Know Your Newham Politicians

"A short documentary introducing the new Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE and her councillors as they win their seats and highlighting their plans for Newham".

Hat tip CV TV

I declare an interest and love that there is a video record of this historic day (and my joy at being elected - 10 mins 45 seconds into the video) and also of my quietly spoken Labour Councillor ward colleague, John Whitworth, being raised on the shoulders of excited supporters.

A new era for Newham - Labour Briefing

Hat tip my fellow ward Councillor, John Whitworth - Labour Briefing 23 April.

"ON 15TH MARCH 2018, after many years of struggle for democratic governance in Newham, Cllr Rokhsana Fiaz won the selection for the Labour Party mayoral candidate in the May elections by 861 votes to 503 for the seemingly perennial incumbent, Sir Robin Wales. This larger than anticipated margin of victory represented a triumph for local democracy after 16 years of authoritarian rule - which had fully exposed the dangers of the directly-elected mayoral model.

A small number of party members had sustained a continuous fight for democracy in Newham Labour Party and council since it became apparent  in 2002 that Robin Wales would use the mayoral constitution to gather all power into his own hands. After the May 2014 local elections, this struggle began to have an effect within the council. A group of eleven councillors quickly coalesced to work for open debate, more effective scrutiny and greater transparency regarding the council’s dealings, particularly financial, as well as to replace the mayor when the opportunity arose.

When the first mayoral trigger ballot was declared in October 2016, a number of party members rallied around the democratic councillors to form a core group of about 25 campaigners for an open selection. The movement was fuelled by a frustration with the trigger ballot process and its mismanagement by Newham Local Campaign Forum and London regional officials, and finally by the intransigence of the NEC in refusing to grant a rerun or order an open selection.

This group then took part in a year-long stand-off with the Labour Party before ultimately wrenching from the NEC the authorisation for a trigger ballot rerun in January-February of this year. The struggle to remove Robin Wales did not constitute a simple left-right conflict - it was rather one of democrats versus fixers. The movement to obtain the selection of Rokhsana Fiaz in his place was a democratic alliance which mobilised members from across the Labour Party spectrum, including Momentum members and a few right wingers, with its centre of gravity located around the centre-left of the party.

Between the mayoral trigger ballot rerun and the mayoral selection contest, the delayed councillor selections took place in February. As Newham has a record of electing Labour candidates to all 60 seats, the profile of the councillor candidates is likely to prefigure that of the council. However, as nearly half of the candidates are new and some of them are not widely known, it is difficult to predict the balance of forces in the new council.

Nevertheless, it would be fair to classify the candidates into three approximately equal groups: those who are proven supporters of Rokhsana Fiaz (around ten of whom are firmly on the left), those who remained committed to Robin Wales until the end, and those whose allegiance has not clearly emerged. It is perfectly possible that members of the two latter groups will gravitate towards the new mayor.

Out of the mayoral selection campaign came a transformational manifesto. It is committed to placing  housing  at  the top of the agenda, with an undertaking to build 1,000 new council-owned homes within four years to  be  let  at  social rent levels, while ensuring that 50% of developer-built homes will be council- owned and also  let at  social rent levels. Another notable commitment is to ensure that the benefits of Newham’s economic development are shared among the residents by using the council’s procurement and supply chain to spend public money locally, thereby supporting the borough’s businesses.

With  education,  there  is  a  promise to   develop   stronger   partnerships with schools and oppose further academisation. There is also a pledge to double the number of youth hubs and break the cycle of violence by working with young people to set up a youth safety action group. Recognising the need to democratise local governance after a long period of autocracy and cronyism in Newham is an undertaking to build a culture of trust and openness that involves residents in the council’s decision-making process. This also entails a promise to hold a referendum by 2021 on the continuation of the directly elected mayoral system.

With a democratically minded mayoral candidate and a radical manifesto is the exciting prospect of a new era in Newham. There is great optimism that this project of transformation will be accepted by the electorate, carried through by the new mayor, and supported by the majority of the council and Labour Party".

