10am–The Labour party has just lost a case in the High Court this morning. It was brought by Lutfur Rahman and Sirajul Islam over their exclusion from the shortlist for Tower Hamlets mayor.
Unbelievable as it may seem, the pair have now been reinstated and they will be on the ballot paper next Saturday, August 7.
So the man the party so hard tried to exclude from the shortlist must now be considered a strong candidate to win the nomination: it’s said that he controls some 270 votes, which is about a third of the likely electorate. If he wins that nomination, then he will be favourite for Mayor on October 21 – for, kind of a la Hartlepool, Labour could run a monkey in Tower Hamlets and it would be elected.
UPDATE – 1.15pm
A senior Labour source tells me that there was an actual court hearing before a judge, that Labour contested it, but that the judge ruled against the party. It seems that Labour offered to run the contest again, but that was dismissed by the judge. So, the party has been well and truly boxed into a corner of its own making and its members’ cries of “gross incompetence” are being bellowed around loudly around the borough. Again, I understand that Roy Kennedy’s letter, mentioned here and here.
The Tower Hamlets Labour party has for years now been in special measures: perhaps it’s time to do the same to the London region, and perhaps even the national body (given that general secretary Ray Collins is spitting feathers over the mess)!
UPDATE – 5.15pm
Voting will now take place on August 14, ie it has been delayed by a week to let people get used to the chaos. It also allows another week for Lutfur to explain what’s been going on, although my bet is he will try to take the moral high ground and say ‘Let’s draw a line under it all.’
Let the bunfight commence!
Ted – why don’t you stand. Gilligan could run your campaign:-)
Seriously though – what was the judgement / ruling / injunction?
I’m sure the national Labour Party will want to fight this further.
Laughing: what do you mean, “seriously though”!
The injunction was laid last night, pending this morning’s decision. Will post more details when I get them, although I understand that the bizarre letter sent out by Roy Kennedy was key evidence.
Believe it or not, there is even some talk now about a third selection process! i seriously doubt they could get away with that, though.
I’m hearing that Lutfur’s campaign (both legal and politcial) is being largely funded by one Brick Lane restaurateur / property developer. Are these legitimate donations, is Lutfur reporting them correctly, and has he exceeded the campaign spending limit set by the party?
There is a simple solution. Labour used it with Militant.
Those who are very obviously aligned with a party which is not the Labour Party – specifically, any iteration of Jamaat e Islami – should be expelled.
Why can’t Jamaat e Islami run under its own name?
Oh, because it would lose.
All the more reason for them to do so!
It’s simple – if Lutfur is selected as Labour candidate then I for one will vote for somebody else or spoil the ballot paper at the actual Mayoral election.
I certainly won’t be getting out to canvass for him.
If he is selected as candidate then the publicity that is given to him and his links may well cause most of the politically neutral TH residents to vote for anybody but Labour. If my vote adds to a swell of support sufficient to lose Labour the mayoralty then that will, I’m afraid, be a reflection on Lutfur, his ego and his activities but also on the NEC. This whole business is being treated as if it’s a god-given right to rule TH (and in normal hands it might be) instead of just a selection process for one of the parties.
It is very clear that Labour has suffered entryism from supporters of Jamaat e Islami.
With an extremely heavy heart, I’d conclude that it would be far better for Labour for the party to lose this election, than for a Jamaat e Islami entryist candidate to win, in Labour’s name. Can you imagine what will happen under Rahman’s Mayorship? All that will be laid at Labour’s door, and will damage it immeasurably.
If this man does secure the Labour nomination, then the only solution is for Labour to leave an open goal. If Labour loses its election, it is vital that measures are taken to ensure that supporters of Jamaat e Islami are barred from the party, as members of Militant were in the 1980s.
What a tragedy.
Ironically, I expect that if Jamaat e Islami is thrown out of Labour, it will try to make its home in one of the other parties. Respect is a dead duck. The Tories, I suppose, might be be susceptible. Of course, the obvious choice for entryism, from an ideological perspective, would be the British National Party, but they have a bit of a problem with racism.
Oh yeah, and you can be sure that there will be a heck of a lot of press coverage of this. Perhaps another Dispatches – who knows?
Nice that the London Standard is a free paper – with a huge circulation.
The days when Jamaat e Islami could work in the shadows in Tower Hamlets are well over.
slap in the face for Gilligan! lol