‘Mayor to scrap council car’

Press Release                                             
From the Office of the Mayor of Tower Hamlets 

For immediate release – 27 Jan. 2014

Mayor to scrap council car

Transparency a top priority during election period

Mayor Lutfur Rahman has announced that he will be giving up the official car in the lead up to the 2014 local elections.

Mayor Rahman said:

“Although I will continue to work hard and deliver for the people of Tower Hamlets up to 22nd May and beyond, I will naturally be attending more political meetings in the next few months. In order to ensure that the highest standards of probity and transparency are maintained, I will no longer be making use of the official car and I hope that the Labour Speaker of the Council will follow my example.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

Mayor Rahman is setting a precedent. Other local authorities provide transportation for Council Leaders and Mayors including:

• Lewisham, where the Mayor has a chauffeur driven car.
• Newham, where Robin Wales has use of a pool car.
• Kensington and Chelsea which maintains a £125,000 Bentley Continental.
• Redbridge which maintains £123,000 two stretch Jaguars.
• The car is leased and will be returned to the leasing company and the driver redeployed within the Council.

 For information about this press release contact Numan Hussain, Political Advisor to the Mayor, on 07508 352 023 or email numan.hussain@towerhamlets.gov.uk

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Tower Hamlets to recognise Nelson Mandela

Press Release                                             
From the Office of the Mayor of Tower Hamlets 

For immediate release – 24 Jan. 2014

Tower Hamlets to recognise Nelson Mandela
 
Tower Hamlets politicians united in the Council Chamber this week to commemoration the life and legacy of recently departed Nobel Prize winner Nelson “Madiba” Mandela. 
 
Mayor Rahman said: “It is good to see that, even posthumously, Madiba can bring contending parties together. All political groups in the Council recognised that Mandela’s achievements were beyond trivial political sniping.”
 
The council called upon the Mayor to make resources available from the Community Events Fund for an educational project based on Nelson Mandela for the boroughs schools in Black History Month.
 
In preparation for the month, council officers are drawing up options for a permanent tribute in the borough to the South African leader.  As a gateway borough for the Olympics, Tower Hamlets Council also called upon Mayor Boris Johnson and London Legacy Development Corporation to name a street in the new Olympic Park after Mr Mandela in recognition of how sports can unite communities, just as Madiba, a keen athlete himself, did.
 
The Mayor also confirmed his plan to name a building in the new Blackwall Reach housing development after the South African Statesman.

The original Mandela legacy motion was tabled by the Mayor’s group of Councillors – proposed by Cllrs. Rabina Khan and Rania Khan.
 
Ends

Notes to editors:

For information about this press release contact Numan Hussain, Political Advisor to the Mayor, on 07508 352 023 or email numan.hussain@towerhamlets.gov.uk 

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Tower Hamlets launches Local Protocol for the May combined elections

Press release

Tower Hamlets launches Local Protocol for the May combined elections

The May elections in Tower Hamlets will be the most complex to date but will have the strongest system to prevent fraud in London – and one of the most robust in the country.

A blueprint to ensure free and fair local elections and help to establish trust in the electoral system was launched by Tower Hamlets today by the main agencies involved in running the election.

Attending the launch today at Tower Hamlets Town Hall were: John Williams, Tower Hamlets Returning Officer; Tom Hawthorn, Head of Electoral Policy for the Electoral Commission; Tower Hamlets Borough Commander Chief Superintendent Dave Stringer; and Louise Stamp, Electoral Services Manager of Tower Hamlets Council.

Political parties and other organisations involved in the elections have already indicated they will sign up to the local protocol.

The protocol embodies a commitment to:

• Work towards a free and fair election in May;

• Ensure any allegations are correctly reported and investigated;

• Campaign fairly within the law and abide by the Local Protocol.

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