More Unsubstantiated Rumours
We hear that West Ham MP, Lyn Brown is no longer quite so keen on representing Labour in the north of the borough. The cosy relationship she had with the members of the West Ham party seem unlikely to be replicated with Tower Hamlets party members in Bow. It is our understanding that she has no desire to leave politics just yet and that she has set her eyes on the new seat of West Ham and Beckton.
Being Chair of Labour’s NEC means that Cllr James Asser is aware of such manoeuvrings. And it seems, that he is adjusting his ambitions accordingly.
Asser, who lives in the south of the borough and represents Beckton on the council, had once seemed a shoe in for the seat. Less so now.
He has no base in the north from which to launch a bid for the Stratford and Bow seat, unlike Cllr Terry Paul, who would relish a shot at it.
We are told that Asser is still desperate to get into parliament and is now looking for a seat outside of Newham. It doesn’t really matter where, anywhere with a decent majority will do.
We thought that we’d take a look at his political C.V. based upon his experiences on Newham Council.
He’s Deputy Mayor: That sounds good. Less good is his role in the oversight of the collapse of the council’s finances. He was Number 2 as the council went from £50m in cash reserves to needing to sell £16m of capital to balance the books. That’s just for 2024. They’ll need to do the same again the following year. And the year after that. The budget for 2024-25 was unique in the history of the borough. Newham’s Labour Group had so little confidence in the budget tabled by the leadership that they effectively rewrote it.
He has overseen the implementation of parking and residential permit charges. Linked to the abysmal financial performance of the council has been it’s need to increase revenues. Car ownership has been seen as a way to increase local taxation, without any encumbrances. Asser introduced residential charges on all cars, (remember, when Fiaz came to power, the first residential permit was free). On top of this he oversaw hikes in the charges for parking when shopping and traffic enforcement that was truly draconian; Browning Road is raking in over £2.4m a year. Overall, resident satisfaction with the council is plummeting.
But his community relations should stand him in good stead. Err? Remember the debacle over the City Farm? A much-loved community resource and a service unique within the borough. Asser was seen as high handed and remote from the parents who were campaigning for their children. It was perhaps this more than any other thing which saw him lose votes in May 2024, when Labour was gaining votes nationwide.
It could be that an outstanding performance at the head of Newham’s environment team will convince the comrades of his abilities on a more important stage. Alas, it seems not. The worsening state of the borough has additionally given Newham’s new opposition councillors grist for their mill, repeatedly exposing the deteriorating state of the local environment.
But surely his relations with the staff and trade unions would offer some hope. It was under Asser that staff of the City Farm were prosecuted by Newham Council in a suit that was branded by the judge as “an abuse of process” and an “affront to justice”. In words that could not be more damning, Newham’s leadership were condemned for “bias”, “scapegoating their own staff” and a “politically motivated prosecution”. Just the sort of qualities you want in your political leaders.
So, we are genuinely not sure what to wish for here. Should we hope that Asser gets adopted elsewhere? At least he’d be out of our hair. But given that he’d likely be elected in what is predicted to be a Labour landslide, is this the sort of person we want governing us?