Tag Archives: Labour

Data breach

22 Dec

Branch secretaries across West Ham Labour party have received an email today from Josephine Grahl, the vice chair for membership, about a serious data breach in Green Street West:

Dear Branch Secretary,

I am writing to draw your attention to a recent incident in which personal membership data of individuals may have been misused or accessed by an unauthorised person.

In September 2017, following the third attempt to hold a branch AGM in Green Street West, a number of members in that ward reported to the CLP Secretary and to myself that their Labour Party membership had been resigned without their knowledge ahead of the AGM. Emails were sent to the National Membership team purporting to be from these members, quoting their Labour Party membership numbers and home addresses, and stating that they wished immediately to resign their Labour Party membership.

Most of these members have now been reinstated with their continuity of membership preserved as the National Membership team recognised that the emails were sent maliciously from email addresses which were not the addresses on record for those members.

This has been reported to both the police and the Information Commissioner alleging illegal misuse of personal data. The matter has also been referred to the Labour Party’s Governance and Legal Unit.

This is a cause for concern as in order to make these fraudulent resignations someone must have had access to the name, address and Labour Party membership numbers of the affected members. I am therefore writing to all officers with access to personal data to make them aware of this breach and ensure that they are aware of their responsibilities.

Branch Secretaries should be aware that their access to the personal data of members is governed by the Data Protection Act, and that misuse of this data may put the Labour Party in legal jeopardy. On no account may membership data be used for purposes other than that for which access is granted. If you are aware of any breach, you should contact the National Membership team on labourmembership@labour.org .uk or 0345 092 2299.

For more information the Labour Party’s data protection guidelines are available on Membersnet at https://members.labour.org. uk/rules-and-procedures [ registration required]

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about the above.

With the obvious caveat that I am not a lawyer, it appears that whoever did this has committed not just an offence under the Data Protection Act but also under the Communications Act 2003. Section 127(2) of that act targets false messages intended to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, they “shall be liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine or to both.”

Someone should be feeling very nervous.

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Blink

21 Dec

Sir Robin Wales calls for Labour to cancel trigger ballot result, reports the Newham Recorder.

While claiming that the process was “endorsed by the Labour Party National Executive Committee” Sir Robin said it has been “attacked by a number of often anonymous individuals.”

“A few of these individuals have filed a court case against the Labour Party itself.

“This can only work to the Tories’ advantage, waste the party’s resources, and undermine our position in Newham, particularly given the upcoming local government elections in May 2018.

“The costs of a court case would be significant, and Labour Party members money should not be used in this way. It also risks jeopardising the hard work of our Labour councillors.

“It is on that basis that I have asked the party to cancel the results from the trigger ballot. I am supporting a new process to be undertaken under the auspices of the national or regional Labour Party.

“It is deeply regrettable that at this late stage in our preparation, and with local elections just a few months away, we have to appease a minority for the sake of their own gain.

“I had hoped that our focus together would have been getting Labour re-elected into Newham to ensure a radical and progressive council.

“However, in my view we should take this issue out of the courts, and back into members’ hands.’”

In a briefing sent out to local members Sir Robin also complains about Trigger Democracy:

You may remember just a few months ago these individuals – through an anonymously run campaign – misused Labour Party members data on significant scale, resulting in correspondence and even home visits.

Of course he fails to mention that one of his own supporters is heavily implicated in mis-using party data to maliciously cancel the memberships of at least four local comrades without their knowledge or consent. 

So has Sir Robin blinked first in his battle with the Trigger Democracy campaigners? Maybe. While he knows he will win a re-run of the trigger ballot, because he can always conjure enough affiliate votes to cancel out any deficit among the local ward parties, he must be a little nervous about what might come out if the case ever got to court.

The honest and brave course of action would be to agree unconditionally to an open selection, with other candidates able to offer their alternative vision for Newham.

PS: hats off to Rita Chada on Twitter for spotting that this announcement was made on National Robin Day – somehow he always manages to make it about him!

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Unlocking votes

6 Nov

D Lee Newham Mag

A nice bit of promotion in the latest issue of the Newham Mag for local locksmith Daniel Lee.

Especially nice, as Daniel Lee is a local Labour party member who’s just passed the interview panel to be a candidate at next year’s council elections. And local branches will be holding their selection meetings in the next few weeks.

No doubt this is a complete and utter coincidence.

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Resigning matters

25 Sep

Forest Gate North councillor Rachel Tripp has resigned from cabinet.

Speaking to the Newham Recorder, she said:

“As Robin knows, I have been unhappy for some time about our direction of travel as a council on specific issues. Despite the fact that I have hugely enjoyed my cabinet work in both equalities and the small business programme, I have decided to stand down.

“I remain fully committed to working as a local councillor in the very best interests of the residents and everyone else in the wonderful place that is Forest Gate North as well as wider Newham.”

Resigning on a matter of principle: I can’t remember anyone doing this before in Newham, at least not in the Wales era.

