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WALTHAMSTOW: Lib Dems defend de-selection

3:05pm Tuesday 13th April 2010 in Waltham Forest News By Carl Brown

THE Liberal Democrats have hit back after three of the party’s senior councillors vowed to stand as independents at the forthcoming local election.

Lib Dem leader John Macklin and cabinet member Bob Belam were ditched by the party after complaining about the de-selection of fellow Chapel End ward councillor and chief whip Bob Carey.

All three, who have held the Walthamstow ward for a number of years, will now stand against the Lib Dem candidates in the ward, throwing that party’s push for power in serious doubt.

Cllr Macklin insists a “clique” within the local party made sure conventions over party selections were ignored in order to oust Cllr Carey.

Usually candidates selected for wards with a sitting Lib Dem councillor, or those viewed as winnable, have been assessed as having the right qualities following an interview, he said.

But he claims Cllr Carey’s replacement, Saeed Diwan, was only previously considered appropriate for a non-target seat.

“Saeed has never gone out into the ward, never delivered leaflets, and his speech at the meeting consisted of him saying the ward is diverse and that he funded the Hoe Street Lib Dem shop,” he added.

But deputy leader Cllr Khan insisted the selection process was agreed by the 11-strong Walthamstow executive, which included Cllr Macklin.

He said: “It is very simple. Cllr Belam and Cllr Macklin were re-selected but they did not want to stand with Mr Diwan, who had been selected as part of a fair process, because they wanted their mate Cllr Carey.

“We took advice from the national and regional party and we could not find a single person who agreed the process was flawed.”

Cllr Macklin said: “For the first two weeks after Bob's de-selection I thought I will see how it goes.

“But in the end we decided we could not accept this amateurish behaviour.

“At one time to be nominated you had to show an interest in the party, now it does not seem to matter.”

Cllr Macklin added that, with the Lib Dems facing a realistic prospect of becoming the biggest council group, ambition had motivated the move to oust him.

He also admitted publicly for the first time that the group under Cllr Macklin would not have formed another coalition with Labour following May's elections.

Comments(32)

Ian Lannigan says...
3:31pm Tue 13 Apr 10

Vote Labour, get Labour; Vote Liberal, get Labour. Vote either and get more ineffectual incompetence.

Macklin is a decent and honourable guy and of he has stood down then there is clearly "something of the night" about Saeed Siwa.

Local Asian cliques seem to be treating the Labour and Liberal party as personal playthings.

I would urge voters to steer well clear of these unelected self serving power grabbers.

It would be great if John's personal vote got him re-elected, but perhaps better if voters looked elsewhere and voted Conservative.

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wfmywordmybond says...
3:36pm Tue 13 Apr 10

So Cllr Khan has finally crawled out from under his rock to face the music.
Interesting, particularly as my sources tell me the deselection letters were signed by Cllr Wheately as the vice chair of the local party and not Cllr Khan who is the chair!
One has to question his motives and committment to High Street ward and Waltham Forest when simutaneously he is standing in Enfield Southgate in the hope of becoming an MP.
On one hand he wants to be an MP and on the other the next leader of the local Lib Dems.
You simply can't have your cake and eat it Cllr Khan.

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Walthamster says...
3:56pm Tue 13 Apr 10

Someone posted on another thread that Saeed Diwan used to be director of a company owned by the new Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Farid Ahmed.

I can't find that posting now. Has it been removed? If so, why? It was information from Companies House, not gossip.

And has all this really been approved by the Lib Dem party nationally?

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lillybet1 says...
4:05pm Tue 13 Apr 10

Cllr Khan has or should eat a lot of humble pie dont know about cake. Where is his apology to residents that bothered to turn up for the sugeries where he didn't bother ? !. Well Said WFmybond as well he has crawled out bit late for my liking but ho hum there ya go ELECTION time again. !!!! I wont be voting for him at all, but colleagues who have earned the vote and respect for acutally achieving and getting things done for the residents of high street ward.

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Sugarplum says...
4:24pm Tue 13 Apr 10

There have been de-selections across the the three parties, Cllr Yunis from Labour, plus of course the others who were then reselected. Cllr Sinclair from the tories who has been unceremoniously dumped because he didn't tell hs group of his court case, despite being found not guilty, and now the Liberal Democrats.

What is the difference here? Unlike the other two parties, Cllrs Macklin and Belam, both cabinet members have stood by their colleague in a show of unselfish unity. I for one admire them all and although I do not live in the ward would encourage people to vote for people who actually care about others before themselves. Hey, just thought, isn't that what politicians are always claiming this is what they do???

