Oppose Pickles' take-over!

Submitted by Matthew on 12 November, 2014 - 10:48

The take-over of Tower Hamlets Council by commissioners appointed by the communities secretary Eric Pickles entrenches a worrying precedent with negative consequences for local democracy.

The transfer of some of the council’s powers came after a £1m report commissioned by Pickles and carried out by the accountants PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

The three commissioners will remain in place until 31 March 2017 and will report to the secretary of state every six months.

The report alleged that council, run by former Labour mayor Lutfur Rahman, awarded more than £400,000 in grants to “ineligible organisations”, and questioned the spending of public money on what could be seen as party political advertising.

The report also raised concerns about the sale of Poplar Town Hall for £875,000 to a political supporter of Rahman, “even though the bid arrived late, and after rival bids had been opened, which created a ‘risk of bid manipulation’. A higher offer was rejected, contrary to independent advice, and the winner was later allowed to change his contract.”

Allegations of communalism were also raised, with the BBC reporting “that a proposal to award money to lunch clubs for Jewish, Sikh and Hindu communities resulted in £99,212 being awarded to Bangladeshi or Somali groups, none of which had applied for the money.”

It is not necessary to disbelieve these allegations, as some on the left will do, simply because they come from Eric Pickles.

Nor, however, is it necessary to politically support Rahman to realise that the takeover of parts of Tower Hamlets Council is no answer to the problem and should be opposed.

When it comes to problems in Tower Hamlets Council, it should be up to the residents of Tower Hamlets to sort them out democratically. As it is, Rahman was re-elected in 2014 and it is not for Pickles to over-ride that.

Yet the situation also makes the case against the over-powerful system of elected mayors – with only 18 of the 45 council seats, Rahman’s group Tower Hamlets First can effectively dominate the Council through its control of the Executive.

There is also a broader context. Local government services have been cut to the bone under the Coalition, and Labour-controlled councils have simply managed central government cuts.

As pressure on local government budgets continues, we are likely to see more pressure for councils to stand up against central government – whether Tory or Labour.

This fight needs to challenge the power of Westminster to impose their agenda on local councils, including the ability of Pickles to take over council services and ride roughshod over local communities.

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