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Robbins trip to the Palace postponed – again!
Our man with a finger on Council Leader Chris Robbins’ pulse reports as follows: ‘When some weeks ago Chris Robbins put his name to a petition got up by Labour councillors calling on Jeremy Corbyn to...
View ArticleThe Corbynistas and local government in Waltham Forest
I hear from a number of sources that, as Corbynistas increasingly dominate the local Labour Party, thoughts are turning not just to the de-selection of one or more local MPs, but also to the...
View Article‘In Calais with Stella Creasy’
There is a long article in today’s New Statesman about Dr. Stella Creasy’s recent visit to the Calais refugee camp:...
View ArticleExtremism in Waltham Forest: an update
In recent weeks, various commentators on social media have questioned why a Pakistani preacher called Muhammad Hassan Haseeb ur Rehman has been allowed into Britain to tour mosques.* For Muhammad...
View ArticleExtremism in Waltham Forest: an update (2)
Two recent media stories again underline the extent and pernicious nature of the religious extremism which currently permeates Waltham Forest. In early October, the estimable Evening Standard...
View ArticleThe Conservative Party in Waltham Forest: a twitching corpse, maybe, but one...
One notable fact about Waltham Forest politics is that the Conservatives have very little public presence. The party’s 16 councillors huddle in Chingford and its immediate environs. At elections,...
View ArticleLBWF: it’s parsimony for the poor, but kerching for councillors
Like many people who have followed Waltham Forest politics over a number of years, I often wonder what the Labour administration in the Town Hall imagines is its overall purpose, its mission in life....
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LBWF’s perfidies in microcosm
A couple of weeks ago, one of my neighbours showed me the letter pasted below. The story it relates to begins some months ago. LBWF announced that it wanted to place a cycle storage pod in Odessa Rd.,...
View ArticleCouncil Leader Chris Robbins finally bobs off UPDATED
Several well-placed Town Hall sources tell me that, yes, it is finally true: Council Leader Chris Robbins is standing down, perhaps by Christmas, certainly by next May. Robbins has always been nervous...
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Cllr. Clare Coghill and her ‘little list’
Politicians who brandish ‘little lists’ seem more prone than most to getting into trouble. The prime example is of course one-time Minister Peter Lilley, who pulled this trick in a speech at the 1992...
View ArticleWaltham Forest Labour and Anti-Semitism (2)
This speaks for itself and is fairly shocking: http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/166110/labour-branch-chair-praised-activist-suspended-over-antisemitism In the past, Labour and anti-semitism stood at...
View ArticleLBWF backs down on proposed changes in its Council Tax Support scheme
Some good news for a change. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Labour’s plan to drastically increase the proportion of council tax that the poorer sections of society would be required to pay in the...
View ArticleEducation round-up: worrying developments at Davies Lane and George Tomlinson
In previous posts, I’ve looked at some of the worrying developments that are occurring in relation to the governance of Waltham Forest schools. Now word reaches me of two further instances which set...
View ArticleChris Robbins: in memoriam
EduAction: www.walthamforestmatters.org.uk/2015/02/10/down-memory-lane-2-nrf-eduaction-and-an-open-letter-to-cllr-chris-robbins/ Town Hall ‘culture':...
View ArticleWaltham Forest’s Mini-Holland: an imminent exposé?
I recently stumbled across this video about Mini-Holland (MH) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hEVPJm-cBM What is perhaps of more interest is the following statement that its creator has...
View ArticleGeorge Tomlinson Primary School, Leytonstone: the spectre of ‘academisation’...
Earlier posts have reported on recent events at George Tomlinson Primary School in Leytonstone, and in particular noted the apprehension of some parents, teachers and onlookers that it is being...
View ArticleSTOP PRESS: Coghill replaces Robbins as Labour Group Leader
Labour councillors have just completed voting for their new Group Leader, and the results are as follows: Clare Coghill 30 Nadeem Ali 9 Gerry Lyons 1 Two of those eligible to vote did not attend (one...
View ArticleDave Hill on ‘Mini-Holland’ in Enfield
Writing for his blog, the Guardian‘s Dave Hill, who has his favourites but is sometimes moderately iconoclastic, surveys how ‘Mini-Holland’ is evolving in our neighbour, Enfield:...
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Momentum in Waltham Forest: the promise and the reality
As is well known by now, Momentum promises a ‘new politics’, one characterised by, amongst other things, openness, transparency, and enhanced democratic participation. Since this blog has always...
View ArticleWaltham Forest and Islamist terrorism
This week, the Henry Jackson Society’s Hannah Stuart published a report entitled Islamist Terrorism: Analysis of Offences and Attacks in the UK (1998–2015) which contains profiles of all...
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