Recent events, housing corruption demonstrations and the bungled attempt to admit Cllr Ohid Ahmed to the Labour Party have led to questions being asked. The main question is, is the Tower Hamlets Labour Party deeply entrenched in a culture of corrupt practices and unethical behaviour?
Definitions
“Unhappy the land that is in need of heroes”
Bertolt Brecht
Corruption: is a form of dishonesty undertaken by a person or an organization entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one’s personal gain.
Labour Group: collective of Labour Councillors in any given local authority. In terms of Tower Hamlets council, this is the Tower Hamlets Labour Group.
Local Labour Party: Also known as CLPs (Constituency Labour Party). In terms of Tower Hamlets, we have two CLPs. Bethnal Green and Bow CLP and Poplar and Limehouse CLP.
Tower Hamlets Labour: Is made up of both CLPs and the Tower Hamlets Labour Group. The Tower Hamlets Local Campaign Forum (LCF) acts as the main interlocutor between the CLPs and the Labour Group.
TH Labour Overtaken by events: The storming of the Town Hall
Harold Macmillan was once asked what the most troubling problem of his Prime Ministership was. ‘Events, my dear boy, events,’ was his reply.
Adam Raphael
In the arena of politics, the certainty of unforeseen events is an enduring fact. As such, it is often not the event itself, but rather the subsequent handling thereof, that ultimately serves as a barometer of an individual’s character. It is against this backdrop that we may juxtapose the French protestors, engaged in a contentious stand-off with the French government over proposed pension reforms, with our own Tower Hamlets counterpart: a group of predominantly Somali mothers who marched, children in tow, to the Town Hall in a bid to register their discontent.
Mothers marched to the Town Hall to put forward cases of alleged housing corruption and extortion. Monday 20th March 2023.
On the 20th of March 2023, these aggrieved residents laid bare their grievances to the Town Hall officials. The crux of the matter was that all of them found themselves mired in either temporary or overcrowded housing. Even more troubling, they claimed to have been solicited by Council officials during the previous Labour administration for exorbitant amounts of money – ranging from £5,000 to £20,000 – in exchange for being rehoused by the Tower Hamlets Council.
Notably, the opposition Greens and Conservatives immediately decried the alleged impropriety and clamoured for a comprehensive investigation into the matter. Regrettably, however, it appears the Labour Group of Tower Hamlets opted to deflect attention away from the issue at hand and instead endeavoured to lure a rival party member to their fold. Alas, these alleged machinations soon fizzled out ignominiously in the space of a mere twenty-four hours.
One is left to ponder: what truly transpired behind the scenes?
Due to irreconcilable differences with the Mayor of TH, I have made a difficult decision to resign as Cabinet Member for Safer Communities.
It has been a great honour to serve the residents of TH and help tackle the borough’s crime epidemic.
Anatomy of a bungled defection to Labour: The case of Ohid Ahmed
As far as optics are concerned, the resignation of Cllr Ohid Ahmed hot on the heels of the Town Hall protest could not have been more poorly timed. Almost immediately following his announcement, calls were being made on social media platforms affiliated with the Labour Party for his admission. However, this sentiment was not shared universally. Indeed, several party members, myself included, took to social media to object to Ahmed’s proposed admission. Specifically, one member highlighted Ahmed’s close public association with an individual who had been convicted of sexual offences and who is accused of antisemitism.
My objections to Cllr Ohid Ahmed being admitted to Labour.
In a remarkable show of solidarity, both local Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) – Bethnal Green & Bow and Poplar & Limehouse – passed unanimous resolutions that not only opposed Ahmed’s admission but also granted the respective executives of each party the authority to petition the Labour Party HQ directly regarding the matter. This letter, in turn, called upon the UK Labour Party to refuse Ahmed’s admission under any and all circumstances.
This evening the Executive Committee met in an emergency session to discuss and passed unanimously an emergency motion against defections from Aspire.
We stand up against the hateful campaign run by Aspire in the last election and are opposed to any defections. pic.twitter.com/MXkjBk5FOC
— Poplar and Limehouse Labour Party (@LabourPandL) March 20, 2023
A motion was passed by Poplar and Limehouse CLP, barring Ohid Ahmed’s entry into the Labour Party.
One might have reasonably assumed that such decisive action on the part of both local parties would have put the matter to rest. However, this was not to be the case. Astonishingly, the day following these events, the leader of the Labour Group, Sirajul Islam, publicly endorsed Ahmed. This development raises serious questions as to the detachment of those heading the Labour Party in the council chamber from the demands of the members they purport to represent.
Is there any hope for Tower Hamlets Labour?
Is Tower Hamlets Labour institutionally corrupt? No.
Despite the challenges of the day, both local parties should be commended for their swift and unanimous action in blocking Ohid Ahmed’s admission to the Labour Party. Decisions were subsequently posted on social media platforms. Their actions demonstrate the efficacy of the checks and balances at play within Tower Hamlets Labour.
However, the events do not cast the Labour Group or its leadership in a favourable light. By failing to address the serious allegations of extortion made by residents and instead choosing to focus on the attempted defection of Ohid Ahmed, the optics of the situation leave much to be desired. It is worth remembering the words of the Labour Party Rule Book, and the standards of conduct it demands of its members.
“Through their council duties and activities in the community, members of the Labour group should seek to promote Party policies and to represent and empower local people and communities, and act in a way that does not bring the Party into disrepute.”
Labour Party Rule Book 2023, Chapter 16, Clause ii, 2 D iii
I will let the readers decide whether the Tower Hamlets Labour Group has lived up to those standards.
Bertolt Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956)
“Intelligence is not to make no mistakes, but quickly to see how to make them good.”
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