GEORGE Galloway and Respect s leader on Tower Hamlets council Abjol Miah handed in a petition with 9,000 signatures at the town hall today to trigger a referendum for a directly elected mayor in East London. The MP for Bethnal Green and Bow said a dire
GEORGE Galloway and Respect's leader on Tower Hamlets council Abjol Miah handed in a petition with 9,000 signatures at the town hall today to trigger a referendum for a directly elected mayor in East London.
The MP for Bethnal Green and Bow said a directly elected mayor would bring strong leadership to Tower Hamlets.
He said: "We need a directly elected mayor that will be accountable. The buck will stop with the mayor."
He pledged that if Respect won the job the mayor's parlour would be moved to a more central location in Bethnal Green or Whitechapel so it would be more accessible to the public than at Mulberry Place in Blackwall.
"If it's a Respect mayor I will promise in the future that the public will not have to go through a security barrier or take a plane or train to get here."
And he said a Respect mayor would hold weekly press conferences to be "accountable".
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 The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.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