Two Tower Hamlets Labour councillors to “work with” new mayor Lutfur Rahman

TWO Labour councillors have pledged their support for working with the new mayor of Tower Hamlets.

Kabir Ahmed, who was elected to the Weavers ward in May, and Shahed Ali, who represents Whitechapel, said they were unhappy about the Labour party’s refusal to work with the new Independent mayor as their reason for making their stance.

Cllr Ahmed said the atmosphere among councillors had become ‘poisonous’ since Mr Rahman’s defeat of Labour leader Helal Abbas.

He insisted he is loyal to Labour and wants to see his party win again after such a cataclysmic defeat.

He added: “Six months ago, the Labour party was riding high in Tower Hamlets, we returned two MPs and forty one councillors, but the current leadership threw that away.”

Cllr Ali said: “I firmly believe residents elected us as councillors to run their council, not merely to oppose any opportunity to deliver its needs.”

A Tower Hamlets Labour spokesman said the Labour Group position is to continue to work to further Labour values for the benefit of residents of Tower Hamlets and to work constructively with the Mayor and other parties, where to do so would be for the benefit of local residents, and to oppose him where we think his decisions and actions are not in the best interests of the Borough and its residents.