Veronica Oakeshott: Labour Candidate in Boleyn Ward By Election, Newham, London

Congratulations to Veronica Oakeshott for being selected as the Labour Candidate in Boleyn ward in East Ham for the by-election on 3 December 2015.  Commiserations to the other excellent candidates.

The by-election was caused by the sad and unexpected death of local Councillor, Charity Fiberesima.

If elected Veronica will make an excellent Labour Councillor.

 Seen here campaigning for Labour with her baby daughter outside Newham polling station during 2014 Council election. 

By Election - Boleyn Ward, Newham Council

A Council By election has been called for Thursday 3 December 2015 in Boleyn Ward, Newham following the very
sad and unexpected death of my colleague, Councillor Charity Fiberesima.

It is a "Women only" short list (the other 2 Councillors for the ward are both men). To be eligible you have to be a Labour Party Member for at least 12 months.  I think there is a residential requirement as well but not sure how long.

I am pleased to note that is being pointed out that any candidate should be a member of a trade union if eligible (Charity was an UNISON member and a strong supporter of trade unions). 

You have to return your nomination paper by 5pm Thursday 29 October ! (All Party members in Newham should have received this information today and details on how to request nomination forms).  We need lots of good candidates to put themselves forward to make sure Labour Party members in the ward have the
widest possible choice.

I hope that all ward secretaries in Eastand West Ham will forward this information urgently in case any of their members did not receive individual notification. 

West Ham 6 play Millwall 4 (Abbas as Labour Mayor)

Apologies for post title but I just couldn't resist it. Yesterday I was out with a canvass team led by West Ham MP, Lyn Brown in Millwall, Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets.  We were campaigning for the Labour Party Candidate for Mayor, Helal Abbas.

Last Saturday about 40 activists from Newham helped out with the campaign. 

The meeting point was in Copenhagen Place which I thought was fortuitous considering the election will be held this week on Trafalgar Day.  We were sent off to knock on doors.  The reaction from voters was again very positive. 

One person told me that he and his family will be definitely be voting Labour on Thursday "we don't want our Council tax in the hands of George Galloway for the next 4 years".  I told him I couldn't possibly comment :)

I also knocked on the door of the Chief Executive of a well know East London voluntary sector organisation and had a chat.

What is strange is that I work in Tower Hamlets and have been campaigning a few times now and I have never seen any of the opposition parties out door knocking or delivering leaflets?  Instead it appears from this report by independent local blogger, Ted Jeory, that for some - most effort has been in simply smearing Abbas and trying to poison the community against him.

Respect are up to their old tricks I see.

I posted on Facebook the other day this great quote from local MP Rushanara Ali "What’s at stake next Thursday is a billion pound budget, in one the most vibrant and diverse boroughs at the heart of our capital. For the people of Tower Hamlets this isn’t about personalities, it’s about the real issues – schools, housing, jobs and the economy. This is no time for a Galloway-backed independent who appeals to the margins and wants to turn the clock back to the politics of the past".  The bile it generated from Labour opponents was great fun.

Election is on 21 October - Campaign office is at 349 Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2 9RA - 3 mins from Bethnal Green tube and is open for canvassing and leafleting from 10am-until late every day until the election. Or you can ring 0207 729 6682 or email abbas4mayor@gmail.com for further details.

Picture is from left: Newham Councillor Charity Fiberesima, Gordon Miller, Lyn, Councillor Pat Murphy (honorary West Hammer for day) and John Cullen.