Controversial former Tower Hamlets mayor back in power in London borough

Controversial former mayor Lutfur Rahman has come out on top in the London borough of Tower Hamlets.

Mr Rahman was previously forced to step down after an election court found him guilty of corrupt and illegal practices.

But he faced no criminal prosecution.

On Friday, he was elected mayor of Tower Hamlets on the second round, defeating incumbent John Biggs of Labour.

Mr Rahman, of Aspire, won 40,804 votes, with Mr Biggs on 33,487.

Election commissioner Richard Mawrey made a series of findings against Mr Rahman in April 2015 following an election court trial in London.

Mr Mawrey said evidence aired at that trial had revealed an “alarming state of affairs” in Tower Hamlets.

He said his ruling meant the 2014 Tower Hamlets mayoral election was void and when the election was re-run it was won by Mr Biggs.

Friday’s victory for Mr Rahman saw one of his rivals claim Mr Biggs had isolated some voters by bringing in low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), which limit the movement of traffic in residential areas.

Andrew Wood, an independent councillor for Canary Wharf, said he thought Mr Biggs, as the sitting mayor, was too unpopular to beat Mr Rahman.

Speaking ahead of the win, Mr Wood suggested Mr Rahman could regain power with support from voters over the LTNs issue and Tower Hamlets’ Bengali community, who were said to make up his traditional support base.

He continued: “Elections are won or lost, depending on how the British Bengali community decide to allocate their vote.

“If Lutfur wins, it’s because of a combination of that and the white working class votes, because of the LTN issue in particular.”