Posts

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

September 29, 2017 Cllr. Anna Mbachu, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

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... »

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Local Labour heavyweight Richard Price denounces internal party shenanigans

September 28, 2017 Local government reform, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

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

September 26, 2017 anti-semitism, John Cryer MP, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

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... »

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Redeveloping Waltham Forest: some experiences from the periphery

September 22, 2017 Cllr. Keith Rayner, Cllr.Patrick Edwards, Cllr.Sally Littlejohn, Redevelopment, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

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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Waltham Forest’s Safer Neighbourhoods Board and MOPAC funding: a scandal in the making

September 13, 2017 Cllr. Liaquat Ali, Gang Prevention Programme, Policing/crime

Previous posts have dealt in depth with the travails of the Waltham Forest Safer Neighbourhoods Board (WFSNB) – its inability to hold regular meetings, the incompleteness of its minutes, and the fact that it publicly named constituent members without asking their permission, or (bizarrely) even informing them that they had been signed up to serve. Now it emerges that there are major concerns about the way that the WFSNB has handled funding from the Mayor’s Officer for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). The story is as follows. Over the FYs 2015-16 and 2016-17, the WFSNB has (by its own lights) devoted a lot of time and energy to commissioning eight projects from third parties, using £78,000 of fund... »

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