The Labour Party in Waltham Forest

STOP PRESS: Coghill replaces Robbins as Labour Group Leader

January 6, 2017 Cllr. Chris Robbins, Cllr. Clare Coghill, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest, Waltham Forest Labour Party

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 was away, one sick) while another is currently suspended. It is said that Gerry Lyons’ single vote was cast by….Gerry Lyons. Amusement aside, however, it will be interesting to see what if any changes Cllr. Coghill now institutes. Will she act on her ‘little list’? Will there be a ‘new direction’? Or is she, as some have suggested, simply a more human face for t... »

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LBWF backs down on proposed changes to its Council Tax Support scheme

December 2, 2016 Council tax, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest, Waltham Forest Labour Party

Some good news for a change. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Labour’s plan to drastically increase the proportion of council tax that the poorer sections of society would be required to pay in the forthcoming financial year. However, I now understand that, due to pressure from Labour’s rank and file, in tandem with the opposition of ‘some’ councillors, the rate will stay the same as before, higher than other London boroughs, true, but at least flatlining. It would be nice to think that this volte-face represents a significant turning point, and that after disasters... »

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Waltham Forest Labour and anti-semitism (2)

November 18, 2016 anti-semitism, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest, Waltham Forest Labour Party

This speaks for itself and is fairly shocking: http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/166110/labour-branch-chair-praised-activist-suspended-over-antisemitism In the past, Labour and anti-semitism stood at opposite poles, but now it seems to be a different story. »

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Cllr. Clare Coghill and her ‘little list’

November 16, 2016 Cllr. Chris Robbins, Cllr. Saima Mahmud, Cllr. Shabana Dhedi/Qadir, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Politicians who brandish ‘little lists’ seem more prone than most to getting into trouble. The prime example is of course one-time Minister Peter Lilley, who pulled this trick in a speech at the 1992 Conservative conference, received widespread opprobrium, and then disappeared into obscurity. Now Labour Councillor Clare Coghill – thought to be Leader Chris Robbins’ choice as his successor – may be in danger of reaping the same whirlwind. The scene is a jolly gathering of comrades at a local hostelry. Cllr. Coghill holds court. The conversation turns to the future, and how the Labour Grou... »

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Council Leader Chris Robbins finally bobs off UPDATED

November 14, 2016 Cllr. Chris Robbins, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest, Waltham Forest Labour Party

Several well-placed Town Hall sources tell me that, yes, it is finally true: Council Leader Chris Robbins is standing down, perhaps by Christmas, certainly by next May. Robbins has always been nervous around selection time, looming now, but in the past, he was at least able partly to control the process. However, with the influx of new members, Waltham Forest Labour is now a rather different kettle of fish. It is a reasonable assumption that most of the recruits are left-leaning, if not actually Corbynistas, and few will have much time for Robbins’ top-down’ style of managing colle... »

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LBWF: it’s parsimony for the poor, but kerching for councillors

November 9, 2016 Council tax, LBWF, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Like many people who have followed Waltham Forest politics over a number of years, I often wonder what the Labour administration in the Town Hall imagines is its overall purpose, its mission in life. Two recent developments have increased my sense of bafflement. Let’s start with an issue that directly impacts on the borough’s poor. Until 2013, every household in England struggling with low income or on benefits was part of the centrally administered Council Tax Benefit (CTB) scheme, and as a result was exempt from council tax. Subsequently, the government has replaced this system with the Coun... »

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‘In Calais with Stella Creasy’

September 8, 2016 John Cryer MP, Stella Creasy MP, Uncategorized, Waltham Forest Labour Party

There is a long article in today’s New Statesman about Dr. Stella Creasy’s recent visit to the Calais refugee camp: http://www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/2016/09/calais-stella-creasy-how-politicians-are-trying-change-refugee-policy For sure, there will be the usual accusations that this is another example of her penchant for grandstanding. But I doubt if such comment is fair. Dr. Creasy has her failings, as I have suggested before, not least her silence on a whole slew of local Town Hall scandals. But no-one can reasonably contest her strong commitment to helping the less well o... »

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The Corbynistas and local government in Waltham Forest

August 25, 2016 the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

I hear from a number of sources that, as Corbynistas increasingly dominate the local Labour Party, thoughts are turning not just to the de-selection of one or more local MPs, but also to the de-selection of councillors. Whether any such thing will happen is a moot point. There are certainly some on the Labour benches who have contributed little or nothing, and richly deserve to be replaced. But the Left’s fixation with ideology (and penchant for allied witch-hunting) makes it inherently disputatious, and subject to often vicious arguments – a characteristic that has historically limited its ab... »

Robbins trip to the Palace postponed – again!

August 3, 2016 Cllr. Chris Robbins, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Our man with a finger on Council Leader Chris Robbins’ pulse reports as follows: ‘When some weeks ago Chris Robbins put his name to a petition got up by Labour councillors calling on Jeremy Corbyn to resign, he must have thought it was only a matter of time before the Labour Leader was toast, and, with a replacement appointed, his own quest for honours would be back on track. Subsequently, his hopes no doubt rose further because the emerging challenger, Owen Smith, seemed to share Robbins’ flexible approach to politics, selling himself as a lefty in the hope of impressing the Corbynistas... »

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Love Wapping investigates the Islamist takeover of Tower Hamlets UPDATED

July 29, 2016 Cllr. Ahsan Khan, Cllr. Liaquat Ali, Cllr. Saima Mahmud, Cllr. Shabana Dhedi/Qadir, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets, Uncategorized

Mark Baynes’ blog Love Wapping is fast becoming indispensable for those interested in how East London is developing. A couple of days ago, he published part one of his investigation into Islamists in Tower Hamlets: http://lovewapping.org/2016/07/tower-hamlets-london-borough-hijacked-by-fundamental-islamists/ It makes a very interesting read, and I’ll  be posting the follow-ups here in due course. His discussion of the links between Islamic Forum Europe (IFE), a fundamental Islamist group inspired by the teachings of Abul Ala Maududi, and Jamaat-e-Islami are pertinent. As previous p... »

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