Photo: Leo Reynolds

A grandmother with links to right-wing extremist organizations has been announced as the British National Party candidate in the Lewisham mayoral race.

Tess Culnane, who is in her seventies, has been described by her opponents as a ‘neo-Nazi granny’, and will represent the controversial far-right party in the upcoming election. Campaigning on a nationalist platform, she has said she plans to turn Lewisham into ‘a borough where British interests and people are put first’.

Ms Culnane, who said she intends to take a strong stance against crime, has previously insisted that she is ‘not a Nazi’ but ‘a true blue patriot’.

However, her history of association with more extreme right-wing organisations adds weight to opponents’ claims that BNP attempts at promoting a moderate image are deceptive.

Ms Culnane previously stood unsuccessfully as National Front candidate for Greenwich and Lewisham in 2008’s London Assembly elections, and has also run for that party in Yorkshire.

She has also been linked to the self-described ‘ultra nationalist’ British People’s Party, who describe her as a ‘veteran activist’ on their website, which features overtly Nazi imagery. An official blog of the BPP includes sections contesting the historical facts of the Holocaust, and describes immigration as a ‘vociferous cancer’.

Other local politicians have spoken out against the BNP’s campaign, including Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Chris Maines, who described the party as ‘vile’. Green Councilor Dean Walton, who is also running, said: “Racists aren’t welcome in a diverse and tolerant borough like Lewisham.”

Sir Steve Bullock, the incumbent Labour mayor, has expressed scepticism about the BNP’s electoral prospects. “The residents of Lewisham have too much sense to be taken in by the superficial makeover of the BNP,” he said. “It’s still a nasty, racist party with nothing to offer but division and hate.”

The East London mosque. Photo: Ibán

Tower Hamlets Council is falling under the control of extremist Islamic groups, according to allegations made in a television documentary.

However, the claims were strongly rejected by some local politicians and the group at the centre of the claims, the Islamic Forum of Europe, which said they aimed to incite Islamophobia.

According to the film, ‘Britain’s Islamic Republic‘, made by journalist Andrew Gilligan, the IFE, a community organisation with links to the East London Mosque, has ’secretly infiltrated the Labour Party’ in Tower Hamlets, and is ‘already exerting influence’ on the running of the borough. Tower Hamlets has the highest proportion of Muslim voters of any local authority in the country.

The film claimed that although the IFE ‘presents itself as a beacon of tolerance’, in reality it ‘houses a fundamentalist organisation’ allied with terrorist sympathisers and advocating the imposition of sharia law on both Muslims and non-believers.

The IFE  said the  film’s content amounted to ‘media slurs.’ The group said that it categorically condemned violent extremism, adding: “The suggestion that there is anything sinister about [its] engagement with normal democratic processes, or that the IFE is bent on political ‘infiltration’ is untrue, inflammatory and socially divisive.”

During the documentary Gilligan presented a dossier of what he said was evidence of the group’s political influence and radical intentions. This included anecdotal accounts and pamphlets produced by the IFE, but also undercover filming at the mosque. In one scene, an individual allied with the organisation is heard to claim that: “Our brothers have gone into those positions of influence… council positions.”

Local Labour MP Jim Fitzpatrick, who represents Poplar and Canning Town, also criticised the IFE saying: “They are acting almost as an interest organisation.”

Tower Hamlets Labour  Party has been placed under ‘special measures’ by the Labour Party nationally following concerns about its membership numbers and status of some members. The move places restrictions on its independence as a local party.

A Labour Party spokesperson said last year: “We’re concerned about people joining for the right reasons and are trying to prevent organisations filtering in who may try taking over the party by signing up and ousting existing members.”

In the programme, Lutfur Rahman, the leader of Tower Hamlets council, was asked to respond to these allegations. He said: “Those are internal party matters.”

Local journalist Ted Jeory, formerly of the East London Advertiser, claimed a councillor had privately told him: “We’re petrified by these guys. They’ve got us by the balls.”

Kevan Collins, the chief executive of Tower Hamlets Council,  said the council took the allegations ‘very seriously’ and would investigate anything which potentially breached its regulations or any aspect of the law.

He continued: “If we were to be made aware through the police or Home Office of any issues with any group, we would act swiftly to cease any relationship with that group (as we did recently with the banning of Islam4UK).”

Even before being broadcast, the programme had already provoked heated responses among members of the public. Around 70 comments, many of them attacking the film, had already been posted on its page on the Channel 4 website yesterday afternoon, several hours before it was due to be shown.

