Posted in Local Government

Whoever wins in Tower Hamlets, it’s time for Labour to heal the rift

United East End darkeningUntil today, I have avoided writing about the hard-fought election in Tower Hamlets in which Labour’s John Biggs, who I backed to be Labour’s candidate in this election, hoped to unseat as Mayor the incumbent, Lutfur Rahman, who I supported as Labour’s candidate four years ago. As a loyal Labour Party member who also wishes to see Lutfur Rahman readmitted to the party which I believe was responsible for a miscarriage of injustice against him, I’ve not participated in any campaigning in the borough in which I live.

It’s been a hard-fought but nasty fight (albeit not as nasty as it might have been) with accusations of racism flung by both sides, as was always going to be the case. Everyone has always known that the Bengali community would come out overwhelmingly for Rahman, and that their turnout would be what primarily gave him his victory if that was the outcome. And the Biggs path to victory depended on the white working class vote turning out, and quietly winning everyone else’s transfers.

Any such contest in solid Labour territory with such a clear racial divide will involve race cards being played. In the long run, such behaviour will undermine Labour support amongst BAME communities in and beyond Tower Hamlets. It must not be allowed to happen again, whoever wins. Continue reading →

Rotherham election analysis: UKIP win the popular vote in Labour disaster No 1

ballot boxThe election result in Rotherham declared in the early hours of this morning was a disaster for Labour. UKIP  won 10 seats (+9) to Labour’s eleven, but UKIP won the popular vote with 46% compared with 43% Labour, 10% Conservative, and 6% other. It would take a further swing from Labour to UKIP of only 4.5% for it to win every seat at the next election, to become the largest party on a hung council.

If this result was repeated in the general election, UKIP would stand a reasonable chance of taking all three seats in the district – Rotherham, Rother Valley and Wentforth. Continue reading →

Four oddities of Labour education policy

11640840_sThe Labour Party’s declared aim is to build a “one-nation society” with a “one-nation economy” and a “one-nation education system”. What would a “one-nation education system” look like? Clearly, there can be many different solution to such a complex problem but some general principles would need to apply in all cases. With this in mind there are some decidedly odd features of Labour policy for England. Some are listed below  – private schools, faith schools, LEAs and Tristram Hunt. Continue reading →

Labour still underperforms in selection of women and BAME council candidates

Leeds Town HallFigures reported to Labour’s national executive committee yesterday show that, whilst it may be doing better than other parties, it is still failing to ensure that its candidates for English local councils reflect their populations. With selections now having taken place in the vast majority of winnable seats, the proportion of women candidates is as low as 26% in the Eastern region and 28% in the North West where candidates have already been selected for 94% of  contests. The best performing region for female candidates is the Northern, where 45% of candidates are women.

Performance on BAME candidates also falls similarly short of what is required. Yorkshire has achieved 39% women as well as 12% BAME (compared with 11% in its population). Continue reading →

Wolverhampton Council cuts: What are the alternatives?

Wolverhampton Trades Council bannerWolverhampton – the home of the once mighty Wolves football team and the former workshop of the world in manufacturing, has been dealt a crushing 21st century economic body blow. Council bosses revealed to their stunned workforce this month that 2000 of them will almost certainly be made redundant following the latest round of cuts to council spending.

They will join the 10,000 plus seeking work in the city. The claimant rate amongst the city’s working population stands at 6.6 percent, more than double the national average of 3 percent. Continue reading →