It would have been so much easier for Cllr Tripp to sit back, shut up and collect the cash, as others have done (and many still do). This is a brave and principled decision.

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Stadium latest

11 Sep

IMG 0365

A stone’s throw from the Olympic stadium…

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Time after time

15 Aug

By the time next year’s election rolls around 15 current members of the council will have held their seats continuously for 20 years or more.

The table below shows exactly how long they’ve been around

Name Date elected Years to date
A SINGH 04/05/1978 39.31
C McAULEY 06/05/1982 35.30
R WALES* 09/07/1992 25.12
I CORBETT 09/07/1992 25.12
L HUDSON 05/05/1994 23.30
E SPARROWHAWK 05/05/1994 23.30
N WILSON 05/05/1994 23.30
C FURNESS 01/05/1997 20.30
Q PEPPIATT 01/05/1997 20.30
U DESAI 07/05/1998 19.30
R CRAWFORD 07/05/1998 19.29
J LAGUDA 07/05/1998 19.29
W VAUGHAN 07/05/1998 19.29
P SATHIANESAN 07/05/1998 19.29
P HOLLAND 07/05/1998 19.29

 *Robin Wales was also previously on the council from 1982 to 1986.

When local branches meet this autumn to select their candidates, one thing they should consider is the urgent need to freshen up the Labour group.

NOTE: The original version of this post stated that 16 members will have held their seats for 20 years or more and the table included Cllr Bryan Collier. It has been pointed out that Cllr Collier was defeated at the 2006 election and returned to the council in 2010, so his current continuous service is just over seven years; first elected in 1994, his total period as councillor is more than 19 years. The same is true for Cllr Alan Griffiths.

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Cunning stunt

9 Aug

Cunning Wales 3

A quiet word in your ear, Sir Robin…

If you were an electorally unsuccessful Scottish Labour politician looking to make a fresh start down south, where would you head for?

Newham might look like a pretty good option.

Certainly Barrie Cunning thinks so. He stood for Labour in the Scottish parliamentary elections last year and came in fourth, all-but-halving the party’s vote in the process. Now he lives in Canning Town and has his eyes firmly fixed on a seat in the council chamber.

As if being a white Scottish male wasn’t advantage enough, a bit of good luck has helped get him further into Sir Robin’s good books.

Back in February, Sir Robin was invited to speak at an Edinburgh Networking Breakfast event on ‘Building Partnership in Development.’ According to the mayor’s register of gifts and hospitality, his flights and accommodation were paid for by Newington Communications, the PR firm Barrie Cunning happens to work for.

And when the mayor took his trip to Cannes in March, one of the sponsors was Berkeley Group. They are clients of Newington Communications. According to his profile, Barrie Cunning works across the development and housing sectors.

So, let me be the first to say “Congratulations on your election, Councillor Cunning.”

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It’s a man’s world (again)

30 Jun

The latest issue of the Newham Mag includes details of the allowances paid to the mayor and the 60 other members of the council in the last municipal year (April 2016 to March 2017).

Between them they pocketed over £1.2 million.

But that wasn’t evenly distributed. As you can see from the table below, those receiving most had one important thing in common…

Name Basic £ SRA £ Other £ Total £ Gender
R WALES 81,839 0 0 81,839 M
L HUDSON 10,842 37,735 0 48,577 M
I CORBETT 10,842 34,770 0 45,612 M
F HUSSAIN 10,842 33,735 142 44,719 M
A BAIKIE 10,842 33,735 0 44,577 M
K CLARK 10,842 33,735 0 44,577 M
R CRAWFORD 10,842 33,735 0 44,577 M
C FURNESS 10,842 33,735 0 44,577 M
A MCALMONT 10,842 26,988 0 37,830 M
H ABDULMUHIT 10,842 18,835 0 29,677 M
I IBRAHIM 10,842 14,553 0 25,395 M
L SHAH 10,842 14,056 46 24,944 F
T PAUL 10,842 14,056 0 24,898 M
Mas PATEL 10,842 13,991 0 24,833 M
T WILSON 10,842 11,698 2,079 24,619 F
S BRAYSHAW 10,842 13,494 0 24,336 M
D CHRISTIE 10,842 13,494 0 24,336 M
J LAGUDA 10,842 13,494 0 24,336 F
R TRIPP 10,842 11,807 0 22,649 F
R FIAZ OBE 10,842 11,698 0 22,540 F
S MASTERS 10,842 10,683 0 21,525 F
S PATEL 10,842 10,356 117 21,315 M
P MURPHY 10,842 7,872 0 18,714 M
A CHOWDHURY 10,842 6,747 0 17,589 F
F CLARKE 10,842 6,747 0 17,589 F
A EASTER 10,842 6,747 0 17,589 F
M PATEL 10,842 6,747 0 17,589 M
J MARRIOTT 10,842 6,185 0 17,027 F
T RAHMAN 10,842 6,054 0 16,896 F
U DESAI 10,842 5,623 0 16,465 M
K SCORESBY 10,842 2,249 0 13,091 F
W VAUGHAN 10,842 2,249 0 13,091 M
D WALLS 10,842 2,249 0 13,091 F
N WILSON 10,842 0 452 11,294 M
E SPARROWHAWK 10,902 0 0 10,902 M
O AKIWOWO 10,842 0 0 10,842 F
A ALARICE 10,842 0 0 10,842 F
J ALEXANDER 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
J BECKLES 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
F BOURNE 10,842 0 0 10,842 F
B COLLIER 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
J CORBETT 10,842 0 0 10,842 F
J GRAY 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
A GRIFFITHS 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
Z GULAMUSSEN 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
P HOLLAND 10,842 0 0 10,842 F
O KHAN 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
C MCAULEY 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
C MCLEAN 10,842 0 0 10,842 F
F NAZEER 10,842 0 0 10,842 F
F NEKIWALA 10,842 0 0 10,842 F
A NOOR 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
V OAKESHOTT 10,842 0 0 10,842 F
Q PEPPIATT 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
R RAHMAN 10,842 0 0 10,842 F
P SATHIANESAN 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
A SINGH 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
S THOMAS 10,842 0 0 10,842 F
H VIRDEE 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
J WHITWORTH 10,842 0 0 10,842 M
A ISLAM** 7,636 0 0 7,636 M
E ROBINSON* 2,711 1,125 0 3,835 F
           
