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Leyton and Wanstead MP John Cryer calls out Labour anti-semitism again…but for his far-left party colleagues he is a liar and a Tory

More fun and games in the local Labour Party, so often the home of the gutter. A couple of weeks ago, John Cryer, M.P. for Leyton and Wanstead and Chair of the Parliamentary Party, took to Twitter and made these forthright statements: And the response from his party colleagues? These Tweets are typical of the general tenor: It is often said nowadays that Sir Keir Starmer KBC KC has cleared out the ragbag of Jew obsessives, identarians of various hues, and gaggle of entryists from the Stalinist and Trotskyite fringe who flooded into the Labour ranks on the coattails of Mr. Corbyn. It seems not. »

The Town Hall asbestos investigation led by LBWF Director of Governance and Law Mark Hynes now has been running for 100 working days, yet not delivered a single finding. What gives?

Director of Governance and Law Mark Hynes’ investigation into my apprehension that, from 2015 to 2021, LBWF may not have managed the large amounts of asbestos that riddled the Town Hall in line with the demands of the relevant health and safety legislation, has now run for exactly 100 working days, yet so far failed to deliver a single finding. Mr. Hynes last comment on the subject was an e-mail of 30 January 2023 which reads: ‘Although I was hoping to have concluded my review into the concerns you raised about asbestos management compliance, the matter is still ongoing. I hope to have concluded matters in the near future and will write to you again at that time’. This lack of progress ... »

Walthamstow resident and community activist Charlie Edwards dismantles LBWF’s claim that it ‘consulted’ before installing 500 new bike hangers

In the past, this blog has been somewhat sceptical about LBWF’s Mini-Holland and associated ‘active travel’ interventions, primarily because when the bombast was stripped away, careful investigation often showed that the underpinning evidence was surprisingly weak, as case studies of, first, a consultation about bike hangers in South Leytonstone, and, second, the King’s College Environmental Research Group analysis of local air quality vividly illustrated (see links, below). Regrettably, a more recent development suggests that this unhealthy approach to due process, perhaps also the truth, remains alive and kicking. In early December 2022, LBWF issued a press release which announced: ‘People... »

LBWF councillors: what do they do, and is it value for money? An update.

In essence, the relationship between residents and councillors is an informal contract. Residents agree to pay councillors from the public purse For their part, councillors, amongst other things, attend (and in some cases chair) council meetings; read and digest the associated minutes and papers; promote the interests of those who live in their wards, or at least make sure they are not left behind; and help any residents in need of assistance. A post published in February 2020 looked at how this arrangement was going, and the following is an update. To start with, what do councillors receive in terms of remuneration? Remuneration All councillors receive a basic allowance, and on top of that ... »

LBWF’s fiefdom: ‘borough of culture’ or borough of dysentery?

One recurring theme in LBWF’s endless self-promotion is that, thanks to the Town Hall’s efforts, Waltham Forest is an unusually appealing place, the borough of ‘the Stow’ and ‘the Stone’, ‘quirky, individual creative businesses’, a vibrant night-time economy, and an exciting and diverse ‘cultural offer’, in short, a honeypot for what one of LBWF’s more influential consultants calls ‘the rising prosperity’ demographic. Yet the amusing thing is how often reality intrudes, how often the glittering images collide with the tawdry realities. In 2021, the Evening Standard reported that ‘Waltham Forest tops the list as London’s least hygienic borough for food’. And now an interactive ... »

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