I found out last night at the Tower Hamlets Council Pension Investment Panel, that one of our fund managers have £2.3 million invested in Total (the 2nd highest holding in that particular fund) and £1.3 million in Chevron (7th biggest holding).

I suspect that our other Global equity fund will have similar investments in companies who have trading interests in Burma. We also own shares in companies such as GlaxoSmithKline (the huge British based drug company) who according to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC – click on this link for a full list) has business links with the Burma.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6940517.stm

Traitor George Galloway is going to challange Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick in the next election.

Went off today with Newham Labour Party comrades to help out in the Shadwell By-Election, Tower Hamlets. One of the Respect Councillors for the ward resigned suddenly a few weeks ago claiming that Respect was “bickering, immature, self serving and militant”. No surprise there then. See action photo of Labour Party activists outside Limehouse DLR station planning campaign activities (middle Denise Jones the current leader of the Council, right is the candidate former Labour leader of Council, Michael Keith).

Abdal is an elected Councillor and Cabinet member in Tower Hamlets. He has been short listed as a prospective Parliamentary candidate for Wimbledon CLP. This is a Tory marginal.
He has always been very positive and constructive about trade unions. He’s a hard working canvasser and campaigner. Pity he is in the GMB.

West Ham CLP, where the first ever Labour MP, Kier Hardie, was elected in 1892, voted tonight to nominate Gordon Brown for Leader of the Labour Party and Harriot Harman to be the deputy. Gorden was nominated overwhelmingly and Harriot also won the deputy vote by a clear margin. Jon Cruddas was 2nd then Alan Johnson. There was a lively but good natured comradely debate in an “all members” CLP meeting.

UPDATE: just heard that Tower Hamlets Labour Party voted to nominate (supportive) Brown as leader, and Jon Cruddas as deputy (Alan Johnson 2nd).

Former Tower Hamlets Respect councillor, Wais Islam, makes a damning attack on “Respect” in this week’s East End Advertiser (24 May 06 page 12 “Off you Chest” - can’t find an Internet link yet). One of the reasons he gave for leaving Respect and joining Labour was that “George Galloway and Respect should practice what they preach. They call on the Town Hall to employ ethic minorities and make accusations of “institutional racism”…. Yet Respects own employees are mostly non-ethnic minority. How hypocritical”.

In a speech to local activists and to members of Labour Friends of Bangladesh on Sunday, Hazel set out some of her motivation behind standing for Deputy Leader.

Respect Cllr Waiseul Islam rejoins the Labour Party and the controlling group on Tower Hamlets Council. He attacks diss-Respect for dividing the community for purely political reasons, he attacks Galloway for doing TV shows but not turning up to his surgery's and believes that Labour is the only Party to defeat the Tories. Is diss-Respect finally beginning to self-destruct? Interesting stuff! I must do some digging.

The press release quotes him as saying " "This has been a long and carefully thought out decision by me to leave the Respect Party and to join the Labour Party. I have always believed in the principles of Labour and what it stands for and I have never felt comfortable within Respect since the election in May 2006. I have been more and more frustrated with Respect which offers little in the way of policies, direction or service to the local community in Tower Hamlets, which is the real reason why I entered politics. I reject the notion of dividing the local community for political gain, which is what I believe Respect are effectively doing."

"My motivation for returning to the Labour Party is that it will enable me to better serve my constituents and work alongside people that have more in common with my own political views. In hindsight, my move to the Respect Party was a major error in my judgement and if I had the insight into Respect that I do now, it is not something that would have happened. The challenge for me is to represent my constituents and support residents within the borough who are facing a wide range of issues. I believe that I can deliver much more effectively for local residents by being with a party that has a vision and represents all of the communities within the borough."

"Respect is not a party that can deliver, especially when its elected MP is hardly visible in his constituency, leaving those who voted for him neglected. He has time to attend television shows and present radio shows but not to turn up to his surgery and meet his constituents. I believe this is wrong."

"With government and council support I believe that local residents can benefit from the socio-economic regeneration of the area. This can only be achieved by working with a progressive party that can carry the citizens of the borough into the future and not take it backward. Labour is also the only party that can truly challenge uninvited Tories creeping into Tower Hamlets and attempting to destroy it with their discredited policies."

Cllr. Denise Jones, Labour Leader of Tower Hamlets Council has welcomed Cllr. Islam's decision saying:
"Labour is the only party in Tower Hamlets with both the record and the vision to improve the lives of local people. I am glad that Cllr. Islam will be joining us in this work and I am sure that his constituents in Whitechapel as well as the people of Tower Hamlets as a whole will benefit from his principled decision. Respect has long claimed to be what they are not and now we have heard the real truth from one who knows - he has said that Respect stands for division and inaction and have nothing to offer the people of the East End."

Issued by Labour Group Media and Communications Officer
For further information on this press release please phone 020 7364 4990