Tag Archives: Sir Robin Wales

It’s a mans world

18 Jul

Details of the allowances paid to Newham councillors in the last financial year (to 31 March 2016) have been published in the Newham Mag.

As usual, every effort has been made to prevent residents doing anything useful with the information. The online version of the Mag is published in PDF and Word formats; and the Word version – from which the data could easily be cut-and-pasted into a spreadsheet – completely omits the allowances section!

The standalone version, which is a statutory requirement, has not yet been published on the council website, but when it is it will be a PDF.

Nonetheless, a few minutes work reveals that over the past year our elected representatives took a total of £1,241,206 in basic and ‘special responsibility’ allowances, plus an extra £2,456 in travel and telephone allowances.

Of course, these allowances were not evenly distributed. The mayor and his closest friends took the lion’s share. And ranking councillors by the total they received gives a very clear indication of the kind of people Sir Robin favours politically: men.

The top ten earners for 2015/16:

Name Total
R WALES £81,839
L HUDSON £48,577
I CORBETT £45,612
R CRAWFORD £44,982
F HUSSAIN £44,871
K CLARK £44,677
C FURNESS £44,637
A BAIKIE £44,577
U DESAI £44,577
A McALMONT £38,830

Clearly, you don’t just have be a dick to get on in Newham Labour politics, you have to have one too.

Tags: , ,

Leadership, what leadership?

11 Jul

As reported last week, 11 Newham councillors signed a letter stating they had no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour party. One of the criticisms of Corbyn is that he failed to show leadership during the EU referendum campaign and he is therefore to blame for the disastrous result.

Whatever the merits of that argument might be, if those 11 councillors are really concerned about a lack of leadership in the referendum they should take a look closer to home.

Newham had the lowest turnout of any local authority area in England – and the second worst in the UK. Just 59% of voters bothered to register their preference.

Although Remain ‘won’, it was by an exceptionally narrow margin – a majority of 5,957.

Compare that to other inner London boroughs:

Borough Turnout Remain majority
Lambeth 67.4% 81,244
Wandsworth 71.9% 79,042
Hackney 65.1% 60,530
Southwark 66.2% 59,084
Haringey 70.6% 54,136
Islington 70.4% 51,240
Camden 65.5% 47,457
Tower Hamlets 64.6% 57,787

More people voted Remain in Lambeth than voted at all in Newham!

While local activists door-knocked and leafleted the borough, Sir Robin was almost entirely invisible. Search among the ‘doorstep selfies’ posted on social media and you’ll struggle to find one featuring the mayor’s grinning mug. There were no rallies, no public meetings.

Stephen Timms spoke at debates and used his Recorder column to urge residents to vote Remain. Lyn Brown also wrote about why she was voting to stay. Both MPs went door-to-door in the final few days.

But Sir Robin said not a word.

Brexit will hit the poorest hardest, and that means Newham residents will among those that suffer most. 

Will our supine Labour councillors hold Sir Robin to account? Unlikely. But the trigger ballots for deciding if he should be the nominee for the 2018 election are coming up and maybe – just maybe – the membership might.

Tags: , ,

The payroll vote

9 Jun

Handful of cash 62 2021654a

Sir Robin has named his new team of Cabinet members, Mayoral Advisers and Community Lead Councillors. Fully 24 out of the 60 councillors have some form of ‘special responsibility’ for which they will receive an additional allowance. So almost half the council is on the mayoral payroll.

There have been a few notable changes, indicating those whose career prospects are currently on the up.

Cllr Forhad Hussain has enjoyed a rapid rise through the ranks and is clearly now one of Sir Robin’s trusted inner circle. He is taking over the Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour portfolio previously held by Unmesh Desai. Cllr Hussain will continue to serve as deputy cabinet lead for Building Communities, working with Cllr Ken Clark, but he is giving up the role of community lead councillor for Plaistow. 

That position will be taken up by Cllr Hanif Abdulmuhit, who also retains his positions as Mayoral Advisor – Building Communities (Adult Care Integration) and community lead for Green Street. 

