing to work with the Mayor in order to ensure delivery of services, however Alim the Labour candidate said “Where the Mayors proposals will help the people of Spitalfields & Banglatown I’ll support him, where they would hurt the people of Spitalfields & Banglatown, I’ll oppose him.” Smith said “Lutfur Rahman’s ideological and divisive politics are regressive and irrelevant to the problems that we face in Spitalfields and Banglatown.”

The residents of this Ward are fortunate to have six very competent candidates contesting the seat vacated by Lutfur Rahman. Election day is next Thursday