Newham Independents Announce Another Candidate

After a lull, Newham Independents have announced another candidate for the 2026 council elections.

Of course, the publication of their candidate for Forest Gate North may mean nothing more than he was the next in line. Having something of a conspiratorial mind we, however, are bound to ask whether there is more to this than first appears.

Currently the two seats are held by Cllrs Cronin and Tripp. Cronin is a relative newcomer, and Tripp is now something of a veteran, having served in Wales’ cabinet, before deciding that her future was more assured with Fiaz. She secured a few months on the cabinet with Fiaz before they fell out.

The choice of Forest Gate North is an interesting one for the Independents. Adjacent to Wanstead Flats, this leafier and somewhat more prosperous part of the borough would appear to be a better target for the Greens than for what is essentially a new Muslim ‘anti-imperialist’ party.

It may be that Gaza is more important to the retired lecturers and public sector workers of Forest Gate than we are aware, but the demographics must mitigate against Rahman.

It may be that the Independents are intending to contest every seat, which is a commendable aim, but we suspect that they will struggle to match the manpower, (sorry, it’s all person power now), of the Labour Party.

However, the maneuvering inside certain places of religious observance are impossible to predict and there are certain communities with a much higher turnout in elections than in the general population.  A smaller population turning out in higher numbers could swing a seat, or a council, (see for instance, LBTH which has 32% Bangladeshi population -and 31% White British- but the council is 87% Bangladeshi –whereas the White British representation is 11%). Stating this probably breaches some regulation on Islamophobia, even though the Labour government hasn’t yet worked out what this means, but you know where to send the police.

There is still little evidence of the Independents (or the Greens) mounting any real challenge locally, only Labour seem to be on the streets. Both opposition parties could both learn a lesson from the old Lib-Dems, (who have now apparently abandoned Newham) about the power of regular canvassing and campaigning on local issues. 

If we are correct and Labour are about to select their councillors for the next election, we should know the names of the 66 or so Labour candidates who will be knocking on doors every weekend between Spring 2025 and May 2026. There is nothing to suggest that any of the remaining Labour Party members will have any opportunity to take part in the selection of the candidates who will represent them.