Do you remember electing this man?

LUTFUR RAHMAN – most residents in Tower Hamlets have heard of him and know he is the Directly Elected Mayor. Kim Bromley-Derry (above) would not have anything like the same name recognition – but he is the man sent in by Keir Starmer’s Labour Government to advise Tower Hamlets Council how to “improve”.

It’s a Big Ask. Tower Hamlets’ Council’s policies are increasingly popular, according to the Annual Residents Survey. The Seven Years of miserable cuts, out-sourcing and smugness of the Biggs Era are over. Lutfur Rahman’s Administration has brought not just personal popularity, but also popular policies.

Some of these policies have made up for Government spending cuts (Educational Maintenance Allowance, University Bursaries, Winter Heating Allowance, Council Tax Benefit). Others are new – such as School Uniform Grants and free swimming for girls, women and men over 55.  School Breakfast Clubs and Free School Meals for pupils up to 16 are so popular that they have been adopted, at least in part, by Labour’s London Mayor, Saddiq Khan, or even the Government itself.

What “improvement” is left for Kim Bromley-Derry to advise on? He certainly brings a great deal of local government experience to the table. He went from working in children’s, adults and social services at various local authorities to Chief Executive of Newham, next door to Tower Hamlets. Locals will remember Newham as the Labour Council that recently received a cash handout from the Labour Government to get itself out of financial hot water – and as the East End manor of the unpopular and unlamented former Mayor Sir Robin Wales. Nationally, the Government does not see it as a Council that needs to “improve”.

KBD was in charge of the Government’s Best Value Inspection of Tower Hamlets Council in 2014: the inspection set up by Eric Pickles MP after he had been lobbied by local Labour MPs. That inspection led to the Government taking away some of Tower Hamlets Council’s powers and running parts of the local government service itself – for three years.

Starmer’s Government returned to Tower Hamlets in 2025 to see if any weaknesses were still lurking around. They could not find anything to justify taking over again (probably to the disappointment of the local Labour Party), but they sent KBD back to “advise” the Council on how to improve.

After a year of KBD’s advice, where are we? The Government has grudgingly agreed that Tower Hamlets Council has made many of the “improvements” which it had asked for, under the friendly advice of its man on the ground. But the problem now, it says, is that the Council is not changing fast enough. The Government has hinted that if the Council does not speed up, it may have to intervene.

What Tower Hamlets residents need to know is: in the year that he has been dishing out friendly advice to Tower Hamlets Council, how often has KBD advised the Administration that it was not moving fast enough? The Minister would not have decided the Council was moving too slowly unless KBD had advised him that was the case. So what warnings did KBD give the Council that this was his opinion – and what opportunity did he give the Council to get a wiggle on?

Sadly, we may never know – because Kim Bromley-Derry is not accountable to the voters so his actions are not transparent. He is accountable to Keir Starmer’s Government. And as the Directly Elected Mayor and councillors of Tower Hamlets prepare to face the polls in May, an important part of what happens to Tower Hamlets Council in the future is in the hands of a man who will not be facing the polls at all.

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