Tower Hamlets vote: Labour takes last 2 seats to hold majority—just about

Voting in the last ward to be declared, Bromley South, five days after the polls closed, was a close call with several recounts before the result came through last night.

Labour took both seats, with a narrow margin of just 10 votes between winning the second seat and losing in third place by the runner-up from the mayor’s self-styled Tower Hamlets First group.

Allegations of voter intimidation at several polling stations across the East End last Thursday are to be investigated, the Electoral Commission has confirmed.

Complains were made to police about voters having to run the gauntlet of party supporters and leaflets left unlawfully in voting booths not being removed by presiding officers.

The challenge by UKIP was seen off across the East End, but the growing Green vote almost certainly cost Labour votes both for council seats and the separate poll for mayor which Rahman won by a narrow majority over Labour’s John Biggs.

Labour, which lost control of the Town Hall in 2010 when Rahman became first elected executive mayor with full power over its £1.2 billion budget, lost two former group leaders in one fell swoop at Thursday’s polls.

Biggest humiliation was Helal Abbas losing at Spitalfields to the Mayor’s former paid advisor Gulam Robbani who got back in after initially taking a seat in a by-election there two years ago.

Abbas was the council leader in 2010 who got Rahman deselected as Labour’s original candidate for Mayor when he gave evidence to the party’s national executive about allegations concerning Lutfur’s links with radical Islam.

Lutfur went on to run as an independent and stormed home that year—despite a campaign by party grandees such as Lord Kinnock who came out on the campaign trail against him. Last Thursday appeared to be Lutfur’s final payback to Abbas.

Labour also lost group leader Motin Uz-Zaman at Mile End, where health spokesman Rachael Saunders just scraped home to take the third place in the three-seat ward behind party veteran David Edgar.

Denise Jones kept her seat at St Katharine’s and Wapping, but Carlo Gibbs was ousted.

Labour held on to its Bethnal Green and Bow heartland with frontbenchers like Marc Francis, Amy Whitelock Gibbs, Sirajul Islam and former group leader Joshua Peck.

Shocks for the Conservatives came at Island Gardens ward where staunch Isle of Dogs campaigner Gloria Thienel lost her seat to Labour’s Andrew Cregan by 44 votes for second place, with first place held by Tory group leader Peter Golds.

Mayor Rahman’s party consolidated its traditional stronghold in Poplar, Whitechapel, Shadwell and Stepney Green, held by his cabinet stalwarts like Alibor Choudhury, Shahed Ali, Oliur Rahman and Rabina Khan.

The new two-seat Canary Wharf ward was split between the Mayor’s party and the now-reduced Tory group.

Labour and Tower Hamlets First were running neck-and-neck until last night’s result at Bromley South which gives Labour 20 seats, a majority of two in the council chamber for the moment, but still in Opposition to the mayor’s executive powers.

Two more seats have yet to be accounted for at Blackwall & Cubitt Town. That vote has been postponed because of the death of a candidate just 24 hours before the polls. A by-election will be run in July.

Full results, ward-by-ward:

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BETHNAL GREEN (3 seats)

Amy Whitelock Gibbs (Lab) 2,911 (17.1pc) ELECTED

Sirajul Islam (Lab) 2,292 (13.5pc) ELECTED

Shafiqul Haque (THF) 2,048 (12.0pc) ELECTED

Abdirashid Gulaid (Lab) 2,038 (12.0pc)

Babu Chowdhury (Tower H) 1,792 (10.5pc)

Salim Ullah (THF) 1,652 (9.7pc)

Chris Thorne (Green) 1,362 (8.0pc)

Kamrun Shajahan (Lib Dem 629 (3.7pc)

Lubov Zsikhotska (UKIP) 622 (3.6pc)

Alan Mak (Con) 460 (2.7pc)

Meera Patel (Con) 330 (1.9pc)

Ellen Peers (TU & Soc) 327 (1.9pc)

Clive Heemskerk (TU & Soc) 254 (1.5pc)

Taz Kha’lique (Con) 238 (1.4pc)

Total votes: 16,955

Electorate: 14,085

Turnout: 47.6pc

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BOW EAST (3 seats)

Rachel Blake (Lab) 2,611 (19.2pc) ELECTED

Marc Francis (Lab) 2,308 (17.0pc) ELECTED

Amina Ali (Lab) 2,023 (14.9pc) ELECTED

Sabia Kamali (THF) 989 (7.3pc)

