Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist

Andrea Mon Apr 16, 2007 at 02:13:53 PM GMT Print-friendly version Facebook

Rupa Huq reports that the 6 hopefuls shortlisted for Bethnal Green and Bow nomination are:



Helal Abbas
Rushanara Ali
John Biggs
Rupa Huq
Shiria Khatun
Lutfur Rahman
The winner of Labour nomination will challenge George Galloway's Respect to try and re-take the seat lost in 2005 when Oona King was beated by the man in the red catsuit



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Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist | 26 comments (26 topical)

Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#1)

by ChrisRoberts on Mon Apr 16, 2007 at 08:34:23 PM GMT

No Oona King. That does surprise me I thought she would want to try and take the seat back.


Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#2)

by RobertScott on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 08:39:58 AM GMT

Oona the clever woman she is said "id only ever stand in an east end seat" The east end is a big place. I do think however that she would have won her seat back this time round. The problem with bethel green and bow is in light of "Islamic terrorism" I don't' really like that phrase but well it's the one the media uses there will always be a fear that if you vote pro Israel or pro government that you'll be booted out if respect portray your actions in parliament as anti Islamic.

Just imagine if Oona(half jewish) was in parliament when the whole Israel Lebanon debacle kicked off. These sorts of things are going to happen a lot in the future one doesn't want to be lumbered with a constituency which is prone to knee jerk reactions.

Onna was good MP and was the reason i got into politics turned my life around when she caught me bunking off school and now im 2 months away from UNI!


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#3)

by Loz on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 05:37:27 PM GMT

I can;t see us winning this one back. It will be an expensive fight and we can ill afford to divert extra resources to one seat.

That said, I'd be willing to donate a nice big cheque to whichever campaign has the best chance of getting rid of that odious cretin.


Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#4)

by jkitleft on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 08:43:25 PM GMT

Ok, fine. Different aproach. I hope Galloway doesn't win. My worry is that Galloway could stand in a different seat, as he says he is standing down in Bethnal Green, possibly leaving Bethnal Green open for another Respect candidate. He could try getting Stephen Timm's seat if he wanted to claim a Labour scalp.  


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#5)

by jkitleft on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 08:44:38 PM GMT

well, if he wanted to claim the scalp of someone in a seat of a high-muslim poulation he could choose Timm's seat.


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#6)

by Loz on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 08:50:36 PM GMT

Jack Straw perhaps?

I dislike George Galloway above any other member of parliament. And 'dislike' is putting it mildly.


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#7)

by petercoe on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 10:24:41 PM GMT

I think you're wrong Loz: Labour would be crazy to give up on one of its most natural constituencies given:

a) It was lost by less than 1,000 votes in 2005
b) Galloway says he isn't standing here again
c) Labour outpolled Respect in the wards that make up BG&B in last year's council elections
d) There aren't going to be any more winnable seats that Labour lost at the 2005 election
e) Non-Labour supporters in the area who strongly oppose Galloway but didn't realise how strong a chance of winning he actually had, will be more persuadable to vote tactically for the party most likely to beat him (especially in the former Lib Dem strongholds in Bow itself)
f) as you yourself indicate, there will be a large number of Labour supporters eager to back any campaign to oust Galloway


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#8)

by Loz on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 10:33:53 PM GMT

I wasn't aware Galloway had fully committed to not running in the constituency.

In that case, we certainly should go for it.

But lets not remember, it was one of the nastiest campaigns in recent memory.

We need someone tough to run there, and hopefully not somebody that will sympathise with the respect coalition agenda.


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#9)

by doctordunc on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 10:41:06 PM GMT


Not sure what you mean by the last point - certainly best not to have somebody who supports organising a seperate party contesting elections against the Labour Party!  - but, as Galloway primarily benefited from an anti-war protest vote which is likely to return to Labour, I don't think having an anti-war candidate in BG&B would be a disadvantage at all.


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#11)

by Loz on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 11:02:19 PM GMT

Your last point....explained what I meant in my last point.

Aside, the respect candidate would clearly be a one trick pony.

What would our candidate do? Agree with them all the way?

I'm not saying it should be a pro war candidate, but there must be some degree of seperation on the issue between the candidates.


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#10)

by Andrea on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 11:00:59 PM GMT

"I wasn't aware Galloway had fully committed to not running in the constituency. "

I think he said he would have not run again in BG&B immediately after his 2005 win


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#12)

by jkitleft on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 08:28:39 AM GMT

The thing to remember is that Respect didn't do well anywhere else (apart from Birmingham Sparkbrook), because noone had really heard of anyone else standing for RESPECT, apart from Galloway. If he wanted to, he could greatly increase the RESPECT vote in a different constituency.


