A leading Labour councillor has accused the administration of Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Luftur Rahman, of following a “populist agenda”, six months on from his election, that favoured cars over people and lacked diversity.

Councillor Mufeedah Bustin,  Labour councillor for Island Gardens and shadow cabinet member for social inclusion, said it was important to hold Rahman and his ruling Aspire party to account.

“It’s still early days for Aspire,” said Bastin, “but we are not seeing as much progress as I would have hoped.” Despite being in power for six months now, “there are pressing issues around the cost of living” that have been left unaddressed. She was critical of his policies on favouring car parking, the failure to live up to social housing pledges and a lack of diversity among the leadership.

Bustin said: “One of the things I am most passionate about is diverse leadership…I was the first Asian woman to be elected as a councillor on the Isle of Dogs.” She pointed out there are no female Aspire councillors, among the 25 party members holding council positions.

“There was a vain attempt to ask the Labour female councillors to join the Aspire cabinet, but that offer went direct to the Labour Group and the press… it was a hollow offer.” Bustin claims neither she nor her colleagues had any “direct communication” to invite them into the cabinet.

All Aspire councillors are also of Bengali descent and there is no representation of the black or LGBTQ+ community within the party’s councillors. Last month, Aspire attracted criticism for rejecting a motion that would protect the LGBTQ+ community.

Further condemnation of the party followed as Rahman’s cabinet passed regulation that made car parking around the borough cheaper and easier, therefore making the borough’s “environment less safe”, according to a council report.

Bustin said Rahman had a “populist agenda to open up the roads” by removing regulations that would restrict car use. In his manifesto, Rahman pledged to “reopen our roads… [and] avoid penalising those in our community who drive.”

This September, a petition was signed by three thousand residents objecting to Rahman’s intention to “rip up traffic schemes”, partly due to environmental concerns. Tower Hamlets already has the 4th highest rate of air pollution-related deaths in London, which constitute 8.1 per cent of all deaths in the borough. 

She said she has seen “no concrete plans” around social housing: “In the Aspire manifesto, it said they would build 4,000 social homes. Now in the strategic plan that has changed from social homes to affordable homes.”

According to Bustin, social housing is council-owned and generally cheaper, so “key” to tackling the cost of living crisis. “They need to build. I’ve not heard that they have lain a single brick. There were some [Labour] schemes that were in development that they are not going to proceed with.”

She said: “There are not good enough reasons to not build on those sites. I think there are political reasons to pacify certain groups and communities.” The previous Labour administration had planned to demolish the Canal Club Community Garden in St Peter’s Ward in order to build a new social housing development. After coming to power, Aspire withdrew the proposal.

Rahman was originally the founder of Tower Hamlets First, which was in power between 2014 and 2015. An investigation into the party found there was a culture of “culture of cronyism”, leading Rahman to be banned from politics for six years.

Rahman did not respond to requests for comment on any of the allegations.