Abdus Salam (THF) 977 (7.2pc)

Lucy Rees (Green) 935 (6.9pc)

Mickey Ambrose (THF) 774 (5.7pc)

Tatyana Hancocks (Green) 651 (4.8pc)

Cameron Penny (Con) 520 (3.8pc)

James Thompson (Con) 496 (3.6pc)

Stephanie Chan (Con) 455 (3.3pc)

Andy Spracklen (Lib Dem) 449 (3.3pc)

George Paton (TU Soc) 221 (1.6pc)

Andy Erlam (Red Flag) 129 (0.9pc)

Total votes: 13,538

Electorate: 11,244

Turnout: 45.8pc

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BOW WEST (2 seats)

Joshua Peck (Lab) 2,439 (29.5pc) ELECTED

Asma Begum (Lab) 1,996 (24.1pc) ELECTED

Jainal Chowdhury (THF) 702 (8.5pc)

Matt Smith (Con) 627 (7.5pc)

Anwar Khan (ind) 619 (7.4pc)

Louise Whitmore Green) 559 (6.7pc)

Alistair Polson (Green) 552 (6.6pc)

Safiul Azam (Con) 441 (5.3pc)

Altaf Hussain (Lib Dem) 328 (3.9pc)

Total votes: 8,263

Electorate: 9,053

Turnout: 52.33pc

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BROMLEY NORTH (2 seats)

Khales Ahmed (Lab) 1,534 (25.1pc) ELECTED

Mohammed Miah (THF) 1,247 (20.4pc) ELECTED

Zenith Rahman (Lab) 1,153 (18.9pc)

Moniruzzaman Syed (THF) 1,046 (17.1pc)

Christopher Devlin (Green) 281 (4.6pc)

Aaron Willson (Green) 221 (3.6pc)

Angela Carlton (Con) 219 (3.6pc)

Mark Fletcher (Con) 178 (2.9pc)

Victoria Flynn (Lib Dem) 136 (2.2pc)

Daniel McGowan (TU Socialist) 76 (1.2pc)

Total votes: 6,091

Electorate: 6,671

Turnout: 51.9pc

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BROMLEY SOUTH (2 seats)

Helal Uddin (Lab) 1,565 (24.9pc) ELECTED

Danny Hassell (Lab) 1,300 (20.1pc) ELECTED

Syeda Choudhury (THF) 1,290 (20.0pc)

Kobir Ali (THF) 1,269 (19.7pc)

Ben Hancocks (Green) 343 (5.3pc)

Frank Richard Thienel (Con) 270 (4.1pc)

Stephen Clarke (Lib Dem) 252 (3.9pc)

Srikanth Rajgopal (Con) 153 2.3pc

Total votes: 6,442

Electorate: 7,477

Turnout: 49.4pc

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CANARY WHARF (2 seats)

Andrew Wood (Con) 869 (16.6pc) ELECTED

Md. Maium Miah (THF) 829 (15.8pc) ELECTED

Debbie Simone (Lab) 801 (15.3pc)

Shubo Hussain (Lab) 786 (15.0pc)

Ahmed Hussain (Con) 782 (14.9pc)

John Cray (THF) 592 (11.3pc)

Mark Webber (UKIP) 327 (6.2pc)

Stephen Toal (Lib Dem) 181 (3.4pc)

Neil Cafferky (TU Soc) 58 (1.1pc)

Total votes: 5,225

Electorate: 8,327

Turnout: 36.5pc

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ISLAND GARDENS [Isle of Dogs south] (2 seats)

Peter Golds (Con) 1,345 (19.9pc0 ELECTED

Andrew Cregan (Lab) 1,244 (18.4pc) ELECTED

Gloria Thienel (Con) 1,200 (17.8pc)

Raju Rahman (Lab) 951 (14.1pc)

Bellal Uddin (THF) 648 (9.6pc)

Kathy McTasney (THF) 515 (7.6pc)

Wayne Lochner (UKIP) 464 (6.9pc)

Doug Oliver (Lib Dem) 261 (3.8pc)

John Peers (TU Soc) 100 (1.4pc)

Total votes: 6,728

Electorate: 9,038

Turnout: 43.29pc

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LANSBURY [Poplar north] (3 seats)

Rajib Ahmed (Lab) 2,184 (16.4pc) ELECTED

Shiria Khatun (Lab) 1,952 (14.6pc) ELECTED

Ohid Ahmed (THF) 1,936 (14.5pc) ELECTED

Dave Smith (Lab) 1,850 (13.9pc)

