The gossip amongst Labour apparatchiks is that Fiaz is in denial, it is almost as if she doesn’t believe that she will be out of office in six months time.

There is no evidence (yet at least) that there is a continuity plan. We hear that neither Hussain nor his supporters are included in the budget planning.

It appears that he (Cllr Anam Islam) said “you want me to piss on your face or something” to a protestor at this evenings protest at a Labour fundraiser.

We note that Newham did eventually fly the Ukrainian flag, but chose not to fly the Israeli flag after October 7th.

Labour’s monopoly of Newham politics is crumbling. Readers will remember that in November 2023 the Plaistow North by-election marked the accession of the second councillor under the Newham Independent banner.

Labour’s mayoral candidate Forhad Hussain must be thinking what he has got himself into. Fiaz has taken one of the safest Labour councils in the country and made the borough a series of marginals.

She may have achieved what all of the opposition parties failed to do, to bring down Newham Labour.

It would appear that he is in denial. Plaistow South was an embarrassment of the highest order, but he is congratulating the comrades on their “impact” and “data collection”.

The Independents campaigned, insisting that it was a two-horse race. Clearly they were right, though if this had been a horse race someone would have asked whether the Labour horse had been nobbled.

Firstly, Newham Independents are riding high. Their victory in Plaistow South, where they totally humiliated Labour should set the alarm bells ringing for Labour.

Andrew Baikie died on holiday in Jamaica earlier this year. The details of his funeral are as follows.

Newham Independents storm ahead in Plaistow South overturning a formerly safe Labour seat.

Plaistow South was in the safest ever Labour parliamentary constituency of Plaistow, which Will Thorne MP took with 95% of the vote.

There is a general point to be made about this. Politicians, not just Labour ones, like headlines. They equate a bold statement or spending money with achievement. It isn’t.

What they don’t like to do is continue when the cameras are looking elsewhere. But it is (Weber’s) “slow boring of hard boards” that makes the difference, not the banner headlines.

Is it too cynical to suggest that Fiaz is spending to gloss-up her own record whilst having no regard to the person who will have to pick up the bill after she goes?

It seems that within a few hours, Cllr Zulfiqar Ali is about to become the statutory Deputy Mayor. We noted on a previous occasion that the mayor might have reason to reconsider Cllr Ali for such important portfolios. 

We could see both a low turnout from Labour voters in Plaistow South and defections from Labour to Reform amongst those who cast their ballots. If this happens, the ultimate beneficiaries are likely to be the Newham Independents.

In a masterpiece of spin, the cabinet member responsible, Cllr McLean is quoted in the Recorder apparently seeing a 50% cut in funding as a positive thing.

The only real winners from Fiaz’s inaction will be Labour’s opponents in Newham, who will find ample ammunition. For the rest of us, the outcome is far bleaker: fewer services, higher costs, and a borough left poorer by the Mayor’s failure to face reality.

For Cllr Shaban Mohammed, the only path to survival may be to flip the script go public with the who, what, when and why of Newham’s housing collapse, and force the mayor to wear the mess herself.

With less than a week before nominations close in the Plaistow South byelection, the following candidates have been announced.

Observers have been swift to suggest that Labour still seems to be incapable of organising the convivial consumption of alcohol within the confines of a manufacturing plant owned by Truman or Carling.

What began as an internal falling out between Newham’s two top women has now spilled over into the pages of Private Eye, which has reported on the rather awkward consequences of their feud. In the process, Private Eye even gave a nod to our own humble blog for keeping tabs on the drama.