Just two years after being elected to council Forest Gate North’s Rachel Tripp joins the Cabinet, with responsibility for equalities. I hope that, unlike her predecessor in this role, she is going to be paid for it. Rachel will also continue to be Forest Gate’s lead councillor.

Cllr Mas Patel (Forest Gate South) continues as Mayoral Advisor – Building Communities (Mental Health Care Integration) and community lead for Stratford and West Ham. He’s getting some more time (and money, obviously) to spend on integrating mental health care. 

Likewise Idris Ibrahim is getting a bump in his allowance. He’ll be devoting additional time to his role as Mayoral Advisor – Building Communities (Early Years Integration) while remaining community lead for Custom House and Canning Town. He will be supported on Early Years work by Salim Patel, who also gets some extra bunce on top of his allowance for being Manor Park’s lead councillor.

The exceptionally loyal Cllr Tahmina Rahman has finally been rewarded with a brand new job – as Mayoral Advisor for New Media. It will be interesting to see what the job description says (although I won’t be holding my breath waiting for it to be published), but Newham has traditionally seen communications as a one-way process. If she can persuade Sir Robin that digital offers opportunities to engage with residents rather than just shout at them she will have earned her money. 

Finally, Cllr Joy Laguda. She is the chair of council, a position to which she is elected by councillors and requires her to be entirely independent of the executive. But Sir Robin is having none of that:

Whilst rules drawn up by out-of-touch Westminster politicians prohibit me from appointing Joy to the Cabinet, she has a wealth of knowledge about adult safeguarding which I am keen to draw upon to benefit residents.  I am therefore giving her the honorary title of Associate Cabinet Member, and will leave a Cabinet post vacant to reflect this. There is no additional payment associated with this role. Her role as Chair of Council and Civic Lead is separate to this appointment.

Breathtaking.

The full list of Sir Robin’s appointments:

Mayor

  • Sir Robin Wales

Cabinet

  • Cllr Lester Hudson: Deputy Mayor, Finance, oneSource, Project Delivery and Commercial Opportunities
  • Cllr Ken Clark: Building Communities, Public Affairs, Regeneration and Planning
  • Cllr Frances Clarke: Financial Inclusion and Health Promotion
  • Cllr Forhad Hussain: Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour, Building Communities (Deputy)
  • Cllr Rev. Quintin Peppiatt: Children and Young People (Statutory Lead Member for Children’s Services, and Children’s Safeguarding)*
  • Cllr Lakmini Shah: Children’s Safeguarding (Deputy), Domestic Violence
  • Cllr Rachel Tripp: Equalities

Mayoral Advisers

  • Cllr Joy Laguda: Chair of Council (appointed by full Council), Civic Lead, Adult Safeguarding, and Associate Cabinet Member
  • Cllr Hanif Abdulmuhit: Building Communities – Adult Care Integration
  • Cllr Andrew Baikie: Housing
  • Cllr David Christie: Small Business Programme and Transformation
  • Cllr Ian Corbett: Environment and Leisure
  • Cllr Richard Crawford: Resident Experience
  • Cllr Clive Furness: Adults and Health (Lead Member for Adults’ Services)
  • Cllr Idris Ibrahim: Building Communities – Early Years Integration
  • Cllr Julianne Marriott: Regeneration
  • Cllr Mas Patel: Building Communities – Mental Health Integration 
  • Cllr Salim Patel: Building Communities – Early Years Integration 
  • Cllr Terry Paul: Skills and Adult Learning
  • Cllr Tahmina Rahman: New Media

Community Lead Councillors

  • Cllr Hanif Abdulmuhit: Green Street and Plaistow 
  • Cllr Ayesha Chowdhury: Beckton
  • Cllr Rev. Ann Easter: East Ham
  • Cllr Idris Ibrahim: Custom House and Canning Town 
  • Cllr Patrick Murphy: Royal Docks
  • Cllr Mas Patel: Stratford and West Ham 
  • Cllr Salim Patel: Manor Park
  • Cllr Rachel Tripp: Forest Gate

* Since 2014 Cllr Peppiatt has chosen not to receive a special responsibility allowance

Tags: , ,

Forever and ever

6 Jun

Drums 12

Banging his own drum

Labour members in Newham received an email from the Dear Leader yesterday afternoon. Even by his own Orwellian standards it is an extraordinary mix of Doublethink and Newspeak, served up with good dollop of self-aggrandisement on top:

Dear Comrade,

You will be aware of the large listening exercise carried out by the Council recently to explain to residents the challenges facing the Borough as a result of savage Tory cuts and listen to their views. 