Totals: 731,924 500,975 2,837 1,235,735  
  • resigned June 2016
    **elected July 2016

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Spin City

15 Mar

Mayoral ally and ‘full-time’ councillor Clive Furness has circulated his Councillor’s Report for March to local members in Canning Town North. The headline item is the recent expulsion/long-term suspension of Cllr Obaid Khan.

After rehashing the Labour group statement he has a pop at his former friend and colleague:

He has begun a disinformation campaign supported by several councillors and members in which he claims to be the victim. We should have been put on notice after the last council elections when he was arrested for fighting with opposition members at the polling station.

That’s not quite how things went down at the time, when Khan was treated as something of a hero.

Sir Robin personally bought him a new shirt to replace the one that got ripped in the fight, which he presented at the Labour victory party after Khan had been released from police cells. The mayor praised him mightily for his commitment to the cause.

And who was it, just a few weeks later, that held the mayor back during his infamous confrontation with the Focus E15 mums at the Newham Show, saving him from making a bad situation much worse? Cllr Obaid Khan.

Even by Newham Labour standards, this is an outrageous bit of spin.

Furness rounds out his section on councillor misconduct by stating with a completely straight face (link added):

Two councillors remain suspended, one pending the outcome of criminal proceedings and one awaiting action from the [National Constitutional Committee].

I wonder how he will attempt to distance himself and Sir Robin from these two when the time comes.

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Wrath of Khan

10 Mar

Cllr Obaid Khan, who was handed a two year suspension from the Labour party last week, says that he has been the victim of a political witch hunt.

In a statement he says

“I believe that I am being victimised for having political differences with the local Labour leadership in Newham, as well as asking for processes to be democratic and transparent in the local Labour party.

“I continue to deny the charges and I am taking advise on what further action is available to me. I do not believe that I have been subject to a fair process by any reasonable standard of natural justice in the way the Labour Party has pursued the complaints made against me.”

Cllr Khan claims that although he was initially suspended in December 2015 on the basis of his “behaviour towards other party members at party meetings and in email correspondence” he did not receive specific details of the allegations until January this year – 14 months later.

He further says that the investigation report contained material that was irrelevant to the charges and “gratuitously negative commentary by the party investigators themselves” which was prejudicial to his defense.

Two of the three complainants did not attend the hearing and were therefore unable to be questioned by Cllr Khan or his representatives.

Mr Michael Sullivan, a local Labour Party member who helped Cllr Khan prepare his defence and who attended the hearing, said

“I have a lot of experience of representing trade union members at employer’s discipline hearings and of representing people at Employment and Welfare Benefit Tribunals. I also have a Masters Degree in Law that I undertook when I was a trade union officer responsible for members’ legal cases.

“I can say that the way the case against Councillor Khan was prepared and conducted including the material unrelated to the charges against him that was permitted to be included in the case papers would not be permitted in an employer’s discipline hearings or any Tribunal; and certainly not in any formal court.

“I believe that the conduct of this case reflects badly on the Labour Party, which has fairness and justice among it’s core values”.

Whatever the nature of the charges against Cllr Khan – which have not been made public – the conduct of the Labour party appears to be highly questionable.

And local members might ask why this case has been dealt with ahead of that of Cllr Ahmed Noor, who was the subject of a withering report to the council’s standards board. Cllr Noor’s party membership has been in ‘administrative suspension’ for close to two years.

They might further ask why Cllr Khan’s behaviour warranted his expulsion from the party when the mayor and his chum Cllr Ian Corbett remain members, despite being found guilty of breaching the council’s code of conduct due to their aggressive and bullying behaviour.

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