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 Cabinet member Cllr. Victoria Ashworth takes a new job in Greece…but reportedly wants to remain a councillor in Waltham Forest too (yes, you read that right)
In April 2025, Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, Cllr. Victoria Ashworth (previously Vicky te Velde) announced on Linkedin that she had become Port Chaplin for the Mission to Seafarers, based i... »
New research reveals that LBWF has long been involved in Whitefield School’s finances, and this again raises questions about who knew what, when, about the child abuse scandal.
In recent discussions about the child abuse that occurred at Whitefield School between 2014 and 2017, the Labour leadership in the Town Hall has intimated, particularly in conversations with councillo... »
LBWF’s recent voluntary redundancy programme: grass roots staff culled, even as ‘senior managers’ mushroom in number
In November 2023, LBWF introduced a voluntary redundancy programme, which, it claimed, was necessary to help bridge an overall funding gap forecast to reach £26.7m. in the next few years. Subseq... »
Waltham Forest Town Hall fat cats block information about… Waltham Forest Town Hall fat cats
Every March LBWF has a legal obligation under the Local Government Transparency Code (LGTC) 2015 and various other statutes to publish a Pay Policy Statement. Amongst other things, this must include: ... »
More on the Whitefield School child abuse scandal: two inquiries raise plenty of questions, but provide far fewer answers
The Whitefield School scandal is without doubt the most shocking of any in Waltham Forest’s post-war history, involving as it does historic allegations that staff had subjected tens of children with l... »
Private Eye reports LBWF’s failure to properly monitor the corporate credit cards issued to its senior managers
From Private Eye No.1646 4-17 April 2025 »
LBWF, lobbyists, and ‘partner’ companies: greasing the wheels of commerce or corporate capture?
For the past fifteen years or so, LBWF has worked with a variety of private developers and infrastructure engineers to radically reshape the borough’s built environment. The formal relationships betwe... »
LBWF has issued corporate credit cards to its senior managers, but broken the law for many years by failing to publish data tracking their use
For the past two decades or so, LBWF has issued its senior managers with corporate credit cards. And, since 2015, following the introduction of the Local Government Transparency Code (LGTC), LBWF also... »
Private Eye covers the latest LBWF safeguarding scandal
From Private Eye No.1643 21 February-6 March 2025. It’s good that PE highlights the witless response of Cllr. Mitchell. In another, more honourable time, many would have expected her to resign. »
LBWF’s equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) programme: necessary corrective or self-serving extravagance?
In the past couple of years, and without much public commentary, the senior management team in LBWF has been seeking to transform the prevailing culture in the Town Hall by introducing and then champi... »