Labour will go all out to win every seat in the May council elections, in spite of concerns about the prospect of another four years of a ‘one party state’ in Newham.

In an exclusive interview with Newham Voices, elected Labour group leader Councillor John Gray said he made no apology for the party’s success, but he pledged to work with others if Labour sweeps the board again this year, as it did in 2018.

He cites last year’s referendum on the Mayoral role and the Newham Against Austerity campaign as examples of past collaboration with other groups.

“This is what you get with the first past the post election system that we have in Britain,” he said. “Personally and as an individual, I am a supporter of proportional representation, but this is not the view of the Labour Party or the Conservatives, so it is incumbent upon all councils with large one party majorities to be as transparent as possible, and this is what we have tried to do.”

Cllr Gray argues “respectfully” that it is for the other parties to look to themselves and “up their game” rather than criticising Labour for winning all the seats.

He believes it is less of an issue with voters on the doorstep. “People are much more interested in issues local to them, such as fly tipping and housing. But that’s not to say that people don’t take us to task.

“I had a difficult discussion recently with someone about parking restrictions. We did not agree, but when I asked him if he would still vote Labour, he said ‘of course, I may not agree on everything you do, but I still support you’. “

Cllr Gray said he found the response ‘humbling’. “There is a sizeable minority of people who are critical of the council, but the majority realise that we are doing our best in difficult circumstances. We have to make difficult choices.”

Such choices include a decision to increase council tax in the next council budget, (See Page 3) but Cllr Gray argues that Newham has taken decisions that protect the most vulnerable, adding that council tax in the Borough is still the lowest for this part of London.

Newham Labour approaches the election as a party under a cloud. Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) last year suspended both East Ham and West Ham Consituency parties following allegations of misconduct by some members. The chairs of both organisations have recently resigned and quit the party.

Cllr Gray said he regrets their decision to resign. “All parties have their problems,” he said. “But we are working with the NEC and London Labour to move forward. Some of these issues go back before 2019. There is huge support in Newham for Labour leader Keir Starmer, so you could say that we are on a journey. “

As a result of the suspension, Labour’s Newham May election candidates will be selected by the NEC, rather than the local party as is usually the case. The process is taking time, but this is good news, says Cllr Gray, because the party has been ‘overwhelmed’ with people wanting to become candidates.

He believes the biggest potential threat to Newham would be a national government pursuing an austerity agenda. “It would be awful if the government reduced funding and made people pay the price for what was rightly the response to Covid. This is still the fifth richest country in the world, there is money in this country.”

Over the coming weeks, Newham Voices will be asking all the main parties for their approach to the May elections.

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