London Elections: Newham and Haringey

Newham – Labour having a Mayor

Rokhsana Fiaz has been reselected as the Labour Mayoral candidate for LB Newham ahead of the May elections. This was a decision made by the party’s national ruling body as both constituency parties in Newham, West Ham and East Ham, remain suspended.

This involved the NEC unanimously agreeing to suspend the two CLPs as it had received a significant number of serious allegations’ that were backed by ‘considerable amount of evidence.’ The chairs of both CLPs resigned from their posts in January.

Subsequently, National Executive Committee (NEC) members of the Labour Party interviewed two candidates, the incumbent Mayor Fiaz and London Assembly Member, Unmesh Desai. The result was made public in early February with Fiaz getting the nod.

That resulted in the resignation of Cllr Pat Murphy, with immediate effect. He said the party has ‘ignored’ criticisms of the Mayor in reselecting her as the candidate. Cllr Murphy resigned from the Labour Group and will remain an Independent Labour Councillor until May.

Just as things were starting to look like they were calming down a little, it has since been reported that almost a third of Newham Councillors have backed a complaint against the Mayor.

Whilst it is clear that Labour will hold on to a majority, it will be interesting to see the impact of internal politics within the CLPs and the fallout from the challenge by Unmesh Desai when we get to the 5th May.

Haringey – continuing factionalism

In May 2021, Cllr Peray Ahmet was elected the Leader of Haringey Council. Since becoming Leader, she has strived to heal the divisions within the Labour group and has pledged to work closely with residents on issues such as regeneration schemes.

The former leader, Cllr Joseph Ejiofor, representing Bruce Grove since 2010 and leader for three years until last May, believes he has been blocked from standing for re-election by the party. In a social media post Cllr Ejiofor said: ‘I can confirm that the London Regional Labour Party removed me as a Labour candidate yesterday. I shall make a full statement following discussions with my advisers tomorrow’.

It is believed that this action from the party comes after the highly critical Local Government Ombudsman report was published in January. The report detailed the handling of a proposed housing development which has prompted a police investigation.

The local elections will be the first big test for Cllr Ahmet and again, whilst this is a safe Labour authority, supporters will certainly be hoping for her to stamp her own authority in Haringey via making significant gains around the wards.

Alongside these borough by borough readouts, if you would like to find out more about how the upcoming elections in London are going to impact your development and investment decisions why not book a Cratus CPD session for you and your team via this link.

What clients have been saying about Cratus CPD sessions in London…

‘As a business that works right across London, it was great to have the Cratus team led by Osman and Vanisha talk us through the political landscape within each of the London Boroughs as we move towards an election. We got a great insight into the issues on the doorstep and how that may shape the way we approach development proposals. I would recommend hearing from the Cratus team if you want to know the local issues in London and what that could mean for your business’.

Kate Ives – Strategic Growth Director, Countryside

If you have an upcoming development project in the capital and need to understand the local politics of planning please contact Osman Dervish or Vanisha Solanki today.