The disgraced former Labour Party politician and ex-Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman is set to re-launch his political career this weekend with a new political party.
Mr. Rahman was forced out as Mayor of Tower Hamlets, East London, and banned from public office for five years in April 2015 after facing allegations of rigging elections and serious corruption.
Other accusations included spending public funds on “vanity” offices, diverting millions in grants to charities run by Bangladeshis and Somalis in return for political support, and paying local Bangladeshi TV channels and newspapers for positive coverage.
According to the local ‘Love Wapping’ website, the new ‘Tower Hamlets Together’ political party will be announced this weekend, as Mr. Rahman continues to command significant support and influence within East London’s local government.
Sources told the local publication that the new party is something like a “rebirth” of Mr. Rahman’s defunct old party, Tower Hamlets First (THF), which was accused of intimidation, fraud, and bribery and was banned by an Election Court at the same time as the Mayor. The logos of the two parties are also similar.
Local elections are set to take place in London in 2018, and Mr. Rahman’s new party could contest seats although he would not be able to stand himself.
