Word reaches me that Cllr. Pye’s position is becoming ever more tenuous, that she has been stripped of her Scrutiny position, and has one foot on the trap-door. In happier times, Cllr Pye was a member of the ruling troika, and held important Cabinet portfolios. Cllrs Loakes and Robbins dwelt on her every word. Indeed, she was Leytonstone’s very own Cleopatra, hectoring public meetings ... »
The judge’s verdict is here: http://trialbyjeory.com/2015/04/23/tower-hamlets-election-court-judge-richard-mawrey-qcs-full-ruling/ It’s long but worth reading, not just because of the comparisons that inevitably arise with Waltham Forest, but also because there are barbs in all directions, especially concerning the Labour Party’s modi operandi; the way that the ‘left’... »
A correspondent who worked in the Town hall for a number of years writes as follows: ‘After over a dozen emails and three interventions by my councillor…and after filling in a form (which was more suitable for a manager reporting on an industrial accident in their department) I have now been told the types of asbestos to which I may have been exposed. Talk about jumping through hoops !... »
Another great story from Ted Jeory: http://trialbyjeory.com/2015/04/19/tower-hamlets-first-hitler-sympathiser-goes-on-dclg-funded-jolly-to-promote-integration-with-some-help-from-the-church/ »
A recent Press Gazette story highlights the large number of press officers and other communications staff who are now employed in local government – see here http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/local-councils-now-employ-least-3400-comms-staff-more-double-total-central-government. Its author, William Turvill, has been kind enough to send me the figures for Waltham Forest. Apparently, there are cur... »
The final piece in this Olympics trilogy is about policing. It’s my experience that the police in Waltham Forest for the most part escape serious scrutiny, and for that reason I’ll be looking at their functioning and performance in some detail over the coming months. To start the ball rolling, here is a piece I wrote in December 2012 about the Dispersal Order that was imposed on South ... »
The National Construction College’s facility in Cathall Rd., on the Leyton-Leytonstone border, was presented by LBWF as the jewel in the crown of Waltham Forest’s Olympic legacy. Looking like a super IKEA, looming over the surrounding buildings, and hyped by every Labour hack from Cathall Councillor Terry Wheeler to the Leader himself, here was something, the patter ran, that really was goin... »
In the immediate run-up to the start of the Olympic Games in July 2012, LBWF proudly promoted a ‘new international food market’ in Marshall Street, adjacent to Leyton underground station, and, more important, metaphorically ‘just a stone’s throw away from the Olympic stadium’. In a press release, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Corporate Resources, Cllr. Mark Rusling, enthused: ‘This i... »
Waltham Forest was, of course, one of the ‘Olympic Boroughs’, and LBWF predictably milked that fact for all it was worth. From the ‘Big Six’ events (handily organised by the Manchester based Co-operative Event Management), to the outburst of civic pride that greeted the arrival of the torch, to the constant harping on ‘legacy’, no opportunity was missed to spread the message that the Town Hall bri... »
In his March 2015 E-bulletin, the somnolent MP for Leyton and Wanstead John Cryer comments as follows: ‘I was troubled by some reports which have surfaced online about how Waltham Forest Council dealt with the discovery of asbestos at the Town Hall. This had the potential to cause ordinary council workers, officers and the councillors themselves serious, chronic health problems. I met with t... »