Shuily Akthar (THF) 1,727 (13.0pc)

Stephen Beckett (THF) 1,535 (11.5pc)

Paul Shea (UKIP) 732 (5.5pc)

Graham Collins (Con) 387 (2.9pc)

Paul Ingham (Con) 332 (2.5pc)

Simon McGrath (Lib Dem) 232 (1.75pc)

Mohammed Riaz (Con) 228 (1.7pc)

Pete Dickenson (TU Soc) 190 (1.4pc)

Total votes: 13,285

Electorate: 10,472

Turnout: 51.2pc

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LIMEHOUSE (1 seat)

Craig Aston (Con) 786 (38.0pc) ELECTED

Catherine Overton (Lab) 730 (35.3pc)

Mashuk Ahmed (THF) 341 (16.5pc)

Matt Lomas (Lib Dem) 105 (5.0pc)

David Hyland (UKIP) 104 (5.0pc)

Total votes: 2,066

Electorate: 4,331

Turnout: 48.26pc

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MILE END (3 seats)

Shah Alam (THF) 2,315 (15.4pc) ELECTED

David Edgar (Lab) 2,268 (15.0pc) ELECTED

Rachael Saunders (Lab) 2,139 (14.2pc) ELECTED

Mohammed Ali (THF) 2,052 (13.6pc)

Motin Uz-Zaman (Lab) 1,801 (11.9pc)

Mustak Syed (THF) 1,796 (11.9pc)

Naomi Snowdon (Con) 597 (3.9pc)

Mushtak Abdullah (Con) 571 (3.8pc)

Andy Hallett (Lib Dem) 500 (3.3pc)

Jewel Islam (Con) 446 (2.9pc)

Hafiz Choudhury (ind) 383 (2.5pc)

Arzoo Miah (TU Soc) 165 (1.1pc)

Total votes: 15,033

Electorate: 12,049

Turnout: 49.5pc

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POPLAR (1 seat)

Gulam Choudhury (THF) 910 (44.2pc) ELECTED

Abdul Chowdhury (Lab) 761 (37.0pc)

Anna Mignano (UKIP) 159 (7.7pc)

James Robinson (Con) 146 (7.1pc)

Richard Macmillan (Lib Dem) 41 (1.9pc)

Naomi Byron (TU Soc) 40 (1.9pc )

Total votes: 2,057

Electorate: 4,210

Turnout: 49.6pc

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SHADWELL (2 seats)

Rabina Khan (THF) 2,199 (27.3pc)

Harun Miah (THF) 2,192 (27.2pc) ELECTED

Mamun Rashid (Lab) 1,462 (18.1pc)

Farhana Zaman (Lab) 892 (11.0pc)

Katy Guttmann (Green) 354 (4.4pc)

Des Ellerbeck (Con) 337 (4.1pc)

Daryl Stafford (Con) 326 (4.0pc)

Monowara Begum (Lib Dem) 144 (1.7pc)

Robert Williams (TU Soc) 141 (1.7pc)

Total votes: 8,047

Electorate: 8,235

Turnout: 55.2pc

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SPITALFIELDS (2 seats)

Gulam Robbani (THF) 1,955 (26.6pc) ELECTED

Suluk Ahmed (THF) 1,743 (23.7pc) ELECTED

Helal Abbas (Lab) 1,215 (16.5pc)

Tarik Khan (Lab) 1,015 (13.8pc)

Zachary Thornton (Green) 485 (6.6pc)

Jane Emmerson (Con) 349 (4.7pc)

David Fell (Con) 259 (3.5pc)

Ferdy North (Lib Dem) 219 (2.9pc)

Jason Turvey (TU Soc) 98 (1.3pc)

Total votes: 7,338

Electorate: 9,316

Turnout: 43.69pc

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ST DUNSTAN’S [Stepney] (2 seats)

Ayas Miah (Lab) 1,967 (23.1pc) ELECTED

Mahbub Alam (THF) 1,805 (21.2pc) ELECTED

Abdal Ullah (Lab) 1,386 (16.2pc)

Rofique Ahmed (THF) 1,369 (16.0pc)

Chris Kilby (Green) 484 (5.6pc)

Charles Clarke (Con) 426 (5.0pc)

Martin Bryan (UKIP) 369 (4.3pc)

Abdul Choudhury (Peace) 254 (2.9pc)

