Posts

LBWF and the fight against ISIS

November 27, 2015 ISIS, LBWF, Prevent

As a previous post has indicated, there are serious questions to be asked about Waltham Forest’s attempts to confront local Islamist extremists. The record over the past decade has been at best mixed, and includes some embarrassing failures. The fact that LBWF will not discuss its current Prevent programme in any detail only adds to the sense that someone, somewhere is afraid of further revelations. LBWF Chief Executive Martin Esom may think of himself as an expert in this area, and chair the London Prevent Board, but whether the local authority as a whole is fulfilling its responsibilities remains unclear. Two recent events increase anxieties. First, a Channel Four investigation reveals tha... »

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North London Ltd. and a shortfall of £101,822

November 24, 2015 North London Ltd., Waltham Forest Business Board

Some significant new evidence has just emerged about North London Ltd. (NLL). In general terms, NLL continues to intrigue. For here is a private company that was paid hundreds of thousand of pounds by public authorities (including LBWF, some directly, and some routed through the Waltham Forest Business Board’s Waltham Forest Business CIC); handed its directors generous remuneration and other benefits (a whacking £314,897 in the three year period 2004-07 alone); but left an unexpectedly faint footprint in terms of recorded outputs and accomplishments. Indeed, up to now, in truth, it has been difficult to fathom exactly why NLL existed at all. The new evidence cuts through some of the mu... »

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Waltham Forest Labour in turmoil

November 23, 2015 Cllr. Shabana Dhedi/Qadir, John Cryer MP, Stella Creasy MP, Waltham Forest Labour Party

Word reaches me from a number of sources that Waltham Forest Labour’s woes show no sign of abating. The longstanding subterranean infighting between factions continues, as does the jockeying for position to succeed the Leader, Cllr. Robbins. But in addition, the party is now swamped by new members, few of whom have much idea about, or interest in, its traditional ways of doing things, and some of whom seem intent on a purge. Reactions to this influx vary. On the surface, there is obeisance to the mantra that ‘Jeremy has galvanized a new politics’. But in private, the feeling is one of doom and gloom. Some long-time members are dismayed by the thought of having to embrace old enemies on... »

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LBWF’s relationship with the local business sector: new revelations about the E11 BID Co.

November 13, 2015 E11 BID Co., Fawaad Sheikh, LBWF, Martin Esom

I have written before about LBWF’s relationships with the local business sector, and pointed out that our council appears to treat certain businesses and business organisations rather more favourably than might be expected. Money is handed out, and assets handed over, but there seems to be no great urgency about due process. It is all very relaxed, even informal, and contrasts strikingly with the way that, for example, LBWF commonly interacts with the local community and charity sector (as I can vouchsafe). Against this background, I have been looking again at the legal contracts that LBWF has signed with the E11 BID Co., specifically the Operating and Baseline agreements covering the first ... »

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Reforming local government (2) an agenda from Tower Hamlets

October 28, 2015 LBWF, Local government reform, Lutfur Rahman, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets

On the subject of local government reform, it is notable that another of our neighbours, Tower Hamlets, also has begun examining the status quo, in this case through the medium of a Transparency Commission, described in an August press release as follows: ‘The council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee has launched an Overview and Scrutiny Transparency Commission (OSTC) to identify actions the council should take to improve transparency, openness and accountability. The Commission began its work at the July 27 Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) meeting. The OSC meetings in September, October and November will each have a specific focus, exploring particular aspects of transparency, o... »

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