Steve Reed convenes Tower Hamlets envoys as concerns over council persist
The communities secretary, Steve Reed, has called a meeting with officials overseeing the running of Tower Hamlets council as concerns about the governance of the east London authority continue.Envoys were sent to Tower Hamlets after a team of government-commissioned inspectors published a report last November that uncovered a “toxic” and secretive culture dominated by the inner circle of the local mayor, Lutfur Rahman.It is understood Reed plans to meet the envoys to discuss their work so far, and to find out whether they think there has been sufficient change in the council and what else could be done.Rahman, a former Labour leader of the council, first became mayor in 2010 as an independent.He was removed from office in 2015 and banned for five years from standing for mayor after an election commissioner found him guilty of electoral fraud.
He was re-elected in 2022 under the banner of his Aspire party, which has a small majority of councillors on the authority.The planned meeting follows a letter to the council from Reed, who said he was appalled to learn that two Tower Hamlets councillors, one with Aspire and a former Aspire member who now sits as an independent, were seeking to become parliamentary candidates in Bangladesh.“I am appalled that any councillor elected by local people to serve their interests would even consider abandoning that commitment to campaign in another country,” he wrote in the letter, which the Guardian has seen.“I am particularly disappointed that Tower Hamlets councillors would consider doing so while the council, with the support from my envoys, is on a significant improvement journey that requires a dedicated and fully engaged leadership to grip and deliver the necessary change.”An initial progress report by the three envoys published in July welcomed the steps the council was taking to improve its performance but also noted a perceived lack of cooperation from the mayor’s office.
“We have not always felt that staff have prioritised making time for meetings with the envoys, and meeting some individuals has taken longer than it needs to,” they wrote,“We are particularly keen to meet the wider mayor’s office and advisors,”The team is expected to publish another report by the end of the year, before elections across all London councils next May,But Reed’s decision to call the envoys in now is seen as indicating the level of concern about a seeming lack of progress,Opposition councillors have raised a number of issues with the way the council has been run in recent weeks, not least the decision to allow the Aspire councillor Sabina Khan to stand for election in Bangladesh.
Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionThe Labour councillor Marc Francis said: “While there has been activity, there is little sign of any real improvement.Labour councillors continue to have serious concerns about the ‘culture of patronage’ and lack of evenhandedness in the town hall and the impact this is having on the services our residents rely on.”A Tower Hamlets spokesperson said: “The envoys keep the minister updated on the council’s improvement journey and we continue to work in partnership with them to make further progress.“The mayor has written to the minister clarifying such matters and inviting him to come to Tower Hamlets to work together on further improvements including the pioneering policies we have introduced to support residents with cost of living pressures, as well as our ongoing efforts to bring our community together in face of attempts to sow division.”An Aspire spokesperson said: “Sabina Khan has not been selected as a candidate to stand for election in Bangladesh.
If she is selected as a candidate, she would of course be expected to resign, and if she did not stand down, the whip would be removed.”
Labour must accept that the two-party age is over and embrace PR | Letters
Andy Beckett suggests the case for proportional representation may become irresistible (Britain’s two-party politics is fragmenting: what unintended consequences await?, 6 November). The strength of the case is not in doubt; the issue is lack of political will to legislate. Perhaps there is more will now than ever, with results from the 2024 general election and wide-ranging Electoral Calculus forecasts pushing parties currently against proportional representation to reconsider.Labour’s position is clearly crucial. Based on the forecasts, PR offers Labour a hedge against a doomsday scenario of losing up to 90% of its seats
Keir clubs himself with the lead pipe in a Downing Street game of No Cluedo | John Crace
It’s the worst game of Cluedo in town. Four players dealt a hand of cards. Without turning them over, player one makes the first guess. “Just one question. Does the suspect wear glasses?” he asks
Why some in No 10 think Wes Streeting is plotting to become prime minister
A clip from a 2018 comedy show has been circulating in Westminster – and it neatly explains why the spotlight landed on Wes Streeting when No 10 launched its preemptive strikes against potential leadership candidates.It features a number of fresh-faced politicians – from Jess Phillips to Johnny Mercer – who are asked who will be prime minister in 10 years. Several Labour MPs dutifully say the then-leader Jeremy Corbyn. Tim Loughton, a former Tory MP, predicts Kemi Badenoch. The final clip is Wes Streeting, who smiles and says: “I think it will probably be me
London congestion charge to rise to £18 – and electric vehicles will have to pay
London’s congestion charge will rise by 20% in January from £15 to £18 and electric vehicle drivers will be liable to pay to enter the heart of the capital for the first time.EVs will no longer be exempt from the levy, Transport for London said, but will pay a lower rate. Electric car drivers will get a 25% discount, paying £13.50 a day, while electric vans and HGVs will pay £9 – 50% of the full charge.Motoring groups criticised the changes as a backward step
If No 10 briefer is found Keir Starmer will sack them, Miliband says
Ed Miliband has said he is certain Keir Starmer will sack whoever briefed against Wes Streeting, after a chaotic 48 hours in which No 10 launched an operation to shore up the prime minister against an anticipated leadership challenge.The prime minister apologised to the health secretary in a phone call with him late on Wednesday. Starmer is facing mounting calls to sack his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, over the row.The Guardian reported that in private meetings with MPs on Wednesday, the prime minister stood by McSweeney and would not directly commit to any consequences for those who had briefed the newspapers.Starmer spoke to senior Downing Street staff on Thursday morning to stress that “briefings against cabinet ministers are completely unacceptable”, his deputy spokesperson said
Labour faces questions over Starmer aide who holds shares in lobbying firm
No 10 is facing calls for an investigation into whether Keir Starmer’s communications chief should be allowed to hold shares in a lobbying firm and discuss politics with one of its consultants.Tim Allan, who is one of Starmer’s most senior aides, has a minority stake in Strand Partners, which critics claim could give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.Allan does not gain any financial benefit from Strand while he is in No 10 but he has not sold his shares in the firm, whose clients include the British Horseracing Authority, the energy companies Ovo Energy and Cadent Gas, and Netflix.He is also friends with Tom Baldwin, a journalist, biographer of Starmer and former Labour adviser, who is a senior consultant for Strand Partners.The relationship was first reported by Sky News, which said multiple sources had told the news organisation that Allan and Baldwin have discussed politics since the communications chief joined No 10
Global markets fall after tech sell-off and fears over Chinese economy
US markets struggle amid tech sell-off and economic uncertainty
EU investigates Google over ‘demotion’ of commercial content from news media
Anthropic announces $50bn plan for datacenter construction in US
Bomb squads on stacked benches are making it even more crucial to control rugby’s aerial battle | Ugo Monye
From conscience to platforming Trump: inside the slow death of ‘woke’ ESPN