The good news is that we discovered that the values of our residents are the values of myself and the Council. We stand as defenders of our people against Tory attacks but go further in supporting them to build successful lives.

As part of our listening campaign members of my cabinet and executive visited many Party members to ask what they thought of our progress.

I’m pleased to say that the vast majority of members are proud of the achievements of Newham Labour in general and of my administration in particular. 
However, it also became clear that many members were unaware of just how uniquely successful we have been over the last few years. For example, the fact that we:

  • Have avoided meaningful cuts to our services, 
  • provide the best jobs brokerage in the country (Workplace), 
  • were the first to provide free school meals for all primary children, 
  • were the first to implement a Borough-wide licensing scheme for privately rented property,
  • are the only Council to offer a free musical instrument and teaching to all children 
  • have responded uniquely to the housing crisis in London

the list goes on and on.
So, now that the London Mayoral election is out of the way – with a great win for Sadiq Khan against a racist Tory onslaught – I thought it might be useful to write to you every couple of weeks to update you on our achievements and our plans for the future. 

I thought you might like to see the speech that I gave recently at the Council’s AGM and the latest report on our Manifesto promises (originally published in the Newham magazine). I will send these to you next week. 

I will write again following the referendum. Can I, in the meantime, urge you to get active in the referendum campaign in support of the remain campaign. I recognise that some of our members have misgivings about Europe, often for good and sensible reasons, but overall, the arguments to remain in are compelling. 

Be in touch soon.

Best wishes,

Robin Wales, Labour Mayor of Newham

If anyone was in any doubt that Sir Robin wants a fifth term as mayor and expects a grateful party to hand him its nomination on a plate, they won’t be now.

Tags: , ,

The Tudor Court of Sir Robin

19 May

Guest post by Ken Taylor

I have just listened to a recording of Monday night’s Newham Labour Group meeting. This was the biannual meeting where standing order rule amendments and reports by Group officers are considered and, most importantly, elections by Labour councillors of group officers for the next 2 years.  

A long-serving retired Newham Councillor, in his autobiography, described the Council under the control of Sir Robin Wales, as resembling a 16th century Tudor Court. Last night’s Labour Group AGM certainly did nothing to counter that impression. 

Tammany Hall Politics

Firstly, there was a series of biased and clearly manipulated elections. Labour Party rules quite rightly state that the chair of a Labour Group cannot be a member of the Council cabinet. Group officers are supposed to be a brake on the power of the Executive, part of the necessary check and balances. In Newham there is no significant difference between Cabinet members and Executive advisors – some cabinet members are part-time, while some advisors are ‘full-time’ and receive substantially higher allowances. The current chair, Clive Furness, is paid £34,000 on top of his £10900 councillor earnings by the mayor as his advisor on Adults & Health. Obviously, he has to support the wishes of the mayor or he will be sacked. A majority of councillors are either on the Mayor’s pay roll, or want to be. It was little surprise that Cllr Furness was re-elected, although 23 out of 56 (41%) of Councillors voted for his opponent, John Gray, via secret ballot.  Always remember that Newham residents, who are some of the poorest in the country, pay for the Mayor’s financial favours for his supporters through their Council tax; it does not come out of Sir Robin’s own pocket.  

While it was good news that two independent-minded councillors were elected to chair individual Scrutiny commissions, it was not surprising that a former Mayoral advisor was elected as the chair of Overview and Scrutiny by the votes of other paid Mayor advisors. So the councillors who the Mayor decides to pay huge amounts of money to be his advisors decide who should scrutinise them? This is no-one’s idea of accountability.

