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John Cryer’s moonlight flit – the speculation continues

A corespondent with his finger on the pulse of Labour politics revisits the Cryer flit: ‘Back in July 2015, we reported that one of our local Labour MPs, John Cryer, had moved to Lewisham two months after retaining his seat in the General Election, prompting various wags to call for the house he had sold to be awarded a blue plaque in honour of his relatively brief residency [see ‘John Cryer MP Once Lived Here’ – linked below]. News of Mr. Cryer’s move slipped out rather haphazardly, though it must have been planned for some time, and this provoked a degree of comment. Sundry residents felt that he should have been more forthright, sooner. Local Labour activists, too, were unamused, es... »

John Cryer and the EU: always read the small print

A correspondent writes as follows: ‘No doubt so as to further underline his left-wing credentials, John Cryer has always presented himself as anti-EU, and a good example of this occurs in the latest of his (very infrequent) parliamentary reports: “Report from John Cryer Dear Member, The big news has been David Cameron’s much-vaunted renegotiation of the treaties of the EU. In fact, he secured very little and I suspect that fact will become increasingly clear in the coming months. He started out by claiming that his plan was for a profound and fundamental renegotiation, returning powers to Westminster and changing the founding principle of freedom of movement. No powers have been ... »

Delta Club: a very Waltham Forest story, up like a rocket, down like a stick

In the mid- to late 2000s, Delta Club (hereafter DC) was one of the most high profile organisations in Waltham Forest. Incorporated as a private company in 2003, with sometime Labour Cabinet portfolio holder Cllr. Afzal Akram on its board, DC seemed to have established itself as the ‘go to’ authority on, and provider of, training, especially where ethnic minorities were concerned. A self-penned profile of 2009 read as follows: ‘Delta club [sic] Group is a BAME led and Customer First and Matrix accredited organisation that since its inception has either directly delivered or delivered through a service level agreement over twelve EU/Government funded programmes. We have successfully provided ... »

LBWF’s policy on Prevent reaps what it sows…

In a recent post, I warned that LBWF’s Prevent strategy, and the secrecy that surrounds it, invite trouble. As if on cue, up pops the stage army of the Left, guided by the ubiquitous ‘red vicar’, Canon Stephen Saxby, with a meeting tonight aimed squarely at denunciation: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/waltham-forest-against-prevent-tickets-20742107201 The blog Harry’s Place does a public service by revealing the true identities of some of those involved: http://hurryupharry.org/2016/01/31/steven-saxby-corbynista-vicar-for-extremism/ Meanwhile, a report by Andrew Gilligan in the Sunday Telegraph supplies further background germane to Waltham Forest, beginning as follows: ‘An organised c... »

Lutfur Rahman: yet another low UPDATED

Mark Baynes at Love Wapping has a powerful story on the latest development in the Lutfur Rahman affair, which begins as follows: ‘Lutfur Rahman, ex-Mayor of Tower Hamlets, has been damned once again by the law of the land. A strongly worded press statement released today by Richard Slade & Company, solicitor for the electoral petitioners, details why the latest court judgement against Rahman has found him to be “a mortgage fraudster and tax evader” and Mrs. Rahman (aka Mrs Ayesha Farid) has been called an “unreliable witness who adjusts her evidence under pressure.”’ For the rest, see http://lovewapping.org/2016/01/lutfur-rahman-mortgage-fraudster-and-tax-evader/ while the fu... »

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