the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Cllr. Anna Mbachu’s register of interests form prompts new controversy

November 8, 2017 Cllr. Anna Mbachu, Mark Hynes, register of interests, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

A recent post looked at Cllr. Anna Mbachu’s unfortunate performance at an employment tribunal. Now news emerges that her register of interests form is also generating controversy. It is a matter of public record that, alongside two others, Cllr. Mbachu is a director of Knice Industries Ltd (company no.10018580), a business formed in February 2016 to pursue the ‘letting and operating of own or leased real estate’. It is also a matter of public record that, though she is chair of the LBWF Housing Scrutiny Committee, as of today, she has not updated her register of interests form to acknowl... »

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John Cryer MP’s Election Agent, Ian McKenzie, and the local Labour membership: the rift widens

October 23, 2017 John Cryer MP, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Reports emanating from Labour insiders reveal that John Cryer’s Election Agent, Ian McKenzie, has spectacularly alienated much of the local party membership, to the extent that some now see relations as irreparable. Mr McKenzie has served as Agent in all three elections since 2010, after Mr Cryer was parachuted into Leyton and Wanstead by his trade union Unite in a contentious selection process that saw no local candidates shortlisted. However, the one-time assistant to former Labour deputy leader John Prescott has courted controversy almost from the start. Thus, shortly after the 2010 contest... »

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Hather Ali, of ‘bed in a shed’ fame, to stand for Labour in Higham Hill (naturally) UPDATED

October 10, 2017 Cllr. Liaquat Ali, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

News reaches this blog that the Labour Party has chosen Mr. Hather Ali as a candidate for Higham Hill in the forthcoming local elections. This is certainly very surprising, because a couple of years ago Mr. Ali – the nephew of longstanding Labour Cabinet member Liaquat Ali – was involved in a rather unsavoury but very public Residential Property Tribunal (RPT) case concerning a ‘bed in a shed’. The story is as follows. In 2002, members of Hather Ali’s close family, including his mother, purchased 305 Higham Hill Rd., and rented it out. However, when, in response to a complaint, LBW... »

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Cllr. Anna Mbachu, accusations of bullying, and an embarrassing Employment Tribunal verdict

September 29, 2017 Cllr. Anna Mbachu, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Anna Mbachu is Labour councillor for Grove Green ward, chair of the Health and Housing Scrutiny Committees, and Deputy Group Leader. Her current public profile is low-key. But in the past, she has certainly had her moments. Who after all can forget the fracas in her Mayoral year of 2009-10, when she acted in an ‘aggressive and threatening’ way towards her chauffer, Leroy Telfer, in front of numerous people at a Town Hall meeting, and as a result received a ticking off from the Council’s Standard’s Committee? Naturally, having suffered such an indignity, Ms Mbachu was contrite, and apologised. ... »

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Local Labour heavyweight Richard Price denounces internal party shenanigans

September 28, 2017 Local government reform, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Eagle-eyed politicos have drawn my attention to a speech by local Labour heavyweight, Richard Price, at the party’s recent Brighton conference, which can be viewed here at I hour 51 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfhTiwB0OQs It’s strong stuff, and Mr. Price is obviously intent on cementing his coveted position as ‘The Most Hated Man In Waltham Forest’ in the ‘By The Local Labour Hierarchy’ division. But, because of his undoubted expertise in such matters, what he says deserves to be taken seriously, and opens a window onto an astonishing range of s... »

John Cryer MP speaks out on Labour anti-semitism UPDATED

September 26, 2017 anti-semitism, John Cryer MP, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Currently, the BBC is running a story about John Cryer and Labour’s anti-semitism: ‘A senior Labour MP has said he is shocked at some of the anti-Semitic tweets by party members that come before its disciplinary panel. John Cryer said some of what is written “makes your hair stand up”, adding: “This stuff is redolent of the 1930s.” He was speaking at a fringe debate at the Labour conference in Brighton… …Mr Cryer, Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead, described a “seeping poison” and warned that future generations might not realise that ... »

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Redeveloping Waltham Forest: some experiences from the periphery

September 22, 2017 Cllr. Keith Rayner, Cllr.Patrick Edwards, Cllr.Sally Littlejohn, Redevelopment, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

As a previous post indicates, LBWF is currently engaged in a major public-private programme to redevelop the borough. Much of the publicity about this programme centres on a few key hubs, principally Walthamstow. Far less is known about what’s happening elsewhere. So to rectify this situation, the following paragraphs focus on an unsung ward, Cann Hall, in the borough’s poorer south. First, some background. Cann Hall is not far from Stratford and the Olympic Park, and to some extent is beginning to share their glamour. Newcomers are flooding in, house prices are going up, and the old solidly w... »

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London Borough of Waltham Forest:  ‘a property empire with a sideline in local government’?*

August 2, 2017 Cllr. Clare Coghill, Fred Wigg and John Walsh Towers, LBWF, Redevelopment, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

In March 2016, then portfolio holder for economic growth and high streets, now Group Leader, Clare Coghill travelled to Cannes in the company of LBWF CEO Martin Esom and ‘Assistant Director, Investment and Delivery’ Jonathan Martin, to attend Marché International des Professionnels de l’Immobilier (MIPIM), ‘the world’s leading real estate event for property professionals’. Their mission? To sell investment opportunities in Waltham Forest to the assembled movers and shakers. No record exists as to whether Cllr. Coghill et al. were successful, but it is surely significant that subsequently they ... »

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Labour takes William Morris, and Cllr. Marie Pye stirs the pot

June 30, 2017 Cllr. Afzal Akram, Cllr. Marie Pye, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

The results of the William Morris ward by-election are in, with Labour unknown Umar Ali romping home, followed by the Green’s Rebecca Tully, and our man, Walthamstow ‘born and bread’ Afzal Akram, bringing up the rear. Labour supporters are predictably jubilant on social media, but there is one puzzling comment that is worthy of note. In an extended interchange, a peer of Mr. Akram makes the observation that ‘Afzal should have not stood’, to which Cllr. Marie Pye responds: Of course, today Cllr. Pye is almost a forgotten figure, having for some reason fallen precipitously out of fav... »

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Cllr. Liaquat Ali’s new Cabinet role: a square peg in a round hole?

June 28, 2017 Cllr. Clare Coghill, Cllr. Liaquat Ali, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

A couple of weeks ago, the incoming LBWF Leader Clare Coghill announced her first Cabinet, and one of the most notable developments is that she has moved Cllr. Liaquat Ali MBE JP from the community safety portfolio to take on ‘Transformation and Commercial Operations’, covering everything from ‘digital and smart technology’, via ‘revenues and benefits’, and ‘civil contingencies’, to ‘financial sustainability’. This is self-evidently an exacting and complex brief, requiring detailed technical expertise, and it is reasonable to ask whether Cllr. Ali is an appropriate appointment. It needs to be ... »

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