Speaker suspended in Labour selection row

Labour Cllr Khales Uddin Ahmed has been suspended from the Labour Party. ELN understands that this follows allegations made by a number of his Labour Councillor colleagues.

Cllr Khales has been serving as the Speaker of the Council, where Labour has a majority. The position makes him Tower Hamlets’ “First Citizen”, who officiates at a number of formal events.

A Labour insider revealed that the allegations concerned the councillor’s behaviour towards his women colleagues. However, the allegations come from councillors who support John Biggs, whereas Cllr Khales is thought to be less favourably disposed to Labour’s current mayor.

The Labour Party is currently in the process of selecting a candidate to fight the next Tower Hamlets mayoral election, due in May 2018. So far, in the first stage of the process, John Biggs has received the support of around two thirds of Labour Party branches, which is probably a winning lead. However, four branches with a large Bangladeshi membership voted to move on to an open selection contest, in which other potential candidates could challenge John Biggs – showing signs of discontent with the current Administration.

The local Labour Party referred inquiries on this matter to the London Region. ELN has contacted the Labour Party and Cllr Khales for comment.

Once the mayoral selection concludes, Labour will turn to the task of selecting their council candidates – with tempers running high, this first suspension could be the tip of an iceberg.

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