A note for readers…
This is a personal blog, which aims to scrutinise the powers that be in Waltham Forest, from the Council (hereafter London Borough of Waltham Forest or LBWF), both elected members and staff; to our MP... »
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LBWF and public-private partnerships: (2) North London Ltd.
LBWF’s relationship with North London Ltd. (NLL) illuminates a second way of organising public-private partnerships. NLL is a private company, formed in 2005, whose business is ‘Other service activiti... »
Ex-Tower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman: the final disgrace
For reasons best known to themselves, and against a mass of evidence, sections of the local Labour Party have continued to champion the disgraced ex-Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman. Now, however... »
LBWF and public-private partnerships: (1) NPS London Ltd.
As this blog has previously noted, LBWF is now involved in extending its public-private partnerships, and so it is timely to look at some previous examples of similar initiatives, in order to discover... »
The Waltham Forest Matters Annual Awards for 2017
It’s that time of year folks, and as this blog rapidly approaches the treasured 100,000 hits mark (OK, we admit it, 50,000 of them come from Cllrs Loakes and Robins) here are our awards: Picture... »
LBWF, Community Ward Forums, and freedom of speech
As this blog regularly points out, LBWF devotes a surprising amount of time and attention to what PR spinners call ‘controlling the narrative’, that is vigorously promoting a particular, and self-serv... »
John Cryer MP intervenes in Labour’s 2018 local election selection process: bold, foolish, or both?
A prominent member of the wide-awake club recently forwarded this Labour Party leaflet from back in September: It shows my old friend John Cryer, MP for Leyton and Wanstead, hyping three senior Labour... »
Mark Hynes, LBWF Director of Governance and Law, cracks the whip
Against the background of the ongoing controversy about Cllr. Anna Mbachu’s Register of Interests form, LBWF Director of Governance and Law Mark Hynes has circulated the following missive to councillo... »
Cllr. Anna Mbachu’s register of interests form prompts new controversy UPDATED
A post on this blog of early November, cross-referenced below, related that (a) though senior Labour councillor and chair of the LBWF Housing Scrutiny Committee, Anna Mbachu, had been a director of r... »
LBWF dodges the Local Government Association’s acclaimed peer review scheme, and it’s reasonable to ask: why?
Since 2011, the Local Government Association (LGA) has run and financed a scheme called Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC), which it sees as ‘a core element of our sector-led improvement offer to local au... »
LBWF Leader Cllr. Clare Coghill and knife crime: some issues that need to be addressed, and urgently
According to the Waltham Forest Guardian, there were serious stabbings in Walthamstow on the 14, 16, and 19 November just past, leading the police to impose a section 60 order, which allows them augme... »