STATEMENT FROM TOWER HAMLETS LABOUR GROUP: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 29/2/24
The Tower Hamlets Labour Group condemns the abuse and chaos that plagued last night’s budget meeting. We are deeply disturbed that it took the council’s female councillors to threaten to leave the meeting before action was taken against individuals who had persistently disrupted proceedings with abusive and disrespectful conduct.
We are proud of the vibrant and lively democratic culture we have in our borough. Whilst plenty of other local councils struggle with resident apathy and disengagement, we are in the enviable position of having a rich culture of public participation in the democratic process.
The Labour group is not afraid of being held to account by our residents – our meetings are often lively and robust but last night’s proceedings crossed a line.
The safety of members and officers is paramount, and concerns had already been raised with the administration following worsening public conduct and a coarsening of debate at recent council/cabinet meetings.
Last night, the speaker lost control of proceedings and the meeting descended into chaos. We have serious concerns about the lack of action taken by the speaker throughout the meeting, whilst councillors, particularly women were receiving aggression and abuse. We also have concerns about the behaviour of Mayor Lutfur Rahman at last night’s meeting and will be following this up with the borough’s monitoring officer.
This is no way to run a meeting, it is no way to run a council. Labour and opposition councillors will not accept intimidation and abuse as we seek to serve our residents.