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#13)

by Lee Jameson on Thu Apr 19, 2007 at 02:37:51 PM GMT

We can definitely win this one back-

The last election here was a fought on the war- and whilst i didn't agree with the war, I think even Respect's supporters recognise that Galloway's interpretation of the war was juvenile and dangerous.

You don't have to oppose an ill-planned attempt at regime change by declaring your support for the insurgents, as Galloway did at the beginning of the war in 2003. Like many other anti-war activists he made the mistake of seeing iraq as the invaders versus the invaded. The world is always messier than that.

Unfortunately for Galloway, whilst he was right about the war having some imperialist dimensions, most Iraqis are murdered by the so-called freedom fighters that Galloway supported, not the coalition forces.

We have a shortlist of candidates in Bethnal Green & Bow, some of which have a much better, and well rounded view of not just the war, but also the communities which they would be serving if they won.

Rushanara Ali was against the war for example, and for good reason, but unlike Galloway she has never supported the insurgents in their attempts to both get rid of the coalition forces, and also to fill local power vacuums, and remove any hope of local Iraqi communities forming connections with their currently artificial green zone politicians.

We need a less divisive politics in Bethnal Green and Bow. Galloway's politics has alienated many, leading to even larger divides between the different communities of the area. Whilst the war has certainly also played a part in dividing us - I think that we would do well to have an MP with a lot of experience in bringing people together - through charities and community organisations in the area - as Rushanara Ali has.

We don't have any control in BG&B over national foreign policy - but if we choose the right person then we certainly have an opportunity to help bring the communities back together - and help to mitigate against divisive external forces, and the opportunistic nonsense that is Respect!


Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#14)

by WillParbury on Thu Apr 19, 2007 at 06:13:19 PM GMT

I agree that this one can be won back.

Not that I have a vote in it but perfectly willing  to throw my tuppence in anyway.

There are several things I would look for in a candidate in BGB

Young - it is the constituency with the highest number of 18- 35 year olds in the country

Bangladeshi - I don't like rigid ethnic quoters but it is the biggest bangladeshi community in the country. There is not a single bangladeshi in parliament. Seems pretty obvious to me.

Experience- Having been a candidate myself I know that being one is a learning curve and Labour can't afford anyone who is going to start making schoolboy errors in BGB because this is the first time they have been a candidate. Rupa Huq has been a candidate twice already

Real Person - This is a fundemental quality. This is not a seat that would respond well to a career politician, policy wonk or person who is more comfortable in a think tank seminar than knocking on doors on not very lovely council estates.

Anti war - If we had had an anti war candidate last time then we would have held the seat

Not a Tony worshipper - Doesn't have to be a lefy either. Just someone who is proud to be Labour but is able to side step the more unpopular aspects of government policy. It being more sensible to get someone who will win rather than berate voters with policies they don't like and wont vote for.

All this is saying Rupa Huq to me. Indeed she is the only candidate that fulfils all the criteria.


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#15)

by Wiseman on Thu Apr 19, 2007 at 07:51:12 PM GMT

Hello Will.  I do agree Rupa has qualities, but I believe the Biggs is also quality.

John


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#26)

by WillParbury on Fri Apr 27, 2007 at 04:52:49 PM GMT

Hi John


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#16)

by RobertScott on Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 07:02:33 PM GMT

My ward used to be in this constituency we've just been moved out which is a shame because I used to work in the constituency office.  

Bethnal Green and Bow is very "them and us" a significant proportion of  the non Bengali community think of the Respect party as the "Bengali party" so if Labour felids a Bengali candidate many members of the white community will see it as a capitulation and possibly might stay at home.  

The Only decent candidates in my opinion are Rupa and John Biggs. We need a candidate that can unites both communities and Onna did just that. Fielding a Bengali candidate won't go down well with working class white folk (generally speaking) and fielding a white candidate if Respect holds together will be a disaster.  Whether Respect can hold it together is the million dollar question. They did very poorly in the council elections.

Could somebody tell me who actually votes for the final candidate? Is it done by GC or only the ward members of Bethnal Green and Bow?  


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#17)

by RobertScott on Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 07:11:44 PM GMT

The other issue we should consider is who we'll be up against. If its Salma Yaqoob there will be huge divisions in Respect. Which we could take advantage of with a male candidate particularly if he was Bengali. Maybe we shouldn't stoop to their level. Rupa seems the best bet in my opinion.


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#20)

by petercoe on Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 07:32:53 PM GMT

It's all paid-up members who attend the hustings or request a postal vote.


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#21)

by RobertScott on Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 07:44:05 PM GMT

Yes but is it members from only bethnal green and bow...?


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#22)

by petercoe on Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 09:57:09 PM GMT

Yes.


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#23)

by Lee Jameson on Mon Apr 23, 2007 at 02:08:33 PM GMT

I agree with WillParbury that we need a real person, but I think people group all think tanks into the Westminster fold to readily.

