21.02.2008

I did it for my community

Tower Hamlets councillor Ahmed Hussain has defected from Respect-SWP to the Conservatives, making them the official opposition on the council. He spoke to Jim Moody

Why have you left Respect (Independent) group on Tower Hamlets council?

Initially the four of us left the main party because of the leadership: it was not going anywhere. It was just out of order, because everyone was doing what they wanted to do. The reason I left the new group is because we were trying, but we were not going anywhere to help the community.

The other thing is, the party itself is just not going anywhere because the electoral commission has put an embargo on the name. You can’t really re-establish the party all over again. How many times are you going to open up another party and establish it? It was quite hard to do with Respect. People had elected me to the council to serve them, and that was not happening because I was concentrating more on party problems. That was why I thought I should move on to another party.

But why the Conservatives, not Labour or the Liberal Democrats?

I had been speaking to the Lib Dems and Labour. With Labour I felt that the way they were talking was ‘You’re another number’ and not ‘OK, you’ve got good ideas - come over, we can take things forward’. When I spoke to the Labour hierarchy, it was like ‘We’re only 26 or 27 and if you come around we’re going to be in a safe situation’. At the end of it the officers’ recommendations just go through - they can’t even accommodate their own members. My say is not going to go anywhere.

My politics are pretty much within Tower Hamlets: that’s why I thought that the Conservatives are taking on the issues ... even more than our group, when I was with Respect.

So do you think Respect wanted you because of the community you come from rather than your politics?

It could have been. Initially when I got elected I was not much of a Respect member - the community wanted to put me forward. They literally came down to my office and said, ‘You sign this form and you are going to be in the election.’ But at that point I had no party. I was pretty much doing work for the community. I was one of the resident directors of the Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association, making some changes on the estates: that was how I came into politics.

But when I actually went into Respect I saw that it was not all glory and shiny, the way I thought - George going on the rampage, going onto Big brother. Within a couple of months I felt that I needed to move anyway. Oli Rahman said, ‘We’re going to move on, so why don’t we just form another group?’ So we tried that and we did speak to the Lib Dems and others to see if we can make a coalition and get things done, but that didn’t work out, so Respect was just not going anywhere.

Are reports that you joined the Socialist Workers Party correct?

You’re right actually. They actually pinned me down and got me signed on this piece of paper as a member - and Lutfa [Begum]. And it was not that we wholeheartedly joined it, but they were on our case. Oli did well to stay away from them and not sign anything, but he does attend SWP meetings. We were doing that because they were part of the coalition.

I did fill out a form, but, to be honest with you, after the membership had been turned over I didn’t even bother renewing. I didn’t know it was going to turn out as it has now, so I regret that. But don’t get me wrong: I still have my social values and hopefully I can bring some of that to the Conservative group.

How do you view the politics of Respect and the SWP?

From the very beginning, I had some reservations with some of the issues. And that’s why I never went out campaigning on those issues. One of the biggest is housing. It’s good if we can actually retain everything within the council, but the reality is that we can’t.

My biggest problem was when party members used to go and knock on doors and say all those silly things. I said, look, just tell the people that this is option A, this is option B - it’s your choice how you want to vote. But don’t force them into it, don’t give them high hopes that you’re going to fix things, because you can’t. They didn’t come up with any alternatives. And that’s why I never went out door-knocking on stock transfer or anything, because I didn’t feel comfortable with it.

The Weekly Worker has described one section of Respect as the “businessmen’s wing”. Do you think this is fair?

It is fair ... People like Azmal Hussain have no credibility, but he is chair of Tower Hamlets Respect. He wanted to be chair no matter what. He had a deal with George and Abjol [Miah, leader of the Respect councillors’ group]. He was spending time left, right and centre with them and they patched up a deal; they didn’t even consider our thoughts.

We opposed that: he can’t be chair - he can’t even speak to save his life. Being a small party, we need the right people with the right calibre in the front row. Since Azmal has taken over, how many press releases have gone out? Nothing. When Glyn [Robbins] was there, we used to have some kind of activities going on. But this guy is busy promoting his business and, as businessmen do, they need someone, some kind of political backing, behind them. And that’s exactly what he’s doing.

But haven’t you now joined the businessmen’s party?

Yes, but I was not happy with a lot of things and at the end of the day my politics is within Tower Hamlets. So to get things done in Tower Hamlets I think I have done the right thing. Yes, people will say, ‘You’ve joined the businessmen’s club’, or they might say, ‘How did you end up going from so far left to so far right?’, but I’m a Tower Hamlets councillor and I need to take on Tower Hamlets issues. I’m not going to take on national issues or anything like that.

And I think the Conservatives are being more effective in Tower Hamlets than anybody else at the moment. They took on issues like the Almos [Arms Length Management Organisations] voting and the Morrisons site. If they can take these on board, there must be some kind of social aspect within that.

Have you thought of resigning and letting the voters decide whether they want a Respect or a Conservative councillor?

No, I’m not considering giving up my seat. But, hey, in 2010 if people decide not to vote for me, so be it, it’s not a problem. I probably didn’t talk as much as I should have with my party, but I did talk with the local key people, and they were with me from the very beginning.

Your defection has made the Conservatives the official opposition on Tower Hamlets council. When Respect was the official opposition, did it achieve anything?

Well, in the first year we were able to do a lot of things, but the second year it just all fell apart because people were blocked out - who’s going to be the next leader, who’s going to be the next MP, who’s going to be next for the GLA?

Do you have any regrets?

I regret I had to leave my friends, like Oli, Lutfa and [councillor] Rania Khan: they are really good, genuine people. Unfortunately they don’t have support at the moment: they don’t have any advisors, they don’t have party support as much as they would want. The party says, ‘Let us know what we can do’, but, when it comes to the time they are needed, they will be somewhere else. I have more respect for Oli, Rania and Lutfa than I have for Respect. And I don’t have any respect for George Galloway’s group, because, where we stand today, it’s down to George Galloway and his leadership.

Now there are two groups, aren’t there? The SWP lot, even though they have it in their hearts to help Oli and everybody, unfortunately can’t find the time to do it. The councillors are all working hard, but we hardly got any help, and only at the 11th hour.