It seems that Newham Council and the Mayor are coming under some criticism for failing to deal with allegations against their former colleague. Mushtaq Mughal (suspended because of allegations of antisemitism) was, we are told, the fortunate recipient of a council flat.

This is a report from the Newham Recorder.

Some years ago, at considerable expense, Newham Council invested in some litter bins that would automatically tell the council when they were full, (in the picture on the left, you can see the flashing red light).

This story just keeps on going.

On 2nd March the Telegraph reported the Keeling incident at the council meeting.

According to the report, Mayor Fiaz was so moved by the inability of her colleagues to refer to an individual in the plural that she has determined that the members of her Labour Group are in need of training. The Labour Group, it seems, will need instruction on how to express themselves in Newspeak.

The narcissism and mock outrage of Cllr Keeling was revealed in a tweet from Chris Rose, (above).

Newham Council appears to have become the subject of news comment, for all the wrong reasons.

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.