I will “revise the Council’s constitution to increase the number of full Council meetings and bring back Public Question Time.”*

That when you upset people, they can get together and, well you see what below.

Not yet a councillor and definitely the youngest contender, we hear that Zain Miah is throwing his hat into the ring as a mayoral contender.

Taqi Shah has announced his entry into the race to become mayor.

A Message from the Mayor

Last week we were recognised with an award for our Better Streets programme delivered in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy to tackle fly-tipping.

This tweet says it all.

On Friday 3rd, nominations from the place of Labour’s mayoral candidate closed. This is the selection which will determine the governance of Newham 2022-2026.

It seems that the mayor has not been dragging her feet in getting on to social media to advertise her desire to re-stand. She has cut and paste the letter that Labour Party members were lucky to receive by email.

The jockeying for position has started. The Labour Party has announced that nominations can be submitted for the place as Labour’s Mayoral candidate in the 2022 local elections.

At a time when most Newham councillors, at least those wanting reselection are polishing their Starmerite credentials whilst airbrushing their Corbynite past from Facebook, one member stands out for her refusal to tow the new party line. Perhaps this is because the Labour Party isn’t actually the party she supports.

It seems that various councillors have decided that their chances of advancement now lie with Mayor Fiaz.

Plans have been shared for a new housing development in Manor Park.

We have commented previously on the wisdom of appointing Jayne Fisher as Head of the Mayor’s Private Office.

We have reported elsewhere about the bullying atmosphere on the council, where almost half of the council have reported Mayor Fiaz to the Labour Party for bullying.

Promises, Promises… Time was when it all seemed so easy. All you had to do was promise something and it seemed like it was really going to happen.

Newham in a financial crisis; redundancies; increased dissatisfaction with the council; increased taxes; new charges for residents; a Labour Group riven with antisemitism and Islamophobia; the local Labour Parties suspended.

You’d think that these issues might occupy some of the time of our local political leaders.

It seems not.

Never willing to let a band-wagon pass her by without jumping on, Mayor Fiaz has become a recent convert to the idea of women’s safety.

Of course, she is not promising to do anything. That responsibility belongs to the police. But she feels that it is very important.

The trouble is that community safety is not just a policing matter.

As the signatures on the petition climb ever closer to 50,000, we wait to see if this will be the next U-Turn from Mayor Fiaz. Will she meet with the protest organisers?

They say that fact is often stranger than fiction. Here we have an example. In a week when Newham was branded the dirtiest borough in the country we find that they have been shortlisted for their work to reduce fly-tipping. Except they haven’t.