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Dom Ray says...
4:27pm Tue 13 Apr 10

Johar Khan (I refuse to write COUNCILLOR) you owe an apology to our party liberal Democrats i will not be voting for Liberal Democrat this time round, you have tarnished the reputation of our local Liberal Democrat Party.

For the last 4 years you have done nothing for the people of High Street but instead plotting and campaigning against your party, not even attending your surgeries you disgraceful man, you are a shame on the Liberal democrats.

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Silent Majority 2009 says...
4:43pm Tue 13 Apr 10

I agree with the above postings. If people want to become councillors and represent their constituents the least we can expect is loyalty. Whether you agree with their policies or not Carey, Belam and Macklin have served this Borough well. It is up to the electorate to decide if they should go, not some hidden committee the rest of us know nothing about. If new people wanted to stand they should have selected William Morris ward and ousted the “well past his sell by date” the octogenarian Bob Wheatley. Half the time at council meetings he seems unable to follow the debate and he rants on as if his view was the only correct one. Don’t forget he used to be Labour so I bet the Liberals are regretting taking him in. Come on Liberals get rid of your dead wood before pruning the mature wood. The only way forward now is to support the Tories in the hope they can sort out the mess at the Town Hall.

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Helen, Walthamstow says...
5:04pm Tue 13 Apr 10

You can bet your bottom dollar the Tories won't win a majority or even more than 18 seats maximum in Waltham Forest, Silent Majority.

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Helen, Walthamstow says...
5:09pm Tue 13 Apr 10

My my, another load of disappearing comments - and again on an election story. What's going on here?

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Helen, Walthamstow says...
5:09pm Tue 13 Apr 10

And agin - they're back!

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Techno2 says...
5:26pm Tue 13 Apr 10

Silent Majority 2009 wrote:
I agree with the above postings. If people want to become councillors and represent their constituents the least we can expect is loyalty. Whether you agree with their policies or not Carey, Belam and Macklin have served this Borough well. It is up to the electorate to decide if they should go, not some hidden committee the rest of us know nothing about. If new people wanted to stand they should have selected William Morris ward and ousted the “well past his sell by date” the octogenarian Bob Wheatley. Half the time at council meetings he seems unable to follow the debate and he rants on as if his view was the only correct one. Don’t forget he used to be Labour so I bet the Liberals are regretting taking him in. Come on Liberals get rid of your dead wood before pruning the mature wood. The only way forward now is to support the Tories in the hope they can sort out the mess at the Town Hall.
There is an answer to the Bob Wheatkey question regarding his role in all this, but something tells me it will be instantly censored by this paper.

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Dom Ray says...
6:04pm Tue 13 Apr 10

i am really baffled with all the in fighting that is going in the Lib Dem how come the party allow people like Johar Khan who was recruited to the party only few months before the last election. he should be ashamed of himself and surprised by Bob Wheatley aligning himself with this shame on both of you

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E17006 says...
6:14pm Tue 13 Apr 10

A bit of Googling tells you that Saeed Diwan used to work for City and Urban Estate Agents, which Farid Ahmed claims to be a consultant for (and owner of?) on his linked-in profile

http://uk.linkedin.c
om/pub/farid-ahmed/1
/412/217

http://www.telegraph
.co.uk/property/prop
ertyadvice/propertym
arket/3338607/All-ch
ange.html

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E17006 says...
6:24pm Tue 13 Apr 10

More googling:

Saaed Diwan does have some experience - he stood for election in William Morris ward in 2006, and came 4th behind Bob Wheatley.

There were only about 50 votes in it...

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Fedupwithitall says...
11:48pm Tue 13 Apr 10

It just doesn't add up. Macklin says ambition motivated the move to oust him, yet nobody ousted him, he wasn't deselected, he stood down of his own accord over Cllr Carey's deselction. I also notice that Belam, Carey and Mackling are standing as Independents but are still members of the Lib Dems. So what happens if they get elected as Independents? Will they vote with the Lib Dems? Or even more interesting, what happens if they get elected as Independents but the Lib Dems need them in order to become the largest Party and therefore run the Council? Will they cross the floor and go back to the Lib Dems? Will Mackin rejoin a Lib Dem Group with Johar Khanas leader? Macklin would like us to believe his stance is one of integrity, well let's watch this space and see just how much integrity he's got...

