You are here: Home » Comment »

From Tower Hamlets to Bradford West – lessons for Labour

February 12, 2013 2:00 pm

Author:

Tags:

Share this Article

The Democratic Audit report into the Bradford West by-election is important because it demonstrates that the party is changing, and that Ed Miliband, Sadiq Khan and others will listen when the voters send them a clear message.

Bradford West and Tower Hamlets are very different places, but there are some things we have in common –local traditions of Communist and anarchist politics, diverse with big South Asian populations, significant numbers of Muslims.  Both Tower Hamlets and Bradford have above average numbers of young people, and each of our communities is scarred by high levels of youth unemployment.

In Tower Hamlets, Iraq was a rupture in trust, coupled with a sense of impatience that after 8 years of Labour government families were still living in overcrowded, damp, rotten homes and too many couldn’t get decent work. Tower Hamlets received massive investment from 1997-2010, and we made good use of it, but many still felt left behind.

Rebuilding trust with the electorate in Tower Hamlets will need us to acknowledge some more fundamental truths.

The line in the Democratic Audit report into Bradford West that had the most resonance for me was:

“While the party has been vigilant about far left infiltration, it has been slack about guarding against infiltration by others who have no commitment to Labour values.”

For us, losing control of Tower Hamlets council was desperately sad, with the only upside being those that were only ever in politics for short term personal advantage went with it.

In 2010 we lost the Tower Hamlets mayoral election because the majority of local people stayed at home.  This is an issue beyond Tower Hamlets or Bradford– there is a national disaffection with politics, and a crisis of trust in our major institutions, from newspaper phone hacking to MPs expenses to the banks to the BBC.

In Tower Hamlets our challenge is greater because a destructive, transactional politics led many of the people who should be our supporters to switch off and disengage.

To renew trust in Tower Hamlets we have to acknowledge that in the past, Labour made mistakes.  We took too long to challenge the destructive politics of making deals with vested interests.

If we are to regain the trust of the people of Tower Hamlets we have to change.

We are already moving forward, with a new, diverse generation of leaders.

Our focus is that of our communities – strong public services, decent housing, homes and neighbourhoods, and jobs.   We will win back the council if people see us as authentic and rooted, and if they believe that we can offer hope.

We will achieve our ambitions for Tower Hamlets when people choose to vote, participate and take part in moving Tower Hamlets forward.

Related posts:

  1. A letter to Bradford West from Tower Hamlets
  2. An open letter to Bradford Labour Party, from Tower Hamlets – how to handle Galloway
  3. The EDL cannot be allowed to spread violence to Tower Hamlets
  4. Why I’m standing to be the Labour candidate for Tower Hamlets’ first elected mayor
  5. Ken Livingstone statement on Tower Hamlets mayoral race
  • Daniel Speight

    “While the party has been vigilant about far left infiltration, it has
    been slack about guarding against infiltration by others who have no
    commitment to Labour values.”

    I didn’t know Progress was that big in Bradford.

  • Daniel Speight

    “While the party has been vigilant about far left infiltration, it has
    been slack about guarding against infiltration by others who have no
    commitment to Labour values.”

    I didn’t know Progress was that big in Bradford.

Latest

  • Comment The culture of high risk credit is being exploited by betting shops

    The culture of high risk credit is being exploited by betting shops

    By Matthew Zarb-Cousin

    Since the financial crisis, the perfect storm of recession and banks restricting access to credit has led to the rise of payday lenders. Our high streets are slowly deteriorating from the vibrant, diverse places they once were into an abyss of pawnbrokers, payday loan shops and bookies. The three feed off of each other, targeting some of our most deprived areas and perpetuating a cycle of despair driven by the need for extra income. Research carried out by Geofutures found [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Should people be asked if they are party supporters when they register to vote?

    Should people be asked if they are party supporters when they register to vote?

    Chris Clark and Rav Seeruthun on a small change that if adopted, would free activists to spend more time on community work Every year at party conferences we hear professional politicians eulogise hard-working party volunteers. And there’s no activity more often evoked than that of ‘knocking on doors’. It’s a common delusion that the purpose of doorstep canvassing is to ‘persuade’ voters. Having taken part in our fair share of Labour canvassing sessions, we’ve both had the dispiriting experience of [...]

    Read more →
  • Europe Featured You can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe

    You can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe

    By Douglas Alexander

    Europe is not often the issue which comes top of people’s concerns on the doorstep. Nor do opinion polls suggest that Europe is a priority for voters when compared to issues like the economy or jobs. But you can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe. This week saw over a hundred Conservative MPs rebel and vote against their own Queens Speech. They were angry that it hadn’t included a bill which would [...]

    Read more →
  • News Seats and Selections Vicky Foxcroft selected as Labour’s PPC for Lewisham Deptford

    Vicky Foxcroft selected as Labour’s PPC for Lewisham Deptford

    Vicky Foxcroft has been selected by Lewisham Deptford CLP as the party’s candidate for 2015 at a selection meeting this afternoon. Here’s a brief biography: Vicky grew up in the North West in a single parent household, and was the first person in her family to go to university. She has held many positions in the party including Chair of Labour Students, has sat on the National Policy Forum and is currently a local councillor and is Chair of Lewisham [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Labour’s future schools policy: why accountability matters

    Labour’s future schools policy: why accountability matters

    By Mike Ion

    Stephen Twigg, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary is one of the more thoughtful and pragmatic individuals to hold this vitally important brief for some time. To his credit Stephen has been out and about these past two years listening to pupils, teachers, parents and governors and finding out more about the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. In addition Stephen has been looking closely at some local, regional, national and international programmes that have had a demonstrable impact in raising [...]

    Read more →