Those Who are Leaving
We take a swipe at most of those who are standing down or those who have been removed, albeit unwillingly, from Labour’s list for 2022. Genuinely, we would like to say thank you, for the time and the efforts you have put in to serving the borough. Many of you will have supported initiatives that we think are frankly barmy. That is not without the realisation that had we suggested anything, others may have had equal distain. Politics must be a battle of ideas, and achievement depends upon what Weber called, “the slow boring of hard wood”. Thank you for your contributions, for your efforts and (mostly) we wish you well.
Hanif Abdulmuhit is another of those councillors with a variety of parties in their political CVs. Following the 2003 Iraq invasion he left Labour to join Respect. He was successful as a Respect candidate in 2006 where he gained a seat alongside Abdul Karim Sheikh and Asif Karim. He grew disenchanted with the Trotskyist posturing of Respect and re-joined Labour, eventually being chosen as a candidate for Green St West in 2014, a ward that he has represented since. He is one of three Muslim councillors identified by the allies of Mayor Fiaz in the NPA who should be got rid of. Whether this is because they are all Bengali or are all more liberal in their politics or simply because they are capable of expressing independent thought in the court of the mayor is not clear.
Nazir Ahmed jumped before he was pushed. This solicitor, having been brought in as part of the Fiaz new-wave found himself suspended for the circulation of an antisemitic posting on social media. Choosing to leave Labour altogether before any finding by the investigations unit, he resigned the Labour Whip and left the party. This does not mean that his considerable talent is lost to local government as he will soon be standing in Tower Hamlets for Lutfer Rahman’s Aspire Party.
For those who have served the borough, even if we disagree with them, we’d like to say something positive; for people who have given their time and effort in seeking to make the borough a better place. In the case of Cllr Ahmed, this is rather difficult. He is taking his unpleasant brand of politics to a more natural home, as one of the flock of the disgraced ex-mayor of Tower Hamlets. The best that we can say to him is, “good-bye and good riddance”.
After one term in office, the determinedly left-wing Blaney has decided to stand down. We understand that he has become disenchanted with both council politics and the leader.
Ayesha Chowdhury was one of the three Bangladeshi councillors targeted by the NPA whilst at the same time they promoted the cause of one, Rokhsana Fiaz. Chowdhury has represented Beckton since 2002. It is understood that one of the architects of her removal was Cllr James Asser, which is somewhat ironic, as it was Chowdhury who arranged his selection in Beckton as a favour to Wales. Asser seems to be polishing his pro-Fiaz credentials, which is probably necessary given what we hear of his comments about her in private. What we don’t know is whether the substantial personal vote Chowdhury brought to the election will transfer to the Labour slate which now includes Rohima Rahman, who has been in conflict with Chowdhury over a substantial period of time.
Cllr Ken Clark was seen as an ally and operator for Wales when he came onto the council eight years ago. That didn’t last long. Cllr Clark’s agenda seemed primarily about Cllr Clark and in particular acquiring as much power as he could lay his hands on. It did appear that he intended to challenge Wales for the top job, but if these aspirations were real, they were soon debunked as the power base he sought to acquire made it clear that their primary allegiances were elsewhere. So, Clark moved himself into the role of power broker, picking up and subsequently dropping various of the younger mayoral aspirants along the way.
There is no doubt that this former Labour Party Regional Director is a formidable operator, but not a great team player. We are told that he has now moved out of the borough.
Elected, deselected and elected again, Omna Gangadharan is out again. It is understood that the allegations of Islamophobia counted against her. Why they should count against her when they clearly did not count against Pushpa Makawna is a question we cannot answer. Reflecting upon the way in which the decision to evict all of the Malayalee councillors was taken, we would not rule out a South Indian slate in Wall End to challenge Labour as Independents or under the banner of one of the other parties. Wall End has elected independents/ratepayers in the past.
Cllr Pat Holland was one of those few councillors who wanted to represent Custom House ward. It was her only ward and the ward that she lived in. Most Labour councillors were shunted there because no-one else wanted them, (including a certain R Fiaz). Pat represented Custom House from 2002 to 2022. She never held high office, but was one of the most able community activists on the council. She was one of a very few with a large personal vote, built up by her extensive relationships developed over decades and because of the personal trust constituents had for her. She is perhaps the last of those that we know as typical of the old East End. She served Custom House and Newham well.
Nilufa Jahan, Bengali and a one-term councillor elected shortly after leaving university, was swiftly promoted to the role of Deputy Cabinet Member for Environment. She is one of a small group of female councillors, who were in a position to work closely with the mayor, but have chosen to stand down after only one term. Having recently married it is believed that she served the residents of Newham from an address outside the borough.
