All Change in Beckton? And Maryland. And Forest Gate.
The announcement of a general election in July has led to some hurried rearrangements by the Labour Party in Newham.
This is what we hear:
In the spirit of democracy and transparency that epitomises the modern Labour Party, we learn that James Asser has been adopted as the parliamentary candidate for West Ham and Beckton. Asser has not yet resigned his seat as a councillor for Beckton, but we expect the announcement shortly.
His selection was not after a consultation with the members of the local Labour Party. There was no invitation to members to express an interest. Nor were there any interviews for potential candidates. It appears that a decision was made as far away from the gaze of the members of the party and the public as was possible.
Asser epitomises the problems with the modern Labour Party. He has no achievements to his name. Looking at his LinkedIn profile, he has run some campaigns, and, err, that’s it. He has done nothing of note.
His reputation amongst Beckton constituents is as low as it can get.
He has, however, charted a path for his personal advancement and currently sits on Labour’s NEC and for this year is its chair, where he sits alongside prominent MPs.
The decision-making body for the selection of MPs in seats without a candidate is the NEC.
Handy that.
This will mean that there is a council byelection for Beckton on the same day as the general election.
Holding all the elections on the same day is sensible. It saves work and money. By holding council byelections on the same day as the general election, you are guaranteed to double the turnout of voters. This, historically speaking, has been to Labour’s advantage.
Also, if they are voting Labour to get rid of the Tories, they might just vote Labour in the council byelections. It is for this reason that we understand that any disgruntled Labour councillors have been told that if they wish to stand down, they should do so now.
Fiaz and Newham Labour are, we are told, in a state of some anxiety about having to fight by-elections. Given their record in Plashet and Boleyn, we can quite understand this.
We see from the council website that councillors Ken Penton and Sasha Das Gupta have both decided to move on, leaving two more casual vacancies. We do not know if any others will follow.
It will be interesting to see how the opposition parties on Newham Council decide to approach the campaigns and how their vote will hold up.
Having hand-picked the candidates for the 2022 council election, Labour has since lost five of their team, (six if we include Asser), with some going on to fight parliamentary seats.
Luke Charters was elected in 2022 and stayed a whole year on the council before deciding that the demands of being a parliamentary candidate in Yorkshire required that he relinquish his council seat in Newham.
Celia Welsh also managed a full year before deciding that family commitments required her presence elsewhere. The byelection saw Mahmood Mirza elected in her place, beginning the ascent of the Independent Group.
Daniel Lee Phakoe stood down in 2023, precipitating the byelection with a 40% swing against Labour and the election of a second Independent Group councillor.
And now, Cllrs Das Gupta and Penton have decided to go at the same time as Asser.
Then of course there was Veronica Oakeshott, who resigned because higher things were calling. Oakeshott managed a full six months into her second term before resigning.
This might lead observers to become a little cynical of local politicians. It is not that time on the council benches cannot give a candidate experience and understanding of the democratic process, it is rather that serving on the council becomes more of a rite of passage; an extra line to add to their political CVs. It’s a box to tick rather than a service to fulfil.