Extremism in Waltham Forest: a quick roundup of the recent lowpoints
It has been a busy few months on the extremism front in Waltham Forest, so here is a short roundup of the major stories that have been featured on this blog (links to the full versions are pasted...
View ArticleJohn Cryer MP’s lacklustre Parliamentary record UPDATED
I have periodically joked that, so rarely is John Cryer seen or heard locally, he must love his sleep. Now the website They Work For You provides some hard data to chew upon, and largely confirms my...
View ArticleWaltham Forest Labour and Anti-Semitism
The Waltham Forest Guardian is reporting that the Labour Party has suspended Walthamstow activist David Watson, with a statement reading: ‘“An individual member of Walthamstow Labour Party has been...
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LBWF Chief Executive Martin Esom responds to my questions re the Cllr. Ahsan...
I post Mr. Esom’s responses below. Much of what he writes is self-evidently vague, and seems to have been written with the explicit aim of avoiding giving anything away, hardly appropriate in the light...
View Article‘Cllr. Khan cleared’ shock, and other Labour Party witterings
In what surely must be the biggest surprise since Leicester won the Premiership, it appears that barrister Jonathan Auburn’s no doubt thorough review has cleared Cllr. Ahsan Khan of any wrongdoing, and...
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Ex-mayor Cllr. Saima Mahmud and her ‘receptions to honour’ at the Town Hall
The recent fuss about Cllr. Ahsan Khan has revealed that the 2015-16 Mayor, Cllr. Saima Mahmud, habitually hosted receptions in the Town Hall, at which supposedly distinguished visitors were honoured...
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LBWF Leader Chris Robbins and Syrian refugees: the same old same old
Back in October 2015, the Leader of LBWF, Cllr. Chris Robbins, went public with a pledge to house Syrian refugees. The Waltham Forest Guardian story started with his picture in large format - - and...
View ArticleCllr. Ahsan Khan and a Mayoral reception to honour ‘a friend of mine’ UPDATED
Browsing YouTube at the weekend, I was amused to come across this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9fLay0VLbE It is a short film shot in the Town Hall, at which Waltham Forest’s Mayor honours a guest....
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STOP PRESS: the E11 BID Co. heads towards being struck off
According to a document made public at Companies House, reproduced below, the E11 BID Co. is now threatened with being compulsorily struck off and dissolved. This blog has covered the troubled and...
View ArticleCllr. Tim Bennett-Goodman resigns the Labour Whip
Word reaches me that Cllr. Tim Bennett-Goodman has resigned the Labour Whip, for reasons spelt out in his letter, below. It is a sad day for the Labour Party. Prior to becoming a councillor, Tim...
View ArticleWaltham Forest Labour and democratic debate in the neighbourhoods
Some years ago, the average resident of Cann Hall (where I live) who aspired to have a say in how the neighbourhood developed could do so via the local ward forum, and also the Leytonstone Community...
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The Evening Standard publishes new revelations about the Cllr. Ahsan Khan...
The Evening Standard yesterday rendered a public service by publishing further information about Cllr. Ahsan Khan’s proclivity for surepticiously handing out community ‘awards’ (as he describes them),...
View ArticleSelwyn Primary School in Highams Park: now heritage experts SAVE makes the...
A previous post (see link below) raises concerns about LBWF’s plans to rebuild Selwyn Primary School in Highams Park. Now SAVE Britain’s Heritage (‘a group of architectural historians, writers,...
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Cllr. Liaquat Ali boobs again
The Waltham Forest Guardian today quotes Cllr. Liaquat Ali pontificating about community safety: ‘“Our sense of community and of belonging, and the need to always treat others with respect, helps to...
View ArticleGeorge Tomlinson Primary School, Leytonstone, again
A previous post (see link below) looked briefly at George Tomlinson primary school in Leytonstone, and the fears of some that it was surreptitiously being prepared for academisation. Since then, much...
View ArticleMore on Selwyn Primary School in Highams Park
A local resident writes: ‘As your blog has previously noted, LBWF plans to demolish our impressive Edwardian Primary School and replace it with a new “modular” prefab alternative, which has been...
View ArticleSave Highams Park’s Library campaign – resident groups demolish LBWF’s...
Oliver Shykles writes as follows: ‘I chair the Highams Park Forum which is working together with the Highams Park Planning Group and The Highams Park Society to protest against LBWF proposals which...
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Cllr. Liaquat Ali: an update
In the last couple of days, both Private Eye (‘Haq Attack’, see below) and the Waltham Forest Guardian have published versions of the Ali-Haq story. It is notable that the latter does not mention...
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The E11 BID Co.: strike off discontinued, but accounts still overdue
According to Companies House, the Registrar has discontinued the compulsory strike-off of the E11 BID Co.. On the other hand, the visitor who uses the Companies House webpages to check on the E11 BID...
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Love Wapping investigates the Islamist takeover of Tower Hamlets
Mark Baynes’ blog Love Wapping is fast becoming indispensable for those interested in how East London is developing. A couple of days ago, he published part one of his investigation into Islamists in...
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