London: Tower Hamlets election results: Shell-shocked Labour LOSE to Aspire party led by Lutfur Rahman

Labour has lost control of Tower Hamlets Council in a shocking blow to the party’s fortunes in London. Lutfur Rahman’s Aspire party won overall control to end Labour’s time in charge of the East London Council following his stunning re-election as Tower Hamlets mayor, seven years after being removed from office.

Aspire shot up from just two seats to 24 - securing a majority. Labour – which had previously controlled 40 of the 45 council seats – won just 19.

The result comes the day after former mayor Lutfur Rahman pulled off a stunning political comeback to be re-elected mayor of Tower Hamlets. The Aspire candidate won decisively in the second round of voting on May 6, beating incumbent Labour mayor John Biggs.

The result sees Lutfur Rahman return to power for the next four years, just seven years after he was found guilty of electoral misconduct. Rahman was removed from office in 2015 for corrupt and illegal practices and banned from standing for office for five years. However, he successfully returned as mayor on his first attempt since then.

https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/tower-hamlets-election-results-labour-23894017

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutfur_Rahman_(British_politician)

Tower Hamlets

The 2019 mid-year population for the borough is estimated at 324,745. Asian/Asian British Bangladeshis at 32% form the largest ethnic group. The 2011 census showed Tower Hamlets to have the highest proportion of Muslims of any English local authority and that Muslims outnumbered Christians. The borough has more than forty mosques and Islamic centres, including the East London Mosque, one of Britain's largest.

In 2017 a joint study by Trust for London and New Policy Institute found Tower Hamlets to be the 2nd most deprived London borough (after Barking and Dagenham); with high rates of poverty, child poverty, unemployment and pay inequality compared to other London boroughs.