Moniba Khan was elected to the Boleyn seat in a by-election in 2018. You would think that she would have been welcomed by FIaz, another woman of Pakistani descent. Alas not. Khan is perhaps too closely related to the former cheerleader for Fiaz, Obaid Khan. She’s his wife! Obaid is a former councillor who got into trouble with the Labour Party because of his behaviour towards colleagues and is linked to the East Ham Momentum group members who have left the party and who, having expended considerable effort in the campaign to get Fiaz selected, then felt betrayed when she dumped them shortly after.
Clearly the role of Deputy Cabinet Member for Regeneration was not enough for Gen Kitchen. Having stood for Labour in Northamptonshire at the last general election it appears that she has realigned her priorities to give herself the freedom to grasp the greatness to which she aspires. She is another of those women who having served one term close to Fiaz have chosen to seek fulfilment elsewhere.
Veteran trade unionist and councillor, Riaz Ahmed was given the Spanish Archer. Perusing the tweets that are said to have originated from the mayor, we find that Ahmed was definitely out of favour in the court of R Fiaz. Clearly, he was one of those chosen to go on the mayor’s hit list, though we find the mayor’s (alleged) reference to his incompetence to be a trifle ironic. Pots and kettles…
Mushtaq Hussain Mughal. Described by Cllr Daniel Blaney as ‘useless’ and a’ waste of space’, (not the greatest of political epitaphs), this former Chair of Labour Group is one of those given the order of the boot. We are told that he is contemplating standing as an independent.
Cllr Mas Patel is who chose not to stand for re-election May 2022. This news came as a bit of a surprise given that he was once touted as a serious Mayoral challenger against his old boss Mayor Fiaz. Having resigned from her administration in dramatic fashion, during summer 2020, he has focussed on his legal career.
The question is whether this is a temporary hiatus, where he will ready himself up for a proper shot at the Mayoralty in 2026 or has he given up on Newham politics?
Cllr Quintin Peppiatt is standing down. Cllr Peppiatt came onto the council in 1997 in a by-election on the night that saw the Blair government move into Number 10. He has served some 25 years on the council. His period as the Cabinet Member for Education and Young People in the Wales administration will be the undoubted high point, where his leadership saw the education results and the fabric of the school buildings improve immensely.
For the sake of clarity, this included introducing free school meals; the transformation of ‘early years’, so that Newham children were as well equipped as middle class children at age 5; he began the ‘reading guarantee’ which took 83% of those falling behind to the same level as their peers; Newham had more primary schools in the top 500 than any other borough and was ranked second in the country for progress between key stages 1 and 2; under his leadership, Newham children’s performance at A Levels went from 128th to 8th in the country.
Not a bad legacy to leave behind.
Peppiatt made some ripples when he resigned the Labour Whip in protest of Labours (lack of) action on antisemitism. It is evident that the Labour establishment has not been moved to take action in the light of his decision. Clearly, he has become somewhat jaded with the elevation of froth over substance under the current regime and the unwillingness of his colleagues to tackle in public what they deride in private. The council will be the poorer for his loss.
Farah Nazeer is clearly going for the record of the shortest serving councillor. Having been elected in a by-election in May 2021 she will be giving up office in May 2022. Thank you for your service!
Firoza Nekiwala spent some 12 largely quiescent years on the council. Having been brought on in the Wales years, when the winds changed, so did she and she became steadfast supporter of the new mayor. Whether it was this or the years of wholly unrecognised achievement and invisible hard work, she was rewarded with the post of Deputy to Zulfiqar Ali in Health and Adult Social Care.
Ayesha Siddiqah is unusual, not to say unique. She was one of those sitting councillors, chosen to stand again. She resigned. She was known to be angered by the wholesale eviction of Bangladeshi councillors who had served the borough with some distinction over many years, not least because one of them was her husband. Known to be intelligent with deep roots in the Green St community, Siddiqah was once touted as a future mayor. There is still time.
Rahman is another of the three targeted by the mayor’s allies in the NPA. She was elected in 2014 and chose to stand down this year. She was one of a number of younger candidates who ousted the old guard of mosque committee members who made up Labour’s Muslim councillors. She has now had enough.
We’d like to say something positive about Cllr Thekkeppuravil, but try as we might, we can’t think of anything. Known for his willingness to embrace the like of serially suspended MP, Chris Williamson and other implicated in antisemitism, the best that we can wish him is good riddance.
It’s a perennial problem for Labour. They want 50/50 male/female representation, but struggle to get enough women to fill the places. This happened in 2018 and again in 2022. Delphine is, perhaps unfairly regarded as one of those for whom the trials of office were too great. This was not helped by the pressure she came under from her ward colleague, Shaban Mohammed, whom she accused of bullying. She appears to have been the subject of an email campaign within the local party branch to undermine her. Corbyn might be gone, but his toxic legacy remains.