East Ham and West Ham Labour Suspended

Allegations of Electoral Fraud and Dodgy Recruitment Practices

It seems that the Labour Party has woken up to the shady goings-on in Newham. Late on Friday 12th March members received notification that the two CLPs were being suspended.

Data analysis has shown “irregularities in new member sign ups over a sustained period”. What they do not say is what period this is and when it started. It appears that there have been significant irregularities in the signing up of new members.

The numbers in Newham began to swell with the elevation of Jeremy Corbyn to the Labour Leadership. Numbers in Newham, and especially in specific wards began to increase dramatically and most of the new members seemed to come from one community.

We are aware that former mayor, Wales, requested an inquiry into the burgeoning membership of the Newham parties which was denied during the period of the Corbyn leadership.

We await the outcome of the inquiry.

During the suspension all party activities cease, which means that the selection of a candidate in East Ham Central will not go ahead. It seems likely that the London Region of the Labour Party will impose a candidate.

It appears that the police are investigating allegations of electoral fraud. Does this sound like Tower Hamlets to anyone else?

Behind the Headlines

It has transpired that the rationale for the suspension, at least in part, was not terribly well founded. The ‘dossier’ which contained a raft of allegations and ‘evidence’ seems to have included the assertion that the Metropolitan police were currently investigating Labour in Newham for ‘electoral fraud’.

This is clearly serious. People go to prison for electoral fraud.

This seems to have been something of an exaggeration. Okay, it wasn’t true. The Metropolitan Police did receive allegations last year, but declined to begin an investigation because of lack of evidence of any wrongdoing. This was in August 2020, some six months before the dossier was seen by the Organisation Sub-Committee (Org-Sub) of Labour’s NEC.

Now that they are aware that the information on one of the most salient features of the dossier is incorrect, there was no criminality, we should expect to see some change in their position from the Sub-Org. We should, but we won’t.

Controlling the Narrative

It seems that the competition to control the narrative is now well underway.

The far-left blog, Skwakbox notes the failure of the letter to members to mention antisemitism. This they feel is strange because it was supposedly a major factor in the complaints included in the dossier. Does this mean that Skwakbox thinks that the Jews were behind it? Oh, we hope not. 

It seems that our hopes are in vain.

Oh no. You would have thought that someone would have learned something from the last five years! That’s it. The Jews are a fifth column for the state of Israel. Here we go again.

Alternatively, it’s really, it’s a plot by right-wingers to … well we’re not sure, but to do something bad. Maybe the implication is with regard to the selection of candidates for the 2020 local elections, but as we illustrate below, this does not fall into a straight Left-Right divide.

Commenters on social media have drawn conclusions of racism in the decision. That didn’t take long.

It’s good to see that the kinder gentler politics has not completely gone away with Mr Corbyn.

So three themes have emerged. It was the Jews. It’s a right-wing plot. It’s a stitch up by London Labour, but it’s not clear who they are supporting.

Interesting that this particular Tweet comes from a source supportive of Fiaz.

It suggests a degree of hostility between the different elements of Newham’s Muslim population. Our suspicion is that this is a voice from the newly constituted Newham Muslim Forum, which has been the recipient of Fiaz’s largesse and support.

But maybe there is something of a left-right battle here.

We learn the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is not simply a right-winger, but is in fact an ultra-right winger (does that mean he’s a centrist?) and that Fiaz is a moderate left winger, which is helpful, because we were never quite sure and her political identification seemed to drift in the direction of the prevailing political wind.

OK. Who submitted the dossier and why?

There are no clear answers as yet, though that hasn’t stopped the speculation. Interesting question, courtesy of Skwakbox.

We might be able to offer some guidance.

Our moles have offered further thoughts on ‘who’. 

They agree that Cllr Blaney was party to the compilation of the dossier and that Cllr Sasha Das Gupta was also involved. They suggest that in addition, Cllrs Terry Paul and John Gray were key participants. The back-room support appears to have been provided by former councillor, David Gillies. It has been suggested that cabinet member Cllr James Asser is also part of the plot. Essentially, although not a member of the Org-Sub, Asser is a longstanding member of Labour’s NEC and he is said to have prepared the way for the dossier. (We would welcome confirmation if you are in the know.)

As to why      

It is evident that this is not an old fashioned Left-Right fight. Blaney and Das Gupta are undoubtedly on the lefter part of the Left. Gilles is an old Tribunite as we understand it which probably places him centre-right in the current Labour membership. Paul leans to the right of “ultra-right winger” Wales. Gray appears to flit between them.

Our sources tend to agree with those who suggest that this has little to do with corruption and much to do with the selection of the candidates for 2020. The one thing that unites the names above is that they owe their political prominence to Fiaz.

Various ‘community’ politicians in the party had expected to receive the support and approval of Fiaz after her selection as mayoral candidate. In short, they were stabbed in the back. They were dismissed without even a thank you as Fiaz promoted younger Tablighi associated ‘community leaders’ and sought to distance herself from previous supporters in the party and on the council. (More on this to come.) They have been a thorn in her side ever since.

So, she effectively alienated a significant voting bloc.

Clearly the members associated with Wales are unlikely to be sympathetic to her. They might have only 500 votes, but they do vote.

On top of that, she is losing the support of the ordinary members. This post from NewhamNow, (a group we have only recently come across), seems to sum up the feelings of ordinary Labour Party members.

We think that some of the numbers might be wrong, but in essence, Fiaz has overseen the collapse of Labour in Newham into identity-factions at war with one another; the council is heading for financial ruin; residents are angry with the cack-handed imposition of parking restrictions and charges; and the party is bedevilled by scandals of antisemitism.

Those who support her are those who depend upon her for their livelihoods. Or those who would like to.

In the long term, they see their best hope as being imposed by the Labour bureaucracy, which is interesting as certainly the lefty members always opposed this under the Wales incumbency. Who knows, if the referendum doesn’t go the way it is expected, Fiaz may yet be hoping for a second term at £80k per year. Being imposed will mean that she doesn’t have to go before the membership.

In the short term, it is inevitable that the candidate for East Ham Central will be imposed. Our sources continue to suggest that Shagufta Nasreen is the favoured candidate of the mayor, which will leave London Labour in an interesting position. Local intelligence suggests that Zainab Naqvi is the most popular candidate amongst branch members. But she is likely to be hostile to Fiaz.  

Will they go with the mayor’s choice? Rather embarrassingly, London Labour still has the compilation of cuttings from posts Nasreen made before leaving Facebook. Why would they want to impose a candidate they rejected as unsuitable five years ago? 

So now, the East Ham Central Steeplechase is now looking a lot more open. Perhaps a chance for a real outsider.