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Techno2 says...
12:35am Wed 14 Apr 10

Fedupwithitall wrote:
It just doesn't add up. Macklin says ambition motivated the move to oust him, yet nobody ousted him, he wasn't deselected, he stood down of his own accord over Cllr Carey's deselction. I also notice that Belam, Carey and Mackling are standing as Independents but are still members of the Lib Dems. So what happens if they get elected as Independents? Will they vote with the Lib Dems? Or even more interesting, what happens if they get elected as Independents but the Lib Dems need them in order to become the largest Party and therefore run the Council? Will they cross the floor and go back to the Lib Dems? Will Mackin rejoin a Lib Dem Group with Johar Khanas leader? Macklin would like us to believe his stance is one of integrity, well let's watch this space and see just how much integrity he's got...
I take it you have been lucky enough never to have been plotted against, lied to and stabbed in the back by a colleague, or you would understand how the scenario you paint might not be so very likely in the immediate future.

You are also assuming that Johar Khan will still have a seat on the council after votes have been counted. While it is possible he could get reelected despite his poor record as a councillor, despite this latest bad publicity and despite his running in Enflied (if, according to some speculators he does a deal with Labour's Liaqat Ali) his re-election is not a foregone conclusion by any means.

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jack de large says...
9:43am Wed 14 Apr 10

There are certain elements of this which don't entirely ring true but I do not understand how it is that Macklin etc are still members of the Liberal Democrats. It is obvious that the local party will invite them back if they win, whether they go back is a matter for their own conscience.

With regard to Johar Khan, Farid Ahmed and certain others, I doubt that their selection and subsequent election has much to do with the Lib Dems, or the people on the street. It is good to see so many comments pledging not to vote for these people but we all know that hundreds will and although no one is saying it, I suspect many of us know how that will be arranged.

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wfmywordmybond says...
9:54am Wed 14 Apr 10

Techno2 wrote:
Silent Majority 2009 wrote:
I agree with the above postings. If people want to become councillors and represent their constituents the least we can expect is loyalty. Whether you agree with their policies or not Carey, Belam and Macklin have served this Borough well. It is up to the electorate to decide if they should go, not some hidden committee the rest of us know nothing about. If new people wanted to stand they should have selected William Morris ward and ousted the “well past his sell by date” the octogenarian Bob Wheatley. Half the time at council meetings he seems unable to follow the debate and he rants on as if his view was the only correct one. Don’t forget he used to be Labour so I bet the Liberals are regretting taking him in. Come on Liberals get rid of your dead wood before pruning the mature wood. The only way forward now is to support the Tories in the hope they can sort out the mess at the Town Hall.
There is an answer to the Bob Wheatkey question regarding his role in all this, but something tells me it will be instantly censored by this paper.
Could it be something to do with his estate perhaps?

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April Showers says...
10:06am Wed 14 Apr 10

If re-elected, the position of the three Chapel End independent councillors will be no different to that of any other independents elected. They will have to decide, initially at least, which grouping, if any, to support on an issue-by-issue basis. Presumably. They might ultimately rejoin the party if a) they wished and b) were invited to do so but this is likely to be more dependent on whether the Lib Dem 'plotters' are returned and whether the three independents can set aside their justifiable antipathy. If it means the cosy consensus of the status quo ante is broken down and councillors have to work harder to reach agreement, that might be a good thing for local democracy. However, as has already been remarked, there is the issue of the 'strong leader' still to resolve, the practical application of which might render all such speculation academic.

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Techno2 says...
11:08am Wed 14 Apr 10

wfmywordmybond wrote:
Techno2 wrote:
Silent Majority 2009 wrote: I agree with the above postings. If people want to become councillors and represent their constituents the least we can expect is loyalty. Whether you agree with their policies or not Carey, Belam and Macklin have served this Borough well. It is up to the electorate to decide if they should go, not some hidden committee the rest of us know nothing about. If new people wanted to stand they should have selected William Morris ward and ousted the “well past his sell by date” the octogenarian Bob Wheatley. Half the time at council meetings he seems unable to follow the debate and he rants on as if his view was the only correct one. Don’t forget he used to be Labour so I bet the Liberals are regretting taking him in. Come on Liberals get rid of your dead wood before pruning the mature wood. The only way forward now is to support the Tories in the hope they can sort out the mess at the Town Hall.
There is an answer to the Bob Wheatkey question regarding his role in all this, but something tells me it will be instantly censored by this paper.
Could it be something to do with his estate perhaps?
Contrary to opinion in some quarters, Mr Wheatly is still alive .

