John Biggs: Lutfur Rahman's rival says there is all to play for in Tower Hamlets mayoral race

 
Seeking nomination: John Biggs wants to fight to become Tower Hamlets mayor again
22 April 2014
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The man battling to seize Tower Hamlets from beleaguered mayor Lutfur Rahman today warned of a “smell of patronage” around the council, despite police clearing it of fraud.

Labour’s John Biggs said allegations aired by the BBC’s Panorama programme that grants were diverted to Bengali-run charities in return for electoral support had angered locals.

He told the Standard: “Most people have lots of things going on in their lives and voting in the local elections is not top of the list so it has certainly raised the temperature.

“There’s everything to play for, but I’m confident I can beat him.”

Scotland Yard announced last week there was “no new credible evidence” of criminality in the wake of the Panorama show. But there is an ongoing investigation into a separate alleged irregularity and the Government has sent in auditors to forensically examine the council’s books.

Mr Rahman, viewed highly within parts of the Bengali community that makes up a third of the area’s population, dismissed the claims as “trivial slurs”.

The meeting was the first since borough mayor Lutfur Rahman was re-elected (Picture: Nigel Howard)
Nigel Howard.

In 2010 he walked the mayoral contest, with double the number of votes of his Labour rival, but this time has a fight on his hands.

Mr Biggs, a former councillor who represents the area at City Hall, has become the de facto “anybody but Lutfur” candidate.

He admitted there was “a recognition” from the other parties that the mayoralty was a two-horse race. He denied doing deals over second preference votes, though Boris Johnson has come close to endorsing him.

Mr Biggs was careful not to gloat about his opponent’s woes.

“I don’t think he’s an implicitly bad man... but I don’t think he’s a very good leader,” he said.

“He has around him a bunch of fairly unsavoury characters... whose hunger for power occasionally appears to precede their belief in properness. I’m sure that none of them are overtly corrupt but there is a smell around the patronage of the council which has caused a lot of anxiety.”

Read More

Over the past four years Mr Rahman has been criticised for his £42,000-a-year taxpayer-funded chauffeur, spending millions on advisers and publishing a propaganda-packed newspaper.

There are also more serious — and unproven — allegations of impropriety, which the Mayor blames on political rivals.

“The borough’s image problem is the result of a determined mudslinging campaign by a de facto Labour-Tory coalition,” he told the Standard.

“Labour and Tories keep calling for inquiries and police investigations which never get anywhere because there is no substance to the charges.”

Political observers have long seen Mr Rahman as the favourite but admit that Mr Biggs, 56, could now beat him.

Since 2010, more than 10,000 names have been struck off the electoral register, parts of the borough have become more gentrified and Labour — which has 37 councillors and both MPs in the area — claims it has got its act together after a period of infighting.

Mr Biggs argues his priority issues — housing shortages, high unemployment, fear of crime — affect all residents, but some Labour supporters fear selecting a white man will make it a tougher contest.

“I’m more interested in what people need rather than the colour of their skin,” Mr Biggs said. “Obviously people will use whatever argument they think is useful depending on their level of moral propriety.”

Mr Rahman questioned whether his rival would have “any great aptitude” for running a multi-cultural borough but denied he gave the Bangladeshi community preferential treatment.

“The schools, the houses, our award-winning services are for everyone,” he said. “These slurs on racial lines are an insult to the Tower Hamlets residents who will vote for me on my proven record and my pledges.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in