Tuesday, October 05, 2010

"As Ever..."

Dave Osler on the Labour candidacy for Tower Hamlets mayor (you remember, the one where the original (Bangla) candidate was deselected, and the guy (hideously white) who came second in the selection was passed over because "they could not go to the person who came second in the poll for the Labour Party candidate selection, John Biggs, without it looking like they were choosing a white British candidate in preference to a Bengali") :

"Even though I live in an adjoining borough, only two or three miles away from where all this has been happening, the world of Tower Hamlets Labour politics remains, as ever, impenetrable to outsiders."
As ever ? In the time of the Poplar Rates Rebellion of 1921 ?

Was it like that in February 1974 ?

General Election October 1974: Stepney and Poplar
Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Labour Peter Shore 24,159 77.6

Conservative Harry Greenway 3,183 10.2

Liberal F. W. Alexander 3,181 10.2 N/A

Communist Kevin Halpin 617 2.0
Majority 20,976 67.4
Turnout 60,458 51.5

Labour hold Swing


And 1979 ?

General Election 1979: Stepney and Poplar
Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Labour Peter Shore 19,576 62.6

Conservative Robert Gurth Hughes 6,561 21.0

Liberal Rif Winfield 2,234 7.2

National Front V. Clarke 1,571 5.0 N/A

Independent Labour Ted Johns 672 2.2 N/A

Communist Kevin Halpin 413 1.3

Workers' Revolutionary Peter Chappell 235 0.8 N/A
Majority 13,015 41.6
Turnout 58,637 53.3

Labour hold Swing

Or perhaps 1983 ?

General Election 1983: Bethnal Green and Stepney
Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Labour Peter Shore 15,740 51.0 N/A

Liberal S. Charters 9,382 30.4 N/A

Conservative Demitri Argyropulo 4,323 14.0 N/A

National Front V. Clark 800 2.6 N/A

Communist J. Rees 243 0.8 N/A

Independent B. N. Chaudhuri 214 0.7 N/A

Independent P. J. Mahoney 136 0.4 N/A
Majority 6,358 20.6
Turnout
55.7

Labour hold Swing


1987 ?

General Election 1987: Bethnal Green and Stepney
Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Labour Peter Shore 15,490 48.3 - 2.7

Liberal Jeremy Shaw 10,206 31.8 + 1.4

Conservative Olga Maitland 6,176 19.2 + 5.2

Communist S. L. Gasquoine 232 0.7 - 0.1
Majority 5,284 16.5
Turnout
57.6

Labour hold Swing

1992 ?

General Election 1992: Bethnal Green and Stepney
Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Labour Peter Shore 20,350 55.8 + 7.5

Liberal Democrat Jeremy Shaw 8,120 22.3 - 9.5

Conservative Jane Emmerson 6,507 17.9 - 1.3

BNP Richard Edmonds 1,310 3.6 N/A

Communist S. Kelsey 156 0.4 - 0.3
Majority 12,230 33.5 + 17.0
Turnout 36,443 65.5 + 7.9

Labour hold Swing


1997 ?

General Election 1997: Bethnal Green and Bow
Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Labour Oona King 20,697 46.3 -9.5

Conservative Kabir Choudhury 9,412 21.1 +3.2

Liberal Democrat Syed Nurul Islam Dulu 5,361 12.0 -10.3

BNP David King 3,350 7.5 +3.9

Liberal Terry Milson 2,963 6.6

Real Labour Sheref Osman 1,117 2.5

Green Stephen Petter 812 1.8

Referendum Party Muhammed Abdullah 557 1.2

Socialist Labour Abdul Hamid 413 0.9
Majority 11,285 25.3
Turnout 44,682 60.3 -5.2
2001 ?

General Election 2001: Bethnal Green and Bow
Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Labour Oona King 19,380 50.5 +4.1

Conservative Shahagir Bakth Faruk 9,323 24.3 +3.2

Liberal Democrat Janet Ludlow 5,946 15.5 +3.5

Green Anna Bragga 1,666 4.3 +2.5

BNP Michael Davidson 1,211 3.2 -4.3

New Britain Dennis Delderfield 888 2.3 N/A
Majority 10,057 26.2
Turnout 38,414 50.2 -10.1

Labour hold Swing

2005 ?

General Election 2005: Bethnal Green and Bow
Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Respect George Galloway 15,801 35.9

Labour Oona King 14,978 34.0 -16.5

Conservative Shahagir Bakth Faruk 6,244 14.2 -10.1

Liberal Democrat Syed Nurul Islam Dulu 4,928 11.2 -4.3

Green John Foster 1,950 4.4 +0.1

Alliance for Change Ejiro Etefia* 68 0.2

Communist League Celia Pugh 38 0.1
Majority 823 1.9
Turnout 44,007 51.2

Respect gain from Labour Swing 26.2%

Or 2010 ?

2010 General Election: Bethnal Green and Bow[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Labour Rushanara Ali 21,784 42.9 +8.4

Liberal Democrat Ajmal Masroor 10,210 20.1 +7.8

Respect Abjol Miah 8,532 16.8 -19.8

Conservative Zakir Khan 7,071 13.9 +2.0

BNP Jeffrey Marshall 1,405 2.8 N/A

Green Farid Bakht 856 1.7 -2.8

Independent Patrick Brooks 277 0.5 N/A

Pirate Alexander van Terheyden 213 0.4 N/A

United Voice Hasib Hikmat 209 0.4 N/A

Independent Haji Mahmood Choudhury 100 0.2 N/A

Independent Ahmed Abdul Malik 71 0.1 N/A
Majority 11,574 22.8
Turnout 50,728 62.4 +10.9

Labour gain from Respect Swing 14.1%