Tower Hamlets Reporter
Labour have lost control of Tower Hamlets Council in a big loss to the party’s ambition in London. Lutfur Rahman’s Aspire party won overall control to end Labour’s time in charge of the east London Council following his stunning re-election as Tower Hamlets mayor, seven years after being removed from office.
Aspire shot up from just two seats to 24 – securing a majority. Labour – which had previously controlled 40 of the 45 council seats – won just 19.
The former Majority Group Whip, Kevin Brady and Poplar and Limehouse Labour Party Chair, Chris Worral were defeated at the polls. Worral was previously accused of Islamophobia by a party member.
The Greens and Conservatives each won one seat on the council. Residents favourites, Rabina Khan, the only Liberal Democrat and Andrew Wood, the only Independent on the council both lost their seats to Aspire.
Labour saw most of its success in the May 5 elections in London, winning Westminster, Wandsworth and Barnet councils from the Conservatives. But disaster struck in Tower Hamlets where it had dominated for the last seven years.
The result comes the day after former mayor Lutfur Rahman pulled off a extraordinary political comeback to be re-elected mayor of Tower Hamlets. The Aspire candidate won decisively in the second round of voting on May 6, beating incumbent Labour mayor John Biggs.
Biggs, who had been mayor of Tower Hamlets since 2015, trailed in the first round with 27,894 votes while Rahman won 39,533 votes – just 3,000 votes from winning outright in the first round. The remaining candidates were eliminated and their second-preference votes transferred to the leading two for the second round, with Lutfur Rahman winning the mayoralty with a total of 40,804 while John Biggs received 33,487.
Full local elections results – Thursday, 5th May, 2022
| Wards | Elected candidates | Elected party or parties | Time declared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethnal Green East | Sirajul Islam |  Labour Party |
|
| Bethnal Green East | Ahmodul Kabir | Aspire |
|
| Bethnal Green East | Rebaka Sultana | Labour Party |
|
| Bethnal Green West | Musthak Ahmed | Aspire |
|
| Bethnal Green West | Abu Talha Chowdhury | Aspire |
|
| Bethnal Green West | Miraj Amin Rahman | Aspire |
|
| Blackwall & Cubitt Town | Ahmodur Rahman Khan | Aspire |
|
| Blackwall & Cubitt Town | Abdul Malik | Aspire |
|
| Blackwall & Cubitt Town | Muhammad Bellal Uddin | Aspire |
|
| Bow East | Amina Ali | Labour Party |
|
| Bow East | Rachel Nancy Blake | Labour Party |
|
| Bow East | Marc Francis | Labour Party |
|
| Bow West | Asma Begum | Labour Party |
|
| Bow West | Nathalie Sylvia Bienfait | Green Party |
|
| Bromley North | Muhammad Saif Uddin Khaled | Aspire |
|
| Bromley North | Abdul Mannan | Aspire |
|
| Bromley South | Bodrul Islam Choudhury | Aspire |
|
| Bromley South | Shahaveer Hussain | Labour Party |
|
| Canary Wharf | Saied Ahmed | Aspire |
|
| Canary Wharf | Mohammed Maium Miah Talukdar | Aspire |
|
| Island Gardens | Mufeedah Bustin | Labour Party |
|
| Island Gardens | Peter Stacey Golds | Conservative |
|
| Lansbury | Abul Monsur Ohid Ahmed | Aspire |
|
| Lansbury | Jahed Choudhury | Aspire |
|
| Lansbury | Iqbal Hossain | Aspire |
|
| Limehouse | James Robert Venables King | Labour Party |
|
| Mile End | Leelu Ahmed | Labour Party |
|
| Mile End | Mohammad Saifur Rahman Chowdhury | Labour Party |
|
| Mile End | Sabina Khan | Labour Party |
|
| Poplar | Gulam Kibria Choudhury | Aspire |
|
| Shadwell | Ana Miah | Aspire |
|
| Shadwell | Mohammad Harun Miah | Aspire |
|
| Spitalfields & Banglatown | Suluk Ahmed | Aspire |
|
| Spitalfields & Banglatown | Kabir Hussain | Aspire |
|
| St Dunstan’s | Maisha Fahmida Begum | Labour Party |
|
| St Dunstan’s | Ayas Miah | Labour Party |
|
| St Katharine’s & Wapping | Amy Louise Lee | Labour Party |
|
| St Katharine’s & Wapping | Muhammad Abdal Ullah | Labour Party |
|
| Stepney Green | Sabina Akhtar | Labour Party |
|
| Stepney Green | Mohammed Abdul Wahid Ali | Aspire |
|
| Weavers | Kabir Ahmed | Aspire |
|
| Weavers | Asma Islam | Labour Party |
|
| Whitechapel | Md Faroque Mahfuz Ahmed | Labour Party |
|
| Whitechapel | Shafi Uddin Ahmed | Aspire |
|
| Whitechapel | Mohammed Kamrul Hussain | Aspire |
Full local election result by party – Thursday, 5th May, 2022
| Party name | Seats won | % of votes |
|---|---|---|
| Aspire |
24 | 36.95% |
| Labour Party |
19 | 36.53% |
| Green Party |
1 | 9.00% |
| Conservative |
1 | 7.57% |
| Liberal Democrats |
0 | 8.92% |
| Independent |
0 | < 1% |
| Resurrection Young People. In Sha Allah |
0 | < 1% |
| Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition |
0 | < 1% |
| Social Democratic Party |
0 | < 1% |
| Turnout: | 41.84% |
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