A note for readers…
This is a personal blog, which aims to scrutinise the powers that be in Waltham Forest, from the Council (hereafter London Borough of Waltham Forest or LBWF), both elected members and staff; to our MP... »
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John Cryer MP: a news roundup
When John Cryer moved his home to Lewisham in 2015, many Labour party members hereabouts were disappointed, as they believed he had pledged that, as long as he represented Leyton and Wanstead, he woul... »
The E11 BID Co. saga continues
As this blog has extensively documented, Leytonstone’s Business Improvement District (BID) scheme, and more particularly the company that is supposed to run it, the E11 BID Co., have rarely been free... »
Councillor Saima Mahmud’s surreptitious Town Hall award ceremonies: a further update
Regular readers of this blog will remember that last year’s Mayor, Cllr. Saima Mahmud, hosted surreptitious award ceremonies, organised by two private citizens, in the Mayor’s Parlour; and that the be... »
Save Our Buses and Mini-Holland
As this blog has observed before, many of those who vociferously debate Mini-Holland in Waltham Forest remain unconvincing, largely because of their unfortunate habit of confusing anecdote and asserti... »
Waltham Forest Labour begins the selection process for the next council elections…and Momentum bottles it
The closing date for applications to stand for Labour at the next council election has just passed, and fevered rumours are circulating about who has, and has not, put themselves forward. I understand... »
LBWF and Community Ward Forums: a further blow to local democracy
I have written previously about LBWF’s gradual strangulation of Community Ward Forums, and it would appear that this unfortunate trend is now reaching its logical end point, with, perhaps unexpectedly... »
Waltham Forest and Islamist terrorism
This week, the Henry Jackson Society’s Hannah Stuart published a report entitled Islamist Terrorism: Analysis of Offences and Attacks in the UK (1998–2015) which contains profiles of all Islamism-insp... »
Momentum in Waltham Forest: the promise and the reality UPDATED
As is well known by now, Momentum promises a ‘new politics’, one characterised by, amongst other things, openness, transparency, and enhanced democratic participation. Since this blog has always suppo... »
Dave Hill on ‘Mini-Holland’ in Enfield
Writing for his blog, the Guardian‘s Dave Hill, who has his favourites but is sometimes moderately iconoclastic, surveys how ‘Mini-Holland’ is evolving in our neighbour, Enfield: htt... »
STOP PRESS: Coghill replaces Robbins as Labour Group Leader
Labour councillors have just completed voting for their new Group Leader, and the results are as follows: Clare Coghill 30 Nadeem Ali 9 Gerry Lyons 1 Two of those eligible to vote did not attend (one ... »