Results tagged “election”

By Tim Archer

A budget has to balance sooner or later; black holes cannot be financed forever and they cannot be ignored. It's therefore interesting that the Labour-run council chose to overlook the fact that its books contain a £54million gap. Putting that into context, council tax in Tower Hamlets would have to rise by almost 30 per cent a year for the next three years just to plug that gap.

By Jim Fitzpatrick

It's nearly time for the General Election and we have council elections, too, and a referendum on a directly elected Mayor in Tower Hamlets.

In the Mayoral referendum, I'll be voting "No". The local council has been performing well, with huge challenges. It's been regarded as a Beacon Council for over five years now.

The next young mayor of Tower Hamlets will be announced at the Town Hall on January 21.

There are currently 15 candidates vying for the post, which is elected by young people aged 11 to 18 living, working or studying in the borough.

Tower Hamlets looks set to follow neighbouring borough Newham and have a directly-elected mayor.

The council has bowed to pressure from residents and will hold a referendum next year on the issue.

By Tim Archer

Events in Iran remind us how precious democracy is. Recognition of the result of an election and the orderly transition from one administration to another must surely be the acid test of any democracy. Recent events in domestic politics have caused many to question what our elected representatives have been doing for us.

FOR ISLAND voters, the first fruits of their labours trickled in at around noon with the election of a new Millwall councillor.

The Wharf chased the action from Royal Docks to Tower Bridge as Ken Livingstone's eight-year reign as Mayor came to an end.

Boris takes City Hall

By the time City and East had officially thrown its weight behind Labour at around 10pm, the capital's media were already confidently predicting victory for the Conservative candidate Boris Johnson.

Many betting firms started paying out on the blue challenger before 10am on Friday (May 2), suggesting a rout may be on the cards for two-term Mayor Ken Livingstone.

Labour's candidate actually finished with a far higher total number of votes than he managed in his comfortable 2004 victory. But the presence of a well-known contender not only denied him a third term in office, but attracted the highest voter turnout among Londoners since the mayoral post was created in 2000.

FOR ISLAND voters, the first fruits of their labours trickled in at around noon with the election of a new Millwall councillor.

The Wharf chased the action from Royal Docks to Tower Bridge as Ken Livingstone's eight-year reign as Mayor came to an end.

John Biggs ExCeLs in Assembly vote

City and East incumbent John Biggs will get the chance to celebrate a decade representing the constituency in two years time.

The former Tower Hamlets Council leader increased his share of the vote from 29 per cent to nearly 35 per cent on Friday (May 2), fending off a challenge from Blackwall and Cubitt Town's Conservative councillor Phil Briscoe.

Cllr Briscoe led in the very early stages of the count, but was significantly behind for much of the late afternoon, finishing with just over half of his opponent's total.

FOR ISLAND voters, the first fruits of their labours trickled in at around noon with the election of a new Millwall councillor.

The Wharf chased the action from Royal Docks to Tower Bridge as Ken Livingstone's eight-year reign as Mayor came to an end.

Millwall stays blue

Barclays senior banker Simon Rouse has overseen a massive turnaround in the fortunes of the Conservatives on the Isle of Dogs. In September 2004, he won the party's first ever seat on Tower Hamlets Council with a victory in Millwall ward.

Less than four years later, the Tories hold all six seats on the Island, and have effectively created a blue outpost in the Labour-run borough by throwing their weight behind residents on several local issues, from the proposed Barkantine post office closure to replacement bus disruption on Saunders Ness Road.

Fore more Wharf election analysis, follow our reports on the Millwall by-election, City and East assembly battle and the struggle for the post of Mayor via the links.

CONSERVATIVE torch-bearer Boris Johnson has won the battle for the title of Mayor of London.

The Tory hopeful ended incumbent Ken Livingstone's eight-year reign in City Hall in a two-horse race that inspired more than two million Londoners to the polling booths.

The clash of personalities attracted a turnout of 2.4million voters, amounting to 45 per cent of the 5.4million electorate. This represented a 20 per cent rise on 2004, in which a total of 1.9million voters made the trip to the polls.

Labour's John Biggs retained his City and East seat on the London Assembly earlier in the evening, with nearly twice as many votes as Conservative challenger Phil Briscoe.

THE CONSERVATIVE party maintained their grip on the Isle of Dogs with a comfortable victory in Millwall ward.

Tory candidate David Snowdon picked up nearly half of the vote to retain the seat, which was vacated by former blue borough leader Simon Rouse earlier this year.

Labour's Fazlul Haque took Weavers ward from the Liberal Democrats, who were forced to fight a by-election after the resignation of Louise Alexander.

The announcement was made at around noon on Friday (May 2) at the ExCeL centre in Royal Docks.