Among the critical responses was that of ‘Abdul’, who saw Islamic political involvement as a Catch-22. He wrote: “If ur a muslim and dont go into politics your not integrating, and if you do go into politics your an extremist. Mr Gilligan and co what should the muslims in Britain do? [sic]”

Others disagreed with the programme’s portrayal of the IFE, claiming that its work is for the most part beneficial to the community. User ‘SM’ wrote: “There may be bad eggs within the IFE – like any big organisation – but the amazing work they’ve done (especially in one of the poorest boroughs of London) stands testament to the strength and overwhelming good the IFE are known for.”

Central Croydon. Photo: Mark Grealish

Croydon  has announced the lowest council tax increase in the authority’s history, along with their spending plans for the year. (more…)

Ballot box mischief. Photo: Rama

Tower Hamlets is divided over whether to have a directly elected mayor instead of the current council cabinet system.

The ‘yes’ lobby have already won the right for a referendum, which will be held on May 6th, but the  issue has split the Labour party despite directly elected mayors being a Labour policy.

Ex-London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, and Parliamentary Home Affairs chairman, Keith Vaz, support the call for an elected mayor. George Galloway,  MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, and member of  the Respect party has also joined the campaign.

Opposing the change, the Town Hall’s Labour administration has drawn support from government minister Jim Fitzpatrick, whose constituency of Poplar is in Tower Hamlets.

At a rally earlier this month Livingstone said an elected mayor was vital to secure resources for the deprived East End. He said: “Let’s start a new chapter… you can elect an individual who will be accountable and every person in this borough will have an equal right in determining who it is.”

Those campaigning against an elected mayor believe it would concentrate too much power and control in the hands of one individual, who would also be able to appoint non-elected advisors. They fear that an elected mayor could divide the complex and diverse community in Tower Hamlets. Doros Ullah, former councillor and  mayor, said:

“Tower Hamlets is a very multi-cultural, very diverse borough. To give such power to an individual would mean that person will not be in a position to understand the needs of this diverse community and therefore will not be able to deliver.”

Ullah continued: “Over the last 20-30 years, Tower Hamlets has come a long way in building bridges between the different sections of our community, celebrating diversity and sharing power. We would like to continue strengthening that and I believe the only way to do it is to have a cabinet system.”

George Galloway, who denies that he will run for the position of mayor if it is created, strongly disagrees that a directly elected mayor would be divisive:

“To be elected under the system of STV (single transferable vote) you have to obtain the votes of 51% of the people, what could be more uniting of the community!”

Unite Against Fascism predicts humiliation at the polls for the BNP. Photo: UAF

The British National Party has announced it will field candidates for the May mayoral elections in Lewisham and Hackney, sparking outrage from anti-racist and anti-fascist organisations.

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Lewisham on a road to recovery. Photo: Matt@Flickr

The United Kingdom is officially out of recession, according to new figures released on Tuesday. But what does this actually mean for the people of East and South London?

Statistics show that the British economy grew by 0.1% in the last three months of 2009. This comes after the longest period of economic contraction, during which many businesses struggled and unemployment rose.

Stephen Nelson, principal director of the South East London Chamber of Commerce, said: “The growth rate has improved as the confidence of the small and medium enterprises over the last 4,5 months has increased.”

According to economic experts, adequate steps still need to be taken by the public and private sector to ensure that consumer confidence increases and maintains an upward trajectory. The employment figures showed a positive trend last week as there was an increase in the number of people employed. This includes a rise in employment figures along the East London Lines.

But there is still a worry that joblessness could increase in the future if public spending is cut. In boroughs like Lewisham, Hackney and Tower Hamlets, there is a ‘’huge need for business support delivered locally,” said Mr. Nelson.

So, East London Lines took to the streets of New Cross to ask what locals thought of this news, and discovered mixed opinions. Some felt cheered, while others expressed scepticism about its positive effects for their everyday lives:

Alicia, 24, a musician, was unmoved by the news: “It doesn’t change a thing for me. I felt that it was an extremely overly publicized event, the recession. It was a big moral panic and I wasn’t really interested in it. However, I think outside of London people have suffered – small businesses especially. So maybe they will feel better, coming back out of the recession – but for somebody like myself it’s not really going to change anything.”

“We didn’t have as much business last year as we have had the previous years, but it hasn’t affected us massively,’’ said Paula, 26, a photographer. “We’re from Argentina, so it’s not a recession for us compared to the kind of problems we’ve been through in our country – it’s not a proper recession! I expect to get more business now we’re out of the recession, but it’s probably going to take time to recover.”

