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Hather Ali, of ‘bed in a shed’ fame, to stand for Labour in Higham Hill (naturally) UPDATED

News reaches this blog that the Labour Party has chosen Mr. Hather Ali as a candidate for Higham Hill in the forthcoming local elections. This is certainly very surprising, because a couple of years ago Mr. Ali – the nephew of longstanding Labour Cabinet member Liaquat Ali – was involved in a rather unsavoury but very public Residential Property Tribunal (RPT) case concerning a ‘bed in a shed’. The story is as follows. In 2002, members of Hather Ali’s close family, including his mother, purchased 305 Higham Hill Rd., and rented it out. However, when, in response to a complaint, LBWF officers later inspected the property, they found that an occupied extension to the back of the bu... »

Cllr. Anna Mbachu, accusations of bullying, and an embarrassing Employment Tribunal verdict

Anna Mbachu is Labour councillor for Grove Green ward, chair of the Health and Housing Scrutiny Committees, and Deputy Group Leader. Her current public profile is low-key. But in the past, she has certainly had her moments. Who after all can forget the fracas in her Mayoral year of 2009-10, when she acted in an ‘aggressive and threatening’ way towards her chauffer, Leroy Telfer, in front of numerous people at a Town Hall meeting, and as a result received a ticking off from the Council’s Standard’s Committee? Naturally, having suffered such an indignity, Ms Mbachu was contrite, and apologised. However, new evidence has emerged which suggests that, past expressions of remorse or not, she may n... »

Local Labour heavyweight Richard Price denounces internal party shenanigans

Eagle-eyed politicos have drawn my attention to a speech by local Labour heavyweight, Richard Price, at the party’s recent Brighton conference, which can be viewed here at I hour 51 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfhTiwB0OQs It’s strong stuff, and Mr. Price is obviously intent on cementing his coveted position as ‘The Most Hated Man In Waltham Forest’ in the ‘By The Local Labour Hierarchy’ division. But, because of his undoubted expertise in such matters, what he says deserves to be taken seriously, and opens a window onto an astonishing range of shenanigans – shenanigans that no one who believes in open, democratic politics (wherever they ... »

John Cryer MP speaks out on Labour anti-semitism UPDATED

Currently, the BBC is running a story about John Cryer and Labour’s anti-semitism: ‘A senior Labour MP has said he is shocked at some of the anti-Semitic tweets by party members that come before its disciplinary panel. John Cryer said some of what is written “makes your hair stand up”, adding: “This stuff is redolent of the 1930s.” He was speaking at a fringe debate at the Labour conference in Brighton… …Mr Cryer, Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead, described a “seeping poison” and warned that future generations might not realise that when it came to Nazism, “we were right and they were wrong”. As chairman of the Parliame... »

Redeveloping Waltham Forest: some experiences from the periphery

As a previous post indicates, LBWF is currently engaged in a major public-private programme to redevelop the borough. Much of the publicity about this programme centres on a few key hubs, principally Walthamstow. Far less is known about what’s happening elsewhere. So to rectify this situation, the following paragraphs focus on an unsung ward, Cann Hall, in the borough’s poorer south. First, some background. Cann Hall is not far from Stratford and the Olympic Park, and to some extent is beginning to share their glamour. Newcomers are flooding in, house prices are going up, and the old solidly working-class character of the area is changing fast. That is the upside, the staple of estate agents... »

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