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Techno2 says...
11:09am Wed 14 Apr 10

jack de large wrote:
There are certain elements of this which don't entirely ring true but I do not understand how it is that Macklin etc are still members of the Liberal Democrats. It is obvious that the local party will invite them back if they win, whether they go back is a matter for their own conscience. With regard to Johar Khan, Farid Ahmed and certain others, I doubt that their selection and subsequent election has much to do with the Lib Dems, or the people on the street. It is good to see so many comments pledging not to vote for these people but we all know that hundreds will and although no one is saying it, I suspect many of us know how that will be arranged.
Postal votes?

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April Showers says...
12:06pm Wed 14 Apr 10

Having just received a personally addressed glossy election flyer and cover letter from that nice Nick Clegg (the name rings a bell) it certainly seems the Lib Dems are splashing the cash. Odd, then, that Mr Clegg says in his letter "We will stop billionaires buying political parties with big donations". Okay, we may not have billionaires locally but some, how shall we say?, very comfortably off businessmen would appear to be exerting an influence in ways which are as yet far from transparent. I'm not alleging any impropriety (without firm evidence, anyone would be unwise to do so) but there is a whiff of something unwholesome in all this which will only be dispelled by full and frank disclosure, along the lines that the Lib Dem party leader appears to be advocating. Perhaps he could make a good start in his clean-up campaign by looking a little closer to home.

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Katie Rolt says...
4:13pm Wed 14 Apr 10

So basically Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats has been infiltrated by a group with a particular agenda.

This puts me in mind of the Channel 4 Dispatches programme highlighting how the Labour Party at local level is being infiltrated by Muslim extremist groups, who have connections to the east london mosque.

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Fedupwithitall says...
5:22pm Wed 14 Apr 10

Katie Rolt wrote:
So basically Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats has been infiltrated by a group with a particular agenda. This puts me in mind of the Channel 4 Dispatches programme highlighting how the Labour Party at local level is being infiltrated by Muslim extremist groups, who have connections to the east london mosque.
I hope people don't start hijacking this debate as a means of spreading Islamophobia. The only extremism in the Waltham Forest Lib Dems is extreme stupidity in creating such a mess when they were probably on track to be the largest Party after May 6th and take control of the Council.

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April Showers says...
5:56pm Wed 14 Apr 10

Hear, hear, Fedupwithitall. The issue of carpetbaggers has been raised previously and, whilst not wishing to stifle free debate, I'm a little puzzled that this matter should be of concern in Theydon Bois, whose residents presumably have problems with their own local politicians to be worrying about - unless, as you say, there is another agenda in play here.

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April Showers says...
6:04pm Wed 14 Apr 10

PS: Having just checked out the Theydon Bois Parish Council and Epping District Council websites I can see that events in Waltham Forest might seem more exciting. It's all relative I suppose!

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Techno2 says...
6:27pm Wed 14 Apr 10

I quite agree. The Islamic extremist issue is a red herring. These guys are hardly the Taliban. Think more: 'The Rotary Club of Mirpur in a Networking Frenzy'.

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April Showers says...
9:45pm Wed 14 Apr 10

But before we get too smug, Techno2, we should recall that the old-boy network of patronage which was perfected on the playing fields of Eton and became the mainstay of the British Raj is now alive and well and flourishing in modern British politics. The Empite strikes back!

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Redfox says...
12:34am Thu 15 Apr 10

Like 'April Showers' I too received a flyer from Clegg-y which proclaimed in the first line "I am have been angered during the past few years" or a similar statement.

I returned it direct to Clegg stating that I, as a past Lib Dem voter was "Livid about the shenanigans going on in my local ward caused entirely by his party's lack of integrity during the past few weeks". "What about my problem mate"?

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Seeing Sense says...
12:44am Thu 15 Apr 10

With local and national candidates this stupid and shortsighted you can bet your bottom dollar that people are going to have to wait a long time for any real positive change around these parts - maybe we should all be glad that idiots like these may have scuppered their party's chances of ruling if they can't even make sense of their petty internal affairs.

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fabster says...
4:32pm Thu 15 Apr 10

It stinks! And for the first time in my life, regrettably I shan't be voting LibDem.

Anyone else tried to see Khan, Farid & Saeed's LinkedIn pages the past couple of days? It seems to have gone 'private', whereas before you could see their contacts & business portfolios

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Leyton Boy says...
11:03pm Sat 17 Apr 10

There were people in my street today delivering Lib Dem leaflets who were not party members, nor volunteers but being paid by the party itself. Each party is highly restricted on spending during the election period, and this seems odd, even a bit irregular. I think Farid Ahmed needs to explain why he cannot rely on his own volunteers to deliver leaflets for him, and where the money is coming from to pay these people?

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