Richard, a Transport for London worker, was cheered by the news. “The recession is over? Really?”, he asked, with a pleased laugh. “I have been affected by it, so that’s good. I don’t think it seems like it’s over yet, as they’ve only announced that today, but I’m expecting things to get better within the next couple of months, hopefully. But that’s beautiful news. It means we’ll have more opportunities for young people.”

“I’m deeply sceptical, ‘’ said Rheem, 24, Students Union sabbatical officer at Goldsmiths, University of London. “I think the government bailing out the banks makes it look like everything’s rosy, when actually there’s an insidious, evil banking problem that is sapping the life out of ordinary people, making it harder and harder to live sustainably, to buy homes, to be a student. Prices of everyday things are going up, like bus fares – thanks Boris! I don’t think that statements like ‘We’re out of recession’ are very helpful.”

Sebastian, 24, a stock controller, took a more pragmatic stance: “It’s debatable whether 0.1% really means we are out of a recession, to be quite honest, because that’s a very minimal margin. Obviously it gives people the illusion of being out the recession, so maybe they are more free with their disposable income. That is half the battle though, so maybe it changes our economy in the upcoming months. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Additional reporting by Fatimah Inayet and Hanna Woodside

Ladbrokes has odds for the 2010 election favourites Photo: Allan Stanton

Labour is on course for victory in the upcoming Lewisham constituency elections, according to bookmakers’ predictions.

In Deptford, Labour is the favourite by far with odds of 1/66, whilst the Liberal Democrats are as likely to be elected as Lady Sovereign is to win Celebrity Big Brother with odds of 33/1. The Conservatives are falling behind with odds of 100/1, which is the same chance Eddie Izzard has of becoming Mayor of London in 2012.

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Locals protest against Tram Depot demolition Photo: David White

Local traders and artists in the old “Tram Sheds” in Clapton are campaigning against the demolition of the space to construct residential and retail buildings.

Housing developers had previously submitted a proposal to the Town Hall to demolish the tram shed and construct 92 residential units in the area, with retail space and car parking.

Built in 1882 for storing horse drawn trams, the Old Tram Depot is home to an art gallery, studio spaces and businesses including furniture makers and fabric suppliers.

Councillors Ian Rathbone, Linda Kelly, Deniz Oguzkanli from the Leabridge Ward organized a public meeting this week to discuss the fate of the property.

They said, “We imagine there will be a lot of greedy, oversized, and inadequately designed housing development applications in the Lea Valley between now and 2012, aimed at lining the pockets of people whose only interest in Clapton is the money they can make by overdeveloping it.”

Mr. Ian Bailey from the Hackney Council Planning department was present to field questions from local traders and businessmen.

After listening to all the complaints, Mr. Ian Bailey was non-committal in his statement, saying: “Despite the official date of making complaints ending on the 14th of this month, the planning department would still accept them till the end of the procedure and take it on from there.”

Most of the traders in the area are concerned that there would be no plan to instate them in the area under the new scheme.

A spokesperson from the Vulpes Vulpes Art Gallery said, “We would love to continue in this area, it has been a great experience with the exhibitions and the interactions with the community so far, and we would definitely not want to let go of it.”

Other than the loss of designer and artist spaces, the objectors claim that the proposed plan will increase traffic congestion and will render over a hundred people unemployed.

David White, secretary of Beecholme & Casimir Tenants and Residents Association, said: “The demolition of the Tram Depot raises greater issues relating to both Clapton and the country.

“Although the Old Tram Depot site may not be of national importance, it is one of the few remaining examples of its type. It is part of our working heritage and once gone it is lost forever.”

An online campaign to get people to send letter of objections to the council has so far picked up 582 signatures.

After hearing people’s arguments, Mr. Bailey can now either reject the entire development proposal or forward the scheme for consideration by a special planning committee; the outcome of which would be expected sometime in March.

Young Mayor election set for January 21 (Photo: Tower Hamlets Council)

‘Early-bird’ voting to elect the 4th Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets began this week to help students not living in the borough cast a vote. (more…)

George Galloway, Bethnal Green and Bow MP, enters Gaza after his convoy carrying aid clashed with Egyptian police. Photo: Viva Palestina

Bethnal Green and Bow MP George Galloway’s aid convoy has finally reached the Palestinian territory of Gaza after coming under fire from Egyptian riot police earlier this week. (more…)