the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

The Labour Party in Waltham Forest and the financing of local elections: a scandal in the making? (2)

July 4, 2018 the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

A recent post, based on the evidence of a whistleblower, casts doubt on the way that the Labour Party in Waltham Forest has been financing its local government election expenditure (see link below). The key point is that in the last two local election campaigns, the bill appears to have been picked up solely by the Labour Group (LG), in other words the councillors in the Town Hall,  and this raises eyebrows for two interrelated reasons. First, there is the question of the LG’s status.The Electoral Commission (EC) oversees party political spending, and does this in part by monitoring what... »

The Labour Party in Waltham Forest and the financing of local elections: a scandal in the making? (1)

June 4, 2018 the Labour Party in Waltham Forest, Waltham Forest Labour Party

Over the years, a number of correspondents have approached this blog to express anxieties about how the local Labour Party (LP) is being run and financed. Some of their claims are plausible, others less so. But in general, it is often difficult for the bystander, given the prevalence of internecine strife, to separate out truth from factional point scoring. However, a whistleblower with impeccable credentials now has stepped forward to put meat on the bone, and what emerges is alarming, to say the least. LP rules require that the costs of local government elections – which are often substantia... »

LBWF councillors and their register of interests forms: an update and reflection UPDATED

May 10, 2018 Cllr. Anna Mbachu, Cllr. Khevyn Limbajee, Cllr. Simon Miller, Mark Hynes, register of interests, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Previous posts have looked at the problems that some councillors are having over accurately filling in their register of interests forms (see links below). What follows summarises the current state of play with the three most egregious cases, all uncovered by residents, and in particular looks at how LBWF Director of Governance and Law Mark Hynes has handled them. So, starting with the three cases, this is how they stand: Cllr. Anna Mbachu In the autumn of 2017, it emerged that Cllr. Mbachu had not disclosed that she was a director of a private property letting company called Knice Industries ... »

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Steven Saxby, the ‘red vicar’ of Walthamstow, and Mr. Mahmood ul Hassan Raja, the ex-imam who praised an Islamist killer, but joined the Labour Party because ‘Mr. Corbyn will fix knife crime’.

April 28, 2018 Momentum, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

A good barometer of Labour’s ongoing moral collapse is the ever-expanding list of questionable characters who are currently being welcomed into its ranks, even (as Guido Fawkes regularly demonstrates) chosen to stand for the party at elections. No one with a few pounds to spare, it seems, is beyond the pale. Recently, the blog Harry’s Place published details of yet another revealing case, this time in Waltham Forest. The dramatis personae are three close pals, Canon Steven Saxby of St Barnabas Church Walthamstow, a Momentum activist; Mr. Mahmood ul Hassan Raja, said to be an ex-imam at Lea Bri... »

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The mysterious case of the disappearing LBWF councillor…

April 13, 2018 Cllr. Alistair Strathern, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Yesterday, various readers contacted this blog about a little local mystery. The story is as follows. A couple of days ago, our old friend, LBWF Director of Governance and Law Mark Hynes, circulated a list of councillors who are retiring at the forthcoming local election, and who should be tacked onto the end but Cllr. Alastair Strathern. This rightly caused consternation. Representing Higham Hill for Labour, Cllr. Strathern has been generally seen as something of a rising star, a junior Cabinet portfolio holder who in real life is a finance whizz-kid, holding down a high powered job at the Ba... »

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Cllr. Limbajee, Cllr. Mbachu, their register of interests forms, and LBWF’s Director of Governance and Law Mark Hynes: the controversy continues

March 28, 2018 Cllr. Anna Mbachu, Cllr. Khevyn Limbajee, LBWF, Mark Hynes, register of interests, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

The controversy over the register of interests forms posted by Cllrs. Khevyn Limbajee and Anna Mbachu, covered by this blog recently, is mushrooming, with even the officer in charge of enforcing the rules, LBWF Director of Governance and Law Mark Hynes, apparently struggling. Let’s take Cllr. Mbachu first, because her case is fairly straightforward. It will be remembered that she has been a director of an ‘active’ company called Knice Industries Ltd. since February 2016, but has never disclosed this fact on her LBWF register of interests form; and that when challenged about t... »

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Cllr. Khevyn Limbajee’s register of interests form: another case of Waltham Forest-itis?

March 11, 2018 Cllr. Khevyn Limbajee, Mark Hynes, Redevelopment, register of interests, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Over the years this blog has periodically revealed that LBWF councillors have surprising difficulty keeping their register of interests forms as accurate and up-to-date as the agreed standards require, a very obvious example of Waltham Forest-itis. Now another possible case of this unfortunate malady may be on the cards. Cllr. Khevyn Limbajee is the Cabinet portfolio holder for housing, who, with his estate agent chic and penchant for social media, syncs so perfectly with the ongoing middle-class takeover of the Labour Party. As of today, Cllr. Limbajee’s register of interests form, post... »

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Ex-Tower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman: the final disgrace

January 29, 2018 the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

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, their empathy looks even more absurd. For Mr. Rahman has been struck off by his own professional body, the Solicitors Disciplinary Committee (SDC), and ordered to pay £86,000 in costs. The key part of the SDC’s judgement is as withering as it is possible to get: If Labour Party people can’t get these kind of very clear-cut issues right, it is reasonable to wonder whether their judgem... »

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LBWF, Community Ward Forums, and freedom of speech

December 29, 2017 Cllr. Saima Mahmud, LBWF spin, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

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-serving, version of events, while at the same time seeking to sideline criticism. Recent developments add a further concerning illustration. Trevor Calver is a community activist in Chingford, a leading member of the Waltham Forest Dyslexia Association, a determined campaigner on issues ranging from asbestos to the preservation of free parking bays throughout the borough, and a one time Independent ca... »

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John Cryer MP intervenes in Labour’s 2018 local election selection process: bold, foolish, or both?

December 22, 2017 John Cryer MP, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

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 councillors, Khevyn Limbajee, Anna Mbachu, and Chris Robbins, in the selection process for next year’s municipal elections. By intervening in this way, Mr. Cryer has broken no rules, but eyebrows will be raised, neverthelss, partly because such partisanship is considered bad form in Labour circles, but mainly because the trio who he has annointed all have baggage, particularly when viewed t... »

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