Bring back democracy to Tower Hamlets?

A LONG JOURNEY starts with a single step – and that single step may have been taken in Greatorex Street in Tower Hamlets on Sunday night, 7th October when a number of community activists came together to discuss how to make the Council more responsive to local needs.

The meeting began by hearing activists from Bring Back Democracy – a campaign in Lewisham which is working to abolish the post of directly elected mayor and restore a “Leader and Cabinet” model. As the sitting mayor in Lewisham, Steve Bullock, is standing down, campaigners hope to secure public support for abolishing the post and reverting to having the Council run by a Leader chosen by the majority party, who will be bound by the decisions of Cabinet and the Council.

Political labels were set aside as activists discussed Council structures.

It was the details of the campaign which interested those who turned out on Sunday night. First, campaigners must obtain signatures from 5% of the electorate on a petition to requisition a referendum on future governance arrangements – and then they must win the referendum.

There was discussion on a timescale for the two stages of the campaign. Some keen anti-mayoral residents had been champing at the bit, trying to organise a petition now. However, this would be premature and pointless. A referendum on Council structures can only be held after ten years have elapsed since the last referendum – so no referendum can be held in Tower Hamlets until May 2020.

Activists had earlier been advised that once the petition is lodged with the Council, it must hold the referendum within a year. This suggests that the petition should not be lodged until May 2019 at the earliest. As all the names will be checked against the electoral register, activists should use the register which comes into force in mid-February 2019. It would see there is, therefore, little point collecting signatures until that new register is out.

The technical details will now be checked with the Council – which is the only body which can definitively confirm what it will accept as a legitimate petition. In the meantime, campaigners intend to hold a series of public meetings around the borough, talking community activists through their plans.

Sunday’s meeting was remarkable in that it brought together a wide range of community activists who were or had been members of several political parties (each, in some cases) or none, who were able to discuss the issues behind the campaign and how to organise it – all without a cross or disrespectful word being spoken.

Lewisham started the “bring back democracy movement” and now it seems that Tower Hamlets may be the second borough to join in. Activists in both boroughs hope that Newham may be the third borough, not least because the sitting mayor Rokhsana Fiaz has already committed to holding a referendum.

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