A ‘tongue in cheek’ exploration of the phenomena in Tower Hamlets politics, where everyone is a suspected Lutfur Rahman puppet unless he/she can prove otherwise.

A typical day in Tower Hamlets

The first fact, I first joined the Labour Party in 1995. The second fact, I have been an elected Labour Councillor since 2018, winning the election against candidates put up by the Aspire party. The third fact, once in a while I get the odd comment of passing on messages to Lufur Rahman or inquiring how he is.

Yes, people come up to me and ask me how Lutfur Rahman is, even though I ran and won against his candidates, and it’s been nearly a decade when I spoke to him in a semi-social gathering. At first, you are shocked, and just don’t know how to respond. Later on, you just become bemused, losing any strength to correct people, and curious as to how far it goes.

Exploring the Lutfur Rahman Conspiracy Phenomenon

On purpose, I just decide not to respond, just to see how far and bizarre this train of thinking goes. I have had non-Bangladeshi Labour colleagues, every time we meet up for a campaign session, asking me how Lutfur is? The very same people while during elections are happy to sit with Lufur’s deputies and divvy up the postal votes. Hence the curious voting patterns one observes in Tower Hamlets elections.

I even had Labour councillors from Tower Hamlets and beyond repeatedly asking me if I am gonna stand for Aspire, even though publicly I stated I will not stand in 2022. I even had a senior local Labour Party member turn up to my house in the middle of the night, asking for a meeting with Lutfur, apparently, I am his senior strategist. When I told him the facts, he left my house disappointed. Alas, we never spoke again.

I spoke to a friend about this phenomenon, and he told me he has experienced something similar. He recalls at his first meeting at the Spitalfields Housing when a non-Bangladeshi member stood up and accused everyone of, “You are all Lutfur Rahman’s!’

Are we all Lufur Rahman’s?

Looking at the facts in a rational manner, and using Ockham’s Razor as a method. There are simpler explanations as to why things are in Tower Hamlets politics, rather than the more elaborate, sinister theories of somehow Lutfur Rahman is behind all things that are negative. Simple facts like the high levels of inequality, which make rent-seeking through political office an attractive option. The historic and current structural racism within the Tower Hamlets Labour Party, which give rise to dysfunctional politics. Also, the convenient excuse of constructing an ‘other’ to cover up institutional failures in Tower Hamlets, such as health inequality, drug usage and poor housing etc.

One of the hallmarks of a conspiracy theory is that it is circular and resists falsifications. Which will mean that this blog post will be seen as a sign of another Lutfur Rahman conspiracy, of misdirection, by proponents of the theory. Que Sera, Sera!

The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice

(Proverbs 12:15)