London's councils are up for grabs in the local elections next month, including Tower Hamlets where I live. Sometimes things can go off the rails here so I've had a go at researching who's standing for what, just in case there's a risk they do again.
Councillors
There are 45 of these and at the last election 42 of them were Labour. That's not quite as one-sided as certain other boroughs but near enough. Were Tower Hamlets a normal council I could stop there, winning party guaranteed, but it is not. Instead Tower Hamlets is run by an elected mayor - a dubious democratic honour - and the mayor trumps the council no matter how large its majority.
Also a Tower-Hamlets-specific party is waiting on the sidelines having gained two seats in recent by-elections, and might pick up a number of the 45 seats in 2022. This is Aspire, the latest party devised by discredited former mayor Lutfur Rahman. In 2014 he managed to get 18 councillors elected for its previous incarnation Tower Hamlets First, and now here he is back again with a party the Electoral Commission hasn't banned yet. You'd think people wouldn't vote for a man found personally guilty of 'corrupt or illegal practices' in a previous election, but whether it's charisma, further dubiousness or an unerring ability to get the vote out, it wouldn't be a surprise to see several Aspire councillors returned.
Whatever, the real battle isn't for councillors, it's for the Mayor.
Mayor
Seven candidates are standing, two of whom have been Mayor before, one of whom has been runner-up twice and four of whom are wasting their time. [Mayoral booklet]
John Biggs - Labour
John has been Mayor since 2015, taking over in a by-election after Lutfur was kicked out, and was previously a long-standing councillor. He's a fairly safe pair of hands, and needed to be to wrest control of the council back from government-appointed commissioners after the Lutfur debacle. He's been in sole charge since 2017. Two of his key policies are to continue to build affordable homes - some would say he hasn't delivered enough - and to continue to fund free school meals. When your taxpayers include rich financial types around Canary Wharf you can afford to subsidise some of the poverty-stricken residents at the other end of the scale. John will probably win - the latest betting gives him a 60% chance - but this is Tower Hamlets and the murkily unexpected is always a possibility.
Lutfur Rahman - Aspire
Lutfur's ban from holding office only lasted five years so here he is back again attempting to regain the top prize. Fraud doesn't get a mention in his manifesto, but he does promise to freeze council tax for four years while continuing to build homes, open 40 youth clubs and not close libraries. Interestingly his first priority is to end the 'Liveable Streets' road closure program, something which the minority of residents with cars feel very strongly about, and he also aims to arrest 'a dealer a day'. On the surface it's the usual list of council priorities, but implicitly tainted by having thrown the entire council under a bus last time round. In his manifesto he says "I promise that if you will give me your trust for a third time I shall once more be a People’s Mayor", which is shameless given that his second win was declared null and void, but he could still pile up votes despite his past record.
Rabina Khan - Liberal Democrats
Every time Rabina's stood for mayor it's been with a different allegiance. In 2015 she intended to stand for Tower Hamlets First - Lutfur's grouping - but when that was banned stood as an Independent and came second. In 2018 she stood for the People's Alliance of Tower Hamlets - a similar grouping under a different name - and came second. But within three months of that defeat she scrapped PATH and joined the Liberal Democrats instead, almost as if she'll stand for anyone who'll have her, and will not be coming second this time.
ElliottWeaver - Conservative
Elliott's not a councillor, he's a software developer, but has been chair of the local party and is a lot younger than your average Conservative candidate. His top priority is to "get rubbish collected" because he knows that always goes down well in a local election, and of course to end Labour's road closures because they impinge on personal freedom. He also holds Wandsworth council in high regard and intends not just to freeze council tax but to cut it "by getting the basics right", which may or may not mean reducing services. Pockets of the electorate nearer the Thames will likely vote for him, but overall his electoral assault will fall well short.
Andrew Wood - Independent
Andrew's intriguing because he used to be one of Tower Hamlets' two Conservative councillors until 2020 when he resigned over Housing Minister Robert Jenrick's decision to approve the controversial development of Westferry Printworks. His electoral communication makes no mention of his party background, although when the 'basics' include picking up rubbish, punishing bad behaviour and keeping costs down it's not rocket science to spot a rightward lean. He has a creditably detailed personal website at woodformayor.com, confirming he's thought a lot of this through, but has made the rookie error of leaving the "Why vote for me" page completely blank.
Hugo Pierre - Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Hugo thinks the ruling Labour group is too right wing and wants to fight government cuts on behalf of the working class. He'd bring in rent controls, end gentrification, reverse academy conversions and restore youth services, as well as take a cut in salary were he elected. But a lot of his manifesto reads as an intention to change society rather than actions a local council could control, for example raising the minimum wage or making public transport free, so budding socialists shouldn't hold their breath. Came last last time, and likely will again unless Pamela beats him to it.
Pamela Holmes - Independent
Pamela's not giving much away. She describes herself only as an Independent and failed to provide any information for the Mayoral election booklet being sent to all homes. She's probably standing for the Communist League, given all the available evidence, because even the left-of-Labour vote is split in Tower Hamlets. There's no sign of a Green candidate this year.
An interesting battle for Mayor of Tower Hamlets lies ahead, with the end result always in doubt until the final votes are counted, although sometimes it would be nice to live in a borough that didn't have an ongoing reputation for interesting battles.
London's councils are up for grabs in the local elections next month, including Tower Hamlets where I live. Sometimes things can go off the rails here so I've had a go at researching who's standing for what, just in case there's a risk they do again.