I definitely wouldn't support someone that say, had worked all their career for a very Politicised think tank like the Smith Institute, that simply serves as a forum for Westminster discussions, but the Young Foundation isn't like that.

It has always been much more grounded in our local community, and is interested in researching and helping to establish policies and organisations that have a real impact upon every day lives.

I don't think Westminster needs another councillor. They may be good at power-brokering etc. but they don't necessarily have the policy ideas to have a real impact upon the direction of govt policy from the back-benches. Plus- I think they often arrive thinking that Westminster is like a big council - it isn't

someone with a real understanding of how Westminster works, of our local community, and with interesting policy ideas - and importantly, can win - those are the qualities that I think would best represent the communities of Bethnal Green and Bow in the House of Commons

- and for me, that means Rushanara Ali


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#24)

by Lee Jameson on Fri Apr 27, 2007 at 12:28:06 PM GMT

So who was at the hustings last night?

Over 2 and half hours of solid local politics- heavy. I woke up this morning feeling like i'd been drinking.

Anyone there, and change their minds? For me it galvanised a few things. Lutfur and Abbas put on solid, but bog standard performances. Nothing much to inspire really.

Shiria's speech was pure 'car crash TV'. She handled the questions a little better- but the speech was truly awful. at one point she proclaimed to know exactly how Parliament works, due to session teaching some kids how to speak to MPs - I've worked here for a year now, and i've never heard anyone make such a bold claim - it just doesnt work like that.

Rupa and Biggs put on amusing stand-up comedy type routines - Rupa more than Biggs. Both quite funny, but their ideas seem to stem from quite a cynical and sarcastic attitude to life. I think we need a more positive candidate/MP than that. we have some massive challenges, which will not be helped without a positive creative approach to policy- especially when they will often be campaigning for greater resources for the area, at the expense of other parts of the country.

i'm still going to support Rushanara Ali - maybe ill give Lutfur my second preference - but i'm not sure about that at all yet. Rushanara just seems to have a better grasp of what is possible, and has some very interesting ideas about bringing us together - in a real concrete fashion.

we need someone who wont just pipe up in parliament every time budgets are being discussed to ask for more money for the area- yes, we need that obviously - but we need more than that

- someone that will really engage locally, and use what they learn to both constructively inform policy debates, and work with local actors- that benefit the area, not just in terms of resource allocation - but in also in terms of shaping policy so that it better engages with the human resources that we already have locally.

so- bit of a long-winded summary of the evening - but i think overall it left me thinking that we need a creative MP. i dont think there are any easy answers to our local problems, and i definitely dont think that Rupa and Bigg's speeches particularly made me think that they could offer anything more than flippant easy answers.


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#25)

by WillParbury on Fri Apr 27, 2007 at 04:50:54 PM GMT

"Rupa and Biggs put on amusing stand-up comedy type routines"

This is inaccurate nonsense. It was the last so perhaps you had stopped listening by then. Rupa's speech was actually very political. Yes it did have a few good lines in it but then even tony and gordon aren't adverse to the odd joke in a speech.

It is hardly Rupa's fault that other candidates can't actually make a funny speech which actually has political things to say. It is actually a mark of political maturity. Rupa and Biggsy are the most experienced candidiates in the selection. They pulled it off. Though IMHO Rupa did best.

"Shiria's speech was pure 'car crash TV'" This proves the point. It's not that she is not a nice human being but she has less experience that the others and it showed. It takes both ability and experience to give a well crafted, thoughtful and funny speech which is what Rupa had and it showed.

All that stuff about wanting an MP to engage locally is all very worthy but misses the point as Labour need a candidate that can win the seat in the first place. To me it would seem sensible to pick someone with experience of being a candidate.

Anyone there, and change their minds?

Actually Rupa had quite a few people who were very impressed by her and said that they would vote for her, even ones who had been unconvinced before.

"i definitely dont think that Rupa and Bigg's speeches particularly made me think that they could offer anything more than flippant easy answers."

Perhaps you pefer waffle instead of straight answers but I doubt the voting public will agree with you.


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#18)

by RobertScott on Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 07:17:34 PM GMT

It's a mother's duty to do the best for their child. It's different if you're a tory in the shires with loads of good state schools around and you then choose to send your child to a private school. Hackney is an utter dump the schools are disgusting. Tower Hamlets is no better.

Diane's comments about private education were prior to her becoming a mother. What would you have her do, send her only son to a failing school to become yet another black Caribbean male statistic?


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Re: Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist (#19)

by RobertScott on Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 07:20:25 PM GMT

^^^ ignore that i was suposed to post it in a Diane thread lol. I duno how to delete msgs.


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Bethnal Green and Bow Shortlist | 26 comments (26 topical)