Where to begin…

Cllr Keeling has made it abundantly clear that they (singular) is not/are not (?) a him. They (again singular) is a non- binary person.

We know that readers are unlikely to peruse the somewhat dry pages of the Budget Working Commission, however, as this is the first real attempt to hold the mayor to account, we have read through it and bring you the edited highlights.

There are 10 recommendations

This was the picture which accompanied a Newham Recorder article about the alarming number of housing applications received by Newham Council. The intention is obvious, to create the impression that these applicants and there were 500 new applicants in January, are currently living on the streets.

It seems that the councillors who have the dubious honour of serving on the Budget Working Party have found themselves in hot water.

We are told that the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission has referred them all AND the Mayor to the Standards Advisory Committee. This is described on the council website thus.

After months of waiting, former councillor Hanif Abdulmuhit received the email below within 48 hours of the publication of our article.

Cllr Abdulmuhit was told categorically by a member of the interview panel that there was an outstanding complaint against him being investigated by the Labour Party.

This assertion, it turns out was untrue.

We have covered the underhand dealings in the Labour Party in east London, specifically as they related to the suspension of Redbridge Council Leader Jas Athwal.

Amidst much fanfare and collective back-slapping the burgesses of Newham congratulated themselves on the sterling work that they had done amongst the street homeless population during the pandemic.

We are taking a break for Christmas and the New Year, but we will return in 2023. Until then may we wish all of our readers, friends and foes alike, a very happy Christmas.

We are given to understand that the leaked letter, published on Open Newham, from the Budget Working Commission, has caused the mayor to get a little upset. (This we are told is an understatement.)

One of our correspondents reported upon a nice little earner that Newham Council has begun to use in Canning Town.

Clarence Road is a quiet street alongside a park. It is a cul-de-sac running off Star Lane.

In what must be a welcome development, our sources tell us that the Budget Working Commission has written to the mayor sharing their “concern regarding the Council’s financial sustainability and resilience”.

The letter is unpublished. So far, see a copy below.

It takes some doing to collapse your economy overnight. Some politicians do this over a much longer period.

What we have discovered is that Newham Council is going broke.

Remember the travails of Newham Labour. One councillor was deselected for complaining about antisemitism within the Newham Party. At the same time, an antisemite was selected to stand for a seat in Canning Town South.

We covered this earlier.

In 2008 Newham Council, under the then Mayor, Robin Wales introduced free school meals for all children, regardless of the income of their parents.

It was a scheme that was popular with schools and with the local Labour Party. It was also remarkably effective. There was some disquiet therefore when Mayor Fiaz sought to cut the scheme to balance the books.

Councillor Mohammed , we hear, is “really disappointed” by the findings of a report that shows Newham Housing Department’s complaints about repairs have almost doubled in a year. What’s more, some 62% of the complaints were upheld.

The delay in progressing the development of the Carpenters’ Estate in Stratford has been caused by the desire of Mayor Fiaz to distance herself from anything to do with the previous incumbent.

The pay dispute that has dominated relationships between the council and the refuse workers has eclipsed a longer running and much more disturbing issue.

You’ll all be familiar with these signs. They have been put up in the last few years to improve road safety around schools in the borough.

It didn’t take long for the mayor to see another money-making opportunity at the expense of local motorists.

Readers will recall that we reported that Cllr Pushpa Makwana had upped-roots and moved with her family to Havering borough within weeks of being elected to a seat on Newham Council.

This piece was sparked by the response to the (hopefully) humorous piece that satirised the use of ‘they’ as a personal pronoun. It speaks to the current political obsession on the Left with the correct pronoun by which to address one’s comrades and comradesses and comreXes.