A couple of weeks ago, the incoming LBWF Leader Clare Coghill announced her first Cabinet, and one of the most notable developments is that she has moved Cllr. Liaquat Ali MBE JP from the community safety portfolio to take on ‘Transformation and Commercial Operations’, covering everything from ‘digital and smart technology’, via ‘revenues and benefits’, and ‘civil contingencies’, to ‘financial sus... »
Politicians in Waltham Forest are often good for a laugh, and the forthcoming William Morris ward by-election is not short of crackers. Labour is standing Umar Ali, brother of the recently deceased Nadeem (a thoroughly decent man, by all accounts), and son of Liaquat, the third in command of the party’s Town Hall contingent of councillors. Umar seems to have kept a low profile in the past, and so ... »
In recent months, there has been a good deal of controversy about the future of Walthamstow’s famous street market and the shops that surround it. LBWF is involved in a strategic review, but many traders remain unimpressed, arguing that this is pointless because it fails to address two debilitating problems, which they believe are Mini-Holland and the authorities’ failure to clamp down on crime an... »
Responding to my follow up e-mail to members of the Community Safety Scrutiny Committee, its chair, Cllr. Masood Ahmad states as follows: ‘Just to confirm, the Scrutiny Committee for Communities has not received any data relating to Sanction Detection Rates during the year. However, I would like to reassure you that we looked at a range of performance indicators relating to community safety,... »
The BBC is currently reporting as follows: ‘Three terror suspects arrested in east London armed raids Three men have been arrested on suspicion of terror offences following a series of raids involving armed police, in east London. Two men, aged 34 and 37, were detained in Newham, while a third man aged 33 was arrested at an address in Waltham Forest. All three have been taken to a south Lond... »
Word reaches me that the E11 BID Co. directors have decided to throw in the towel, and shut their company at Christmas. If true, this is good news, for although the E11 BID Co. claims to have put its disaterous past behind it, there are still enough flaws in its functioning to give grave cause for concern. Well-run companies, for example, submit their accounts on time. But the visitor who looks up... »
Cllr. Liaquat Ali MBE JP is the long-standing LBWF Cabinet portfolio lead for community safety and cohesion, a position which involves, amongst other things, responsibility for the local ‘crime and disorder’ and ‘anti-gangs’ strategies. In recognition of his Cabinet role, and in addition to his councillor’s allowance, Cllr. Ali receives the sum of no less than c. £21,000 p.a. Most peop... »
Following on from my recent knife crime post I e-mailed all the councillors on the Community Safety Scrutiny Committee as follows: ‘Dear Councillors, Please note the following: http://www.walthamforestmatters.org.uk/2017/05/05/knife-crime-in-waltham-forest-a-nasty-little-scandal/ The knife crime figures plus associated Sanction Detection Rates (SDRs) are a real scandal, blighting the lives o... »
The Waltham Forest Guardian’s Joe Roberts recently reported that between April 2016 and April 2017 there were 384 knife crimes in the borough, 34 per cent up on the previous year. These figures are shocking enough in themselves, but data released in response to a new Freedom of Information Act inquiry reveals that the surge in such violence has a further worrying dimension. Police performance in c... »
When John Cryer moved his home to Lewisham in 2015, many Labour party members hereabouts were disappointed, as they believed he had pledged that, as long as he represented Leyton and Wanstead, he would live there too. But any outright criticism was muted, because Mr. Cryer seemed motivated by the most touching of human concerns. He had recently married Labour activist Ellie Reeves, and they now ha... »