Safely re-installed as chair, Clive Furness then went on to wreck a motion calling for paid Mayoral advisors not to be allowed to vote in future elections for his position by only allowing 2 speakers on the motion. He then insisted only the Mayor should have the final word and refused the proposer of the motion the right of reply to the Mayor’s venom. The Chair obviously earned his money that night. Well done!  

Bragfest

In his AGM report the Mayor went on his usual ego trip, bragging that Newham was so far ahead of all other Labour councils in the land, who he thinks are all useless, incompetent and badly led. Such a contrast to Newham under his leadership!

He attacked the motion on preventing his paid advisors controlling Labour group officers by claiming it was undemocratic and wrong for anyone to restrict the choice of who to vote for. It would lead to the destruction of the Party and the end of all civilised life as we know it. This is despite national Labour Party rules which restrict who can be cabinet members and vote in Scrutiny elections. He also seems to have forgotten that he agreed last year to a convention that East Ham Labour Party would exclude all councillors from being branch officers.  

What would be laughable, if it was not so serious, was Sir Robins boast to Group that he had introduced secret ballots for Group elections! This is of course a blatant untruth. You have to wonder why he makes such preposterous claims. Why the constant need to feed his ego? Who knows.

Trigger Ballot

In the next 12 months or so there must be a “trigger ballot” of Labour Party members and affiliates in Newham on whether the current Mayor is automatically the Labour candidate for Mayor in 2018. If you think that, regardless of the many talents (and faces) of Sir Robin Wales, after more than 20 years of his rule we need a choice in Newham, then you will vote for an open and transparent election process. It may turn out that Sir Robin is the best candidate, but members should surely take the chance to consider alternatives. I hope members will vote to give themselves a real choice.

OMG. I have been invited as a guest to the formal Newham Council AGM tonight (Thursday). The mayor promised at the Group meeting that there will be even more bragging about himself. I must bring earplugs – and a large hip flask.

Tags: , , , , ,

Whose chair is it anyway?

16 May

One of the more important elections at this week’s Labour group AGM is for the position of chair. Labour group is the one meeting where backbench councillors can challenge the executive. The chair has huge influence in controlling the debate.

The incumbent, Clive Furness (Canning Town North), is also the Mayoral Advisor for Adults & Health – a ‘full-time’ position for which he is paid £33,735 a year on top of his £10,974 basic allowance. The post is entirely in the gift of the mayor. 

In his election statement Cllr Furness portrays himself as a modest and genial fellow, who is so keen for everyone to have their say that sometimes other items have to be left until a later meeting (not that this is in any way ever abused to ensure awkward questions don’t get asked. Oh no).

This is my second stretch in the role as Chair and I believe that I chair Group meetings effectively and courteously. Rarely are members denied a chance to speak  and then it is solely to move on the business of Group to ensure that an agenda is  completed. My fault, if it is such, is to allow discussion to continue too long meaning  that occasionally matters are deferred to a future meeting.

In terms of the specific skills that I believe I bring, I would suggest that I am  inclusive in my chairing style, I run the meetings in a business-like manner but also  with humour and an allowance for members who might struggle to get across their  points.

In terms of the unseen work I believe that I have demonstrated an ability to  marshal people together with different personalities and priorities in order to  ensure that Group Officers act in a cohesive manner. 

… In terms of my priorities in the role as Chair it will be to ensure that there is  opportunity for full debate amongst members and ensure that members are  reminded that they are part of a Group and Party that makes decisions and acts  collectively. 

Of course Furness doesn’t mention that he was subject to a motion of no confidence two years ago, when he ruled a motion to enforce equal representation for women among group officers and mayoral advisors out of order.

He is being challenged by John Gray (West Ham). Cllr Gray was Labour group secretary from 2010 – 15 and is, along with John Whitworth and Rokhsana Fiaz, one of the few councillors openly questioning the use of LOBO loans.

I believe we need to change the way we do things in Labour Group. We have to understand that we have an Executive model which gives the Mayor great power and influence. One of the roles of the Group Chair is to help hold the Executive to account and to champion the role and contribution of all Group Members.

