Waltham Forest Matters

The Labour Party in Waltham Forest and the financing of local elections: a scandal in the making? (1)

Nick Tiratsoo June 4, 2018 the Labour Party in Waltham Forest, Waltham Forest Labour Party

Over the years, a number of correspondents have approached this blog to express anxieties about how the local Labour Party (LP) is being run and financed. Some of their claims are plausible, others less so. But in general, it is often difficult for the bystander, given the prevalence of internecine strife, to separate out truth from factional point scoring. However, a whistleblower with impeccable credentials now has stepped forward to put meat on the bone, and what emerges is alarming, to say the least. LP rules require that the costs of local government elections – which are often substantial – should be borne by the relevant Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs). But in the last two co... »

The Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Silver Birch Academy Trust: Lost in the Forest?

Nick Tiratsoo May 18, 2018 Academies

As this blog has periodically observed, to mere mortals the world of primary and secondary school academies, and in particular their governance, is sometimes rather puzzling. Last Sunday, the Observer featured a local case that well illustrates the point. Silver Birch Academy Trust (SBAT) runs four primary schools with nearly 2,000 pupils, three of which (Chingford Hall Primary Academy, Longshaw Primary Academy, and Whittingham Primary Academy) are in Waltham Forest. Like its peers, SBAT is regulated by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), and subject to periodic inspection. Where the controversy arises is that, according to the Observer, when ESFA inspectors recently visited SBAT... »

Academies

LBWF councillors and their register of interests forms: an update and reflection UPDATED

Nick Tiratsoo May 10, 2018 Cllr. Anna Mbachu, Cllr. Khevyn Limbajee, Cllr. Simon Miller, Mark Hynes, register of interests, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Previous posts have looked at the problems that some councillors are having over accurately filling in their register of interests forms (see links below). What follows summarises the current state of play with the three most egregious cases, all uncovered by residents, and in particular looks at how LBWF Director of Governance and Law Mark Hynes has handled them. So, starting with the three cases, this is how they stand: Cllr. Anna Mbachu In the autumn of 2017, it emerged that Cllr. Mbachu had not disclosed that she was a director of a private property letting company called Knice Industries Ltd., and in fact had been so since February 2016. Mr. Hynes response was that ‘strictly speaking’ t... »

Cllr. Anna Mbachu, Cllr. Khevyn Limbajee, Cllr. Simon Miller, Mark Hynes, register of interests

Steven Saxby, the ‘red vicar’ of Walthamstow, and Mr. Mahmood ul Hassan Raja, the ex-imam who praised an Islamist killer, but joined the Labour Party because ‘Mr. Corbyn will fix knife crime’.

Nick Tiratsoo April 28, 2018 Momentum, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

A good barometer of Labour’s ongoing moral collapse is the ever-expanding list of questionable characters who are currently being welcomed into its ranks, even (as Guido Fawkes regularly demonstrates) chosen to stand for the party at elections. No one with a few pounds to spare, it seems, is beyond the pale. Recently, the blog Harry’s Place published details of yet another revealing case, this time in Waltham Forest. The dramatis personae are three close pals, Canon Steven Saxby of St Barnabas Church Walthamstow, a Momentum activist; Mr. Mahmood ul Hassan Raja, said to be an ex-imam at Lea Bridge Rd. mosque; and (in a supporting, though still notable, role) Mr. Khalid Iqbal Malik, a ‘s... »

Steven Saxby, The Labour Party in Waltham Forest