ELN: On 6th February, Cllr Shelina Akhtar was jailed for 16 weeks. The sentence was handed down at Snaresbrook Crown Court, after Cllr Akhtar had admitted three counts of fraud at a previous hearing. The charges arose because she did not notify the Council of a change of circumstances which would have affected the housing benefit and council tax benefit she was receiving.
The immediate question is whether there will be a by-election in Spitalfields & Banglatown ward, which Cllr Akhtar represents. The length of the sentence means that, under section 80 of the Local Government Act 1972, Cllr Akhtar is automatically disqualified from holding office as a councillor. However, an appeal against sentence can be lodged up to 28 days after the hearing. According to a Council spokesperson, the disqualification will not take effect until after the 28 days are up or, if Cllr Akhtar does appeal, until the end of any appeal process.
Local Labour leader Cllr Joshua Peck has called for any by-election to be held on 3rd May, when there will be elections for the London Mayor, to save the cost of running two election operations in the ward, on different days but close together. He may find it hard to get his way. A by-election is triggered by two electors petitioning the Council for a vacancy to be filled – and when they do so, an automatic timetable is triggered. For any by-election in Spitalfields and Banglatown to be held on 3rd May, all political parties and the electors of Spitalfields and Banglatown would have to co-operate to ensure the petition was lodged on the right day to trigger a 3rd May by-election. If Cllr Akhtar does not appeal, and if the Council announces the vacancy on 6th March and there is an immediate petition for a by-election, it would have to be held before 26th April. If she does appeal, it could be weeks before a vacancy is declared (if she loses an appeal) or there may not even be a vacancy (if her sentence were to be reduced on appeal).
Doubtless, as well as wanting to save costs, Labour is hoping that any by-election would be on the day of the London Mayoral elections as this will see a large turnout for Labour candidate Ken Livingstone – boosting the Labour vote in a ward which Labour has often struggled to win against Respect.
Before the sentence was announced, Labour sources were suggesting that Mayor Rahman was reluctant to see a by-election in Spitalfields & Banglatown as he hoped Cllr Akhtar would attend the budget-making Council meeting on 22nd February. These rumours were countered before Cllr Akhtar was sentenced, when Mayor Rahman issued a statement calling on Cllr Akhtar to resign.
*More analysis of the political parties’ pre-by-election manoeuvres follows. Check back soon.