Bank holiday "On the Knocker" for Labour in West Ham

 

Today and Sunday have been another couple of “full on” campaigning days for Labour candidates and activist supporters across Newham. In West Ham, we’ve had three sessions each day, including attending community events and services. 

Huge thanks to our West Ham and Beckton MP, James Asser, for joining us today, and to the well-respected West Ham ward Councillor (and my good friend and mentor) John Whitworth, who is retiring this year after 12 years of service.  

The weather has been mostly great – warm with plenty of blue skies, just the odd spot of rain that quickly cleared. It was lovely meeting many West Ham residents who have already voted Labour by post and catching up on casework they’d previously raised with us.  

Residents particularly value that Labour is the only party offering local, confidential, free advice surgeries every Saturday morning in the ward from 10am–11am (excluding Bank Holidays). None of the other candidates have ever done anything remotely similar for the ward, either before or during the campaign.  

The campaign carries on tomorrow, Wednesday, and of course Thursday. The count is on Friday when results will be announced – first the Mayoral vote, then the Councillors. In West Ham, we’re feeling positive but will approach the campaign, as all candidates should, as though it could be won or lost by a single vote.

(I need to ask the Newham History Group about the wall plaque in the bottom left that intrigued James and me. It appears to be some sort of boundary mark but connect with Rotherhithe in Surrey)

Pride in Newham rally with Sadiq Khan

 

Thanks to Sadiq for stopping by to support Forhad and our Newham Labour campaign this week. He delivered an inspiring speech highlighting Labour’s achievements so far, like lifting 10,000 children in Newham out of poverty by ending the Tory two-child benefit cap, while acknowledging there’s still more work ahead. 

Not long after this photo was taken, the rain began, and I quickly regretted leaving my umbrella at home.

Interfaith Iftar at Minhaj Ul Quran Mosque: A Special Evening in Forest Gate

Last Friday week I had the real pleasure of attending an Interfaith Iftar at the Minhaj Ul Quran Mosque on Romford Road, Forest Gate, kindly invited by my colleague Cllr Alam.

It’s a mosque I’ve visited before — most memorably for the remarkable exhibition Far From the Western Front: South Asian Stories of the First World War. That exhibition explored the experiences of South Asian troops who served with extraordinary courage and sacrifice. It is no exaggeration to say that without their contribution, the outcome of the First World War — and arguably the Second — could have been very different. https://www.johnslabourblog.org/2017/04/far-from-western-front-south-asian.html

Friday’s Iftar carried that same sense of shared history, solidarity, and community into the present moment.

Newham Labour’s Mayoral Candidate, Forhad Hussain, was also invited and spoke at the event, alongside Stephen Timms MP, Cllr Alam, and his Forest Gate South Candidate Robert Carter‑Lennox — who had fasted that day for the very first time. Each offered thoughtful reflections on Ramadan as a time of discipline, compassion, and generosity.

What stayed with me most, though, was the atmosphere in the room. Myself and colleagues — some Muslim, some not — sat among worshippers as they broke their fast. People who had been fasting since dawn shared their food and drinks with us. That simple act of hospitality, offered after a long day of abstention, carried a profound sense of warmth and welcome.

It was, in every sense, a very special occasion — a reminder of the strength of Newham’s interfaith bonds, and of how much we gain when we sit together, learn from one another, and share moments of reflection and celebration.