WE WELCOME the comments you attribute to Neil King about the role of the Tower Hamlets Council’s propaganda organ ‘East End Life’ (Advertiser Website, September 29).
WE WELCOME the comments you attribute to Neil King about the role of the Tower Hamlets Council’s propaganda organ ‘East End Life’ (Advertiser Website, September 29).
His assertions, as you report them, warrant to be dealt with on the facts.
It is not clear whether Mr King (Tory candidate running for mayor of Tower Hamlets) was in the East End in September, 2000—and if he was, whether he knew of a policy debate in the council chamber that I initiated as the organiser of the current campaign against a directly elected mayor at the expense of transparency and democracy.
I specifically demanded to know in that debate why the council’s controlling (Labour) group was publishing the organ which I graphically called ‘East End Lies.’
That name ‘East End Lies’ was pronounced at that public meeting in the council chamber for the first time.
On hearing my reasoning for scrapping ‘East End Lies,’ several members of the council including two (now former councillors) and two mayors, Soyful Alom and G Mortuza, approached the Speaker and gave their full support to the statement.
Another councillor, Michael Keith, spoke to me about my initiative to have ‘East End Lies’ scrapped. But Keith claimed there was support for the continuation of the organ.
All the persons I have named here were members of the Labour Party. So Neil King must not try to say that everyone and everything in the local Labour Party has always been going on without any internal attempts at real debate or challenge.
Mr King may, indeed, be right to use the published evidence of the latest series of messy behaviour by the Labour Party bureaucracy over the unmet delivery of democracy in this borough.
On this point, the Bhangeelaar! Campaign is at the forefront of the universally democratic and constitutional move to get all involved to recognise their duty to be accountable, honest and transparently so. The battle continues.
Muhammad Haque, organiser
Bhangeelaar! Campaign
Campaign Against a Directly Elected Mayor
Brick Lane
Spitalfields
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here