The Race to be Mayor.

Labour, mayoral hopefuls have until 5pm on Monday 30th June to submit their applications.

The local CLPs remain suspended so the decision will be taken by party officers.

One wonders what remains of the local Labour activist base after so long in suspension. It appears to consist of wannabe councillors and not much else.

A number of names have been suggested to Open Newham in respect of the likely candidates submitting their names. These include several from the cabinet and we shall be reflecting on some of the likely candidates during the course of the week. Unfortunately for cabinet members, whilst they might have name recognition amongst the Labour Group, we also know just how well, (or badly) they have done.

The Labour Party has a daunting task. Newham Council has been one of the poorest led councils in the country, admittedly not as bad as Birmingham, but given a little more time who knows what might happen.

Labour is simply choosing its candidate. The electorate will choose the mayor, but it would be a disaster of biblical proportions were Labour to lose the mayoralty in 2026. Thus, those choosing the candidate are likely to be choosing the next mayor.

There are a number of considerations which they might want to bear in mind.

Is there a candidate who can show that they have actually managed an organisation, who has an idea of what happens if your expenditure exceeds your income, and how to prevent this. A candidate who can make it clear to the incoming Labour Group that they are not playing with Monopoly money, and he is not there to indulge their most recent political whim.

Is there a candidate who can delegate and build a team. Not all of them will be at 100% on day one, but a candidate who can build a team mixing youth and experience will be building for the future if he (she) can set out a vision and delegate real responsibility. We have seen the result when power is concentrated by a leader who can neither lead nor delegate.

Labour now faces a real opposition so a candidate who can articulate a vision and robustly defend it would be helpful. The Greens appear to have wasted their opportunities to demonstrate an alternative, preferring pronouns to policy. The strength of Newham Independents is yet to be fully tested, but we have no reason to adjust our prediction that they could win up to 20 seats. They are clearly hungry for influence and the general election showed just how influential a bock-communitarian vote can be. Labour may play canny/show its electoral cynicism, (take your pick), by selecting a Muslim candidate and splitting the community vote.

The successful candidate will inherit a poisoned chalice; a nearly bankrupt council and a demoralized staff. 

S/he will need to stand up to competing demands and make serious savings in the council spending. None of this will be painless. If Labour is true to form, s/he will be accused of any number of treacheries by his/her colleagues.

What we do not know is whether Labour is seeking a mayor to pull Newham out of its present crisis or a candidate who will look best on the canvassing leaflets.

We will have an answer to this in a week’s time.