We need sufficient checks and balances. We need to have a chair that is independent of the Executive and not dependent on the Mayor for his or her livelihood. This is not meant as a slight on past Chairs but there is a clear conflict of interest. The Chair must be seen as independent on the Executive and should not hold any advisor position. Things need to be done properly but they also need to be seen to be done properly.

The main challenge facing the Council is Tory Government Austerity cuts. While we need to challenge and oppose these cuts we also need to encourage argument and debate on how to do this. Group members must feel listened to and their views respected. We need an independent Chair to unite us in the difficult times ahead.

So the question before councillors is whether they want group meetings chaired by someone who is a member of the mayor’s executive team, or someone who is independent of it.

The answer, sadly, is that most of them don’t care enough to think about the consequences. They will simply do what they are told.

Tags: , , , ,

Take it to the limit

13 May

A small earthquake happened in Newham last night. Five local Labour party branches voted for a motion to impose term-limits on directly elected mayors.

Members in Forest Gate North, Forest Gate South, Stratford, Canning Town and Manor Park (Sir Robin’s own ward!) supported a proposition put forward by the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy to amend the national rule book:

The Labour Party Rule Book 2016 Chapter 5 Selections, rights and responsibilities of candidates for elected public office.Clause I. General rules for selections for public office. Sub-Clause 1. G. i. Alternative Procedures, reads as follows:

‘For any mayoral selection the NEC may consider the use of primary elections, subject to the absolute power of the NEC to cancel or amend procedure, and subject to:

a. Procedural guidelines set by the NEC.’

Amendment

Add new sub-clause:

b. If a selected candidate is elected for two consecutive terms he/she cannot apply for selection as the Labour candidate for the same mayoral post for the following third term.

Directly-elected mayors were introduced in 2000 and, from the first mayoral elections in 2002 until 2008, the Labour Party rules stipulated that Directly-Elected Mayors who were Labour Party members could not stand for re-election after having served two terms. This time limit was removed on the recommendation of the NEC Local Government Committee in 2008 – in good time to allow the likes of Sir Robin and Hackney’s Jules Pipe to be re-selected for a third term.

As we know to our cost in Newham, directly-elected Mayors have presidential-type executive powers. These are not always balanced by adequate scrutiny from councillors – in Newham they are barely subject to any at all. 

Sir Robin has been in charge of our borough since 1995. First as leader of the council and since 2002 as mayor. In the interests of healthy democratic local governance, a single individual should not hold these powers for so long. 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Official error

25 Apr

From the council website:

Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales, has wished The Queen a happy 90th birthday as she celebrates her official birthday today (April 21).

Sir Robin said: “On behalf of all of the councillors and staff of Newham Council and all of our residents I would like to wish Her Majesty The Queen a happy birthday.”

If you are going embarrass yourself by kissing the royal arse in public, at least get it right.

April 21 is the Queen’s actual birthday; her official birthday is in June.

Tags:

Evasion and avoidance

15 Apr

A leading campaigner against the use of LOBO loans by local councils has accused Newham of operating a deliberate policy of delay and frustration in relation to Freedom of Information requests.

Joel Benjamin submitted a request to the council back in early February asking for details of financial disclosure forms submitted by Sir Robin Wales:

Dear Newham Borough Council,

  1. Please confirm if Robin Wales submitted a Members Financial Interest Disclosure form and/or party transaction disclosure for each of the years he was a councillor 1995 – 2016
  2. Please provide copies of Robin Wales’ Disclosure Forms for the 1995-2016 period and related ‘party transaction disclosures’ (which are related but not identical to the disclosure of interests forms members complete) which are required to be completed every year by the elected members.
  3. Please confirm the number of occasions upon which it was recorded Robin Wales withdrew from a Newham meeting, declaring a conflict of interest?
  4. Please confirm the dates upon which Newham Council has audited Members Disclosure forms and ‘party transaction disclosures’ between 1995-2016 to ensure member compliance.
  5. Please confirm on how many occasions, 1995-2016, Newham members have been cautioned, disciplined or otherwise sanctioned for failing to fill out a disclosure log, or for failing to disclose personal financial interests and potential conflicts?