Ben Mascall (Con) 254 (2.9pc)

Koyes Choudhury (Lib Dem) 193 (2.2pc)

Total votes: 8,507

Electorate: 8,570

Turnout: 55.7pc

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ST KATHARINE’S & WAPPING (2 seats)

Julia Dockerill (Con) 1,278 (19.1pc) ELECTED

Denise Jones (Lab) 1,208 (18.1pc) ELECTED

Neil King (Con) 1,156 (17.3pc)

Robert Scott (Lab) 956 (14.3pc)

Ahad Miah (THF) 547 (8.2pc)

John Venpin (Green) 440 (6.6pc)

Stuart Madewell (THF) 407 (6.1pc)

Grenville Mills (UKIP) 353 (5.3pc)

John Denniston (Lib Dem) 319 (4.7pc)

Total votes: 6,664

Electorate: 8,116

Turnout: 46.2pc

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ST PETER’S [Bethnal Grn] (3 seats)

Abjol Miah (THF) 2,289 (14.0pc) ELECTED

Clare Harrisson (Lab) 2,089 (12.7pc) ELECTED

Muhammed Mustaquim (THF) 2,088 (12.7pc) ELECTED

Aktaruz Zaman (THF) 1,935 (11.8pc)

Carlo Gibbs (Lab) 1,914 (11.7pc)

Sanu Miah (Lab) 1,722 (10.5pc)

Paul Burgess (Green) 1,114 (6.8pc)

David Cox (Green) 970 (5.9pc)

Azizur Khan (Lib Dem 802 (4.9pc)

Bertlyn Springer (UKIP) 453 (2.7pc)

Rachel Watts (Con) 342 (2.0pc)

Simon Fish (Con) 301 (1.8pc)

Leonard Rowlands (TH Soc) 222 (1.3pc)

Adrian Thompson (Con) 113 (0.6pc)

Total votes: 16,354

Electorate: 13,182

Turnout: 46.9p

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STEPNEY GREEN (2 seats)

Alibor Choudhury (THF) 2,023 (25.8pc) ELECTED

Oliur Rahman (THF) 1,965 (25.0pc) ELECTED

Sabina Akhtar (Lab) 1,568 (20.0pc)

Victoria Obaze (Lab) 954 (12.1pc)

Hilary Clarke (Green) 411 (5.2pc)

Nicholas McQueen (UKIP) 387 (4.9pc)

Chris Wilford (Con) 209 (2.6pc)

Hugo Mann (Con) 166 (2.1pc)

Martin Donkin (Lib Dem) 151 (1.9pc)

Total votes 7,834

Electorate 8,130

Turnout 54.9pc

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WEAVERS [Shoreditch/Bethnal Grn west] (2 seats)

Abdul Mukit (Lab) 1,237 (17.7pc) ELECTED

John Pierce (Lab) 1,223 (17.5pc) ELECTED

Kabir Ahmed (THF) 1,214 17.4pc

Yousuf Khan (THF) 1,128 (16.1pc)

Chris Smith (Green) 557 (7.9pc)

Maureen Childs (Green) 527 (7.5pc)

Pauline McQueen (UKIP) 316 (4.5pc)

Louise Taggart (Con) 254 (3.6pc)

Alex Dziedzan (Lib Dem) 202 (2.9pc)

Luke Ounsworth (Con) 197 (2.8pc)

Hugo Pierre (TU Soc) 113 (1.6pc)

Total votes: 6,968

Electorate: 8,759

Turnout: 46.22pc

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WHITECHAPEL (3 seats)

Shahed Ali (THF) 2,139 (16.9pc) ELECTED

Abdul Asad (THF) 2,117 (16.7pc) ELECTED

Aminur Khan (THF) 2,088 (16.5pc) ELECTED

Faruque Ahmed (Lab) 1,359 (10.7pc)

Robert Robinson (Lab) 1,190 (9.4pc)

Jamalur Rahman (Lab) 1,188 (9.4pc) Maggie Crosbie (Green) 703 (5.5pc)

Richard Holden (Con) 409 (3.2pc)

Dinah Glover (Con) 405 (3.2pc)

John Griffiths (Lib Dem) 358 (2.8pc)

Nicholas Vandyce (Con) 345 (2.7pc)

Andrew McNeilis (UKIP) 199 (1.5pc)

Michael Wrack (TU Soc) 139 (1.1pc)

Total votes: 12,639

Electorate: 11,337

Turnout: 42.3pc

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