Mere days after posting on Facebook about being a ‘neutral independent council candidate’ Nur Begum (Little Ilford) has done another about-turn, claiming to still be a Labour councillor.
But fellow (and genuinely Labour) councillor Alan Griffiths was quick to correct her. ‘No’ being the entirety of his reply.
Date: Thursday 29 January 2026
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Location: Canning Town Library, Rathbone Market, London E16 1EH
Leaflet posted to Facebook by Little Ilford councillor Nur Begum
Little Ilford councillor Nur Begum only crossed the floor to the Newham Independents in November, but it looks like she’s already moving on.
In a post on her Facebook page she describes herself as a ‘Solo Independent Neutral Councillor Candidate’.
Her ‘six point plan’ to Make Newham Great Again (seriously, councillor?) is a combination of Newham Independent gripes – parking charges (twice!), freezing council tax, free bulky waste collection – and actual Labour achievements like free school meals.
She says
Labour has presided over years of decline in our borough
while failing to mention that she sat for the better part of four years as a Labour councillor.
She goes on
Unlike the big parties, I have only one priority: You. I will work tirelessly every single day to deliver the improvements that the Little Ilford deserves
Her defection to NIPs came after she failed to win re-election as a Labour candidate. Obviously I have no insight into why she was let go, but one might reasonably speculate that a failure to work tirelessly for her residents was a factor.
The three biggest parties in Newham politics have announced their candidates to replace Rokhsana Fiaz as mayor in May’s local elections.
Labour’s candidate will be Forhad Hussain. He, like all of the party’s candidates, he was selected by a special panel of the National Executive Committee. Hussain previously served as councillor for Plaistow North from 2010 to 2018 after standing unsuccessfully on the Respect ticket in 2006. He held a couple of positions in Robin Wales’ cabinet and chaired the audit committee. I’m not sure what he’s been doing politically for the past eight years, though as the local Labour parties have been suspended for five of them it’s perhaps not surprising his profile has been a bit low.
To absolutely no-one’s surprise the Newham Independents will be nominating Cllr Mehmood Mirza as their candidate. I’m afraid I couldn’t get a better picture as both Mirza and his party have blocked me from all their socials. Mirza has been councillor for Boleyn ward since winning a by-election a couple of years ago. He now leads a group of five councillors with, shall we say, diverse political histories (from Corbynites to Conservatives) but united by a sense of grievance with the Labour party and a penchant for owning multiple properties. Mirza was once a candidate for a seat on the party’s NEC and was vice-chair for membership of the West Ham constituency party before being suspended.
Newham’s Green party was the official opposition on the council before Mirza’s party turned up. Their two councillors elected in Olympic Park ward were later joined by Areeq Chowdhury after he defected from Labour. Cllr Chowdhury has represented Canning Town North since 2022, where he was a late addition to the slate after a previously selected candidate was dropped.
UPDATE 4 February 2026
According to Who Can I Vote For?, the Conservatives have nominated Terri Bloore as their candidate for mayor. A quick Google search tells me that Ms Bloore grew up in a rural Leicestershire before studying Public Relations at Bournemouth University and International Affairs at Kings College London. She now works in Corporate & Financial Services and has a particular interest in global sustainability and social impact. There is no announcement on either the East Ham or West Ham & Beckton Conservative Association websites, but a campaign Twitter account has been set up; it has not posted yet.
There is no word yet from the Liberal Democrats or Reform, but all are sure to put their hat in the ring. Maybe the Christian Peoples Alliance will have another go too. This post will be further updated as and when.
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