Yours faithfully,

etc.

At the same time he submitted an identical request relating to councillor Lester Hudson, the cabinet lead for finance and chair of the audit board.

Despite reminders, these requests remain unanswered. This prompted a request for internal review (my emphasis added):

I am writing to request an internal review of Newham Borough Council’s handling of my FOI request ‘Disclosure of Newham Register of Elected Members Interest Forms – Robin Wales’.

I note that a formal response from Newham Council to this FOIA request is now approaching 20 days overdue, and is set against a backdrop of unexplained delays, refused requests and opaque decision making, which increasingly casts Newham Council as a FOIA non-compliant outlier for local authorities contacted for information regarding LOBO loans.

Mayor of Newham Robin Wales has staunchly defended the use of LOBO loans by Newham Council, which have been shown to cost Council taxpayers a £10m interest premium over the past decade, to say nothing of the LOBOs taken out by Housing Associations indirectly under Newham control.

It is therefore important to establish if conflict of interest forms have been formally lodged by Robin Wales and monitored by Newham Council and its auditors PwC for the period 2002 – 2011 when £653m of LOBO loan borrowing was negotiated.

A review was also requested, in the same terms, of the unanswered questions about Cllr Hudson. 

And again today, in relation to another FOI request, another request for internal review (my emphasis added):

I am writing to request an internal review of Newham Borough Council’s handling of my FOI request ‘Correspondence regarding Newham 2014/15 account objections re: LOBO Loans’.

I note that a response to this FOIA request is now 2 weeks overdue, and joins 3 additional requests left unanswered by Newham Council, whose FOIA policy is clearly to defer, delay, frustrate in the hope that requesters will not bother with an internal review and subsequent ICO referral.

Given failure to answer these FOIA requests is clearly part of a deliberate Newham policy and pattern, I will be referring the entire suite of unanswered FOIA requests to the ICO, and will let them determine the appropriate course of action to ensure that Newham Council administration acts in the public interest and the FOI officer observes the appropriate legal guidance timeframes.

I know from my own experience that Newham has no regard for the law when it comes to freedom of information, and no respect for the public who are simply exercising their right to know what is being done in their name. They will delay, refuse or simply ignore any request that might result in political embarrassment for Sir Robin or his circle of friends. It is long past time that the Information Commissioners Office intervened.

Tags: , , ,

Laugh? I thought I’d never start

18 Mar

From the Newham Recorder’s report of last night’s cabinet meeting:

In other business, councillors agreed there was no need “at the present time” for new Gypsy and Traveller accommodation in the borough.

Discussing the matter, deputy mayor Cllr Lester Hudson joked that he would like to know the address of the person who “made the objective”.

“I think what Lester is saying is that we would be very happy to set up a site right next to their house,” Sir Robin added.

I can’t quite believe they actually said that – out loud – in a public meeting.

And thought it was funny.

UPDATE (20/03/2016)

On Friday evening Lester Hudson issued a statement to councillors claiming he had been misquoted in the Recorder story:

Deputy Mayor Councillor Lester Hudson has today rebutted a Newham Recorder online story over the misreporting of part of a debate at Cabinet on Thursday in connection with new gypsy and traveller accommodation in the borough.

The rebuttal statement issued to the Recorder by Councillor Hudson reads:

“The local newspaper account of this exchange is simply wrong. I was absolutely serious when I asked to understand more about objectors to our approach, not the objective.

“I am proud of the fact that Newham Council has previously established an authorised public site for Gypsies and Travellers and has made a detailed analysis of the needs of these communities locally.

“Other local authorities could learn much from Newham’s approach and should do much more to help those communities. I wanted to know whether the local authority of any objector had made a significant commitment to Gypsies and Travellers as Newham Council has. I would be happy to see a dedicated public site for Gypsies and Travellers established by every local authority in the country.”

Notably absent from this statement is any comment on what the mayor said, much less a denial.

Tags: ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →