Muhammad Haque comments on John Wooster's 'award' at an employment tribunal against Tower Hamlets Council

The following comment has just been published in the Chigwell-based web site of the East London and West Essex Guardian local newspaper group

By©Muhammad Haque
1830 Hrs GMT
London
Thursday
10 July 2008

Your report in fact continues the overdue focus on the evidence that the community in Tower Hamlets is familiar with. Whereas ordinary universally recognisable common sense and fairness would have both avoided the costly series of actions that has now culminated in the ‘result’ that you report in favour of Mr Wooster's, the vast majority of the same Tower Hamlets Council’s actions daily that are unfair and unjust are not highlighted. Most people suffer injustice and betrayal by Tower Hamlets Council without any redress. Most lack the means. And there is a deep void in the East End and elsewhere in the inner cities in the UK where systematic and routine bad conduct by local council's are allowed to go unchallenged. In effect.
The undemocratic, unaccountable and antisocial clique that has been in control of the Tower Hamlets Borough Council is in denial. Over most of the key areas of its violations.

Ordinary people in Tower Hamlets are not in touch with the Council.

Why?

Because the Council decisions and practices are not in touch with the peoples’ needs. And the peoples'’ demands. Most of the ordinary, common sense values are denied. It is worse than incompetence.


There is a corrupt culture that is dominant in the Council which is operated on the basis of aggravated negligence towards the whole community. The ‘town hall’ has been abolished and in its place there is a physically remote location that they claim is the replacement which is an insult to common sense. remoteness is complete between the community and the ‘local democratic council’ in Tower Hamlets.

The HQ is more like the glass house [literally] of the council of nightmares..Ordinary people cannot physically travel to it from any part of Tower Hamlets. Not in any significant way at all..

Special arrangements have to be made to get people there.

The Council has no scrutiny that is independent of the controlling clique. Part of the clique is served by the token set up they pass off as scrutiny. there is no significant political opposition at all on the Council. And there is no democratic mechanism where the community, that is the source of the better knowledge and views about what is right and what is appropriate for the quality of life in the local community is obstructed by the clique in every way and at every stage...

This is why Hazel Blears [the cabinet minister in Brown's Govt allegedly responsible for Local Government] is wrong to shout slogans about local democracy. She will be the first to stand by the institutionalised, careerist dishonesty and the corruption that is committed by a clique which she will treat as her 'natural ally' so long as it is made up of elements that mouth slogans for her Government.

Mr Wooster's victory has been won as a result of a hard fight. But this is rare. Because other people who are being let down or denied service by the same Council will not be given the resources or the support by the judicial system that they deserve. And the UK central Govt is making Councils like Tower Hamlets behave in increasingly authoritarian way by a complex system of patronage, funding and institutionalised corruption. Ordinary people do not stand much chance of enjoying democracy from such councils..