(Update: Rokhsana Fiaz was elected Executive Mayor 3 May with a massive 73% of the vote which is more than 12% better than the previous Mayor. All the 60 Councillors elected that day are also Labour with similar majorities. http://www.johnslabourblog.org/2018/05/re-elected-newham-council-local.html)

Re-elected & Newham Council Local Elections Count 2018

I was delighted to be re-elected yesterday as a Labour (and also now Co-operative) Councillor in London Borough of Newham for a 3rd term with Cllr John Whitworth & Cllr Charlene McLean.

We have 3 Councillors per ward and this time I had the highest personal vote. In the past my retiring colleague Cllr Freda Bourne always had the highest personal vote. I used to put that down to her name appearing first on the ballot paper. Now that my surname comes first, it is surely due to my hard work and personal following?

Seriously though, the Labour vote in our ward is humbling, we got about 5x the support of the nearest Conservative opponent. All 60 seats in Newham are Labour with similar massive majorities. Whilst I recognise that the "first past the post" system is outdated and needs reform, this result demonstrates the historic and ongoing support of the people of Newham for Labour. We must not take this for granted and must deliver despite the savage Tory cuts.

I was also really pleased that Rokhsana Fiaz was elected Labour Executive Mayor with a staggering 73% of the vote (note under a transferable vote system). She has increased the Labour Mayoral vote by 12% since 2014. A fantastic mandate for change in Newham. Rokhsana is the first directly elected black female mayor in the UK (and possibly Europe?) and has I think the highest percentage vote of any Executive Mayor.

When I recover I will blog further. Many thanks to our Agent, Carl Morris and all the Labour Party activists who worked their socks off for us (including my good lady wife, Gillian)

Vote Labour (& Co-operative)

In West Ham Ward, London Borough Newham. You have 4 votes

London, Newham and West Ham Labour Action team

My favourite 2018 local election campaign picture so far.

After leafletting a local school, we met up with London Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan, Newham Labour Mayoral Candidate, Rokhsana Fiaz together with the rest of the West Ham Ward Labour Action Team (John Whitworth and Charlene Mclean).

Hat tip picture Rohit

May Day West Hammers putting people at the heart of all we do

Picture collage from May Day campaigning in West Ham ward, Newham, London. Going up and down our many low rise blocks and basement flats is great for fitness (and recorded on my google fit app).

Some great sky and cat pictures!

Final Week!

It's the FINAL WEEK... only six more days to get our Labour candidates and our fantastic mayoral candidate Rokhsana Fiaz elected. Details of dates, times and contacts are below.

There will be leafleting, canvassing and street stalls in every ward in West Ham - please join us for the final push to keep Newham Labour.

DATE	WARD	TIME	MEETING POINT	MAILTO CONTACT	ACTIVITY
Saturday 28 April 2018	Stratford New Town	10.30am-12.30pm	Plaza between Stratford Station, Stratford Bus Station and Stratford Centre E15 1XD	Josephine Grahl	Street stall/leafleting
	Canning Town North	1pm	Moka House Coffee Shop 126 Barking Road E16 1EN	Shabs Mohammed	Canvassing
	Canning Town South	11am	Keir Hardie Church E16 1PA	Rohit Dasgupta	Canvassing
	Plaistow South	11am	Plaistow Library E13 9HL	Neil Wilson	Canvassing
	Forest Gate North	12 noon	Maryland Station E15 1SA	Rachel Tripp	Canvassing
	Forest Gate South	11.30am-1.30pm	Atherton Leisure Centre E15 4JF	Mas Patel	Canvassing
	Forest Gate South	3.30-5.30pm	Atherton Leisure Centre E15 4JF	Mas Patel	Canvassing
	Custom House	12 noon	Fulmer Road/Stansfield Road	James Beckles Sarah Ruiz	Canvassing
	Plaistow North	11am	Plaistow Tube Station E13 0DY	Mehmood Mirza	Canvassing
Sunday 29 April 2018	Stratford New Town	11am	Stratford High Street DLR E15 1AJ	Karl Lewis	Canvassing
	Plaistow North	11am	Plaistow Tube Station E13 0DY	Mehmood Mirza	Canvassing
	Canning Town South	11am	Ibis 8 Silvertown Way E16 1ED	Rohit Dasgupta	Canvassing
	West Ham	11.15am	ATL cafe, Plaistow Rd E15 3ET	John Whitworth	Leafleting
	Forest Gate South	11.30am-1.30pm	Atherton Leisure Centre E15 4JF	Mas Patel	Canvassing
	Forest Gate North	11am	Forest Gate Station E7 0NF	Rachel Tripp	Canvassing
	Canning Town North	12 noon	Suffolk Road E13	Shabs Mohammed	Canvassing
	Plaistow South	2pm	Barking Road Community Centre E13 9EZ	Neil Wilson	Canvassing
	Stratford New Town	2.30pm	Maryland Station E15 1SA	Karl Lewis	Canvassing
	Forest Gate South	3.30-5.30pm	Atherton Leisure Centre E15 4JF	Mas Patel	Canvassing
Monday 30 April 2018	Stratford New Town	7.30-8.30am	Stratford International DLR (East Village side) E15 2ER	Karl Lewis	Leafleting
	Forest Gate North	8.30am	Godwin Junior School E7 0JW	Rachel Tripp	Leafleting Godwin and Woodgrange Schools
	Stratford New Town	10am-4pm	Various locations in Stratford	Terry Paul	Leafleting/canvassing
	Forest Gate North	6pm	Maryland Station E15 1SA	Carel Buxton	Canvassing
	Forest Gate South	6-8pm	Atherton Leisure Centre E15 4JF	Mas Patel	Canvassing
	Plaistow South	6pm	Plaistow Library E13 9HL	Neil Wilson	Canvassing
	Stratford and New Town	6.30pm	Tesco Express Stratford High Street E15 2NE	Karl Lewis	Canvassing/leafleting
	Canning Town South	6.30pm	TBC	Rohit Dasgupta	Canvassing
	Plaistow North	6.30pm	Black Lion Pub E13 0AD	Mehmood Mirza	Canvassing
	Custom House	6.30pm	Sullivan Avenue E16	James Beckles Sarah Ruiz	Canvassing
Tuesday 01 May 2018	Forest Gate North	8.30am	Odessa Infants School E7 9BY	Anam Islam	Leafleting Odessa and St James Schools
	Stratford New Town	10am-4pm	Various locations in Stratford	Terry Paul	Leafleting/canvassing
	Canning Town North	6pm	Moka House Coffee Shop 126 Barking Road E16 1EN	Shabs Mohammed	Canvassing
	Forest Gate North	6pm	Forest Gate Station E7 0NF	TBC	Canvassing
	Plaistow South	6pm	Plaistow Library E13 9HL	Neil Wilson	Canvassing
	West Ham	6pm	ATL cafe, Plaistow Rd E15 3ET	John Whitworth	Leafleting
	Forest Gate South	6-8pm	Atherton Leisure Centre E15 4JF	Mas Patel	Canvassing
	Stratford New Town	6.30pm	Maryland Station E15 1SA	Karl Lewis	Canvassing/leafleting
	Canning Town South	6.30pm	TBC	Rohit Dasgupta	Canvassing
	Plaistow North	6.30pm	Plaistow Library E13 9HL	Mehmood Mirza	Canvassing
	Custom House	6.30pm	Sullivan Avenue E16	James Beckles Sarah Ruiz	Canvassing
	Plaistow South
Wednesday 02 May 2018	Forest Gate North	8.30am	St Francis School E15 1HB and Maryland Station E15 1SA	Sasha Das Gupta	Leafleting
	Stratford New Town	10am-4pm	Various locations in Stratford	Terry Paul	Leafleting/canvassing
	Stratford New Town	5-7.30pm	Stratford Station E15 1AZ	Karl Lewis	Leafleting
	Forest Gate North	6pm	Maryland Station E15 1SA	TBC	Canvassing
	Forest Gate South	6-8pm	Atherton Leisure Centre E15 4JF	Mas Patel	Canvassing
	Canning Town South	6.30pm	TBC	Rohit Dasgupta	Canvassing
	Plaistow North	6.30pm	Harold Road Community Centre E13 0SE	Mehmood Mirza	Canvassing
	Custom House	6.30pm	Custom House Library E16 3JJ	James Beckles Sarah Ruiz	Canvassing