Leader or Mayor?
I wrote a 5 page summary of the key issues in the governance referendum
I have not decided which way to vote myself so I wrote the guide to help myself think through the issues & choices
I dislike both options & especially the method by which
1/
the choice was made and I fear it will not solve any of the underlying problems in Tower Hamlets, why we continue to underperform on a range of issues
But there is little practical difference between systems except for how elected
Both strong leader models
2/
But one of the key issues are the two different voting systems used;
Electing Mayors - supplementary vote or 2nd preferences included which gives outsiders more of a chance
Electing Councillors - first past the post - which is why Labour with 46% of vote = 93% of Councillors!
3/
Some suggested FAQ's
What else should I add to this?
The full file is here
cllrandrewwood.com/news
4/
Some key dates and contact information
Polling cards are being delivered now (I have two of them)
But if you do not get yours you can register to vote online here by the 19th April
gov.uk/register-to-vo…
5/
More controversially I added a 6th page with a suggestion as to what to do if you do not like the choices or the method by which these final two options were picked
Which is to write at the very bottom of the ballot a
message, what the Americans call a Write-In as to your
6/
preferred option, for me that was the Committee system (which is what Newham Labour have picked as well)
As long as anything you write is clearly separate from your choice marked by a clear X, that means your ballot paper will still be counted as a valid vote
7/
It has no practical impact but can be used to send a message
Given that we were not allowed to do this process properly via a public debate in advance I see no other way in the next 10 years (when we can next have a referendum) to register what we think
8/

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More from @Andrewwood17

28 Mar
This tweet is largely wrong and it is why I have real problems with the Leader and Cabinet model campaign and have not backed it
Some tweets challenging each point they make
1/
Representative - local people lose their power to directly elect their leader in this model, that is the whole point of it
If you want empowered Cllrs TH Labour would have followed Newham Labour in offering the Committee system as an option
But a reminder that Cllrs are not
1/
entirely representative
Labour got 46% of the vote in May 2018 but ended up with 42 of 45 Councillors or 93%
Thanks to First Past the Vote, the biggest party wins
+ 42% turnout as well so in reality = only 19% of voters voted Labour
So are Cllrs representative of local people?
2/
Read 12 tweets
19 Mar
Brooklyn?
Following my tweet about future development in Tower Hamlets last night presentation using the @VUCITY_ 3D model was of the east of the Borough - Blackwall & Aberfeldy up to Stratford
Clearer now possible change north of Canary Wharf
Details

1/
Blue - consented & started work (even if some later stopped)
Yellow - consented but not started yet
Red - planning application in the system
Pink - a forecast of what might come but to also influence heights & massing of future applications
2/
Some views from the same model from street level
3/
Read 5 tweets
18 Mar
Liveable Streets in TH in order to solve one problem, we believe could or will cause problems elsewhere, so @RabinaKhan, @going4golds @th_puru, Cllr Harun Miah & I made 8 recommendations in a Call-In to improve Liveable Streets in TH
It has been rejected on technical grounds
1/
The 1st problem is that by restricting access to certain areas most of that through traffic will simply move to other roads
Bow Cabinet report makes clear some of negative aspects of through traffic in Bow but says nothing about it going elsewhere so we made 2 recommendations
2/
We only have 4 permanent online air quality monitoring stations in TH
2 by roads
2 in parks
airqualityengland.co.uk/local-authorit…
None where people live or work
None inside Bow or next to Bow area impacted by LTN
How will we monitor changes of pollution from introduction of bus gates etc?
3/
Read 18 tweets
18 Mar
Opposition Motion - Regarding the impact of construction on the Isle of Dogs and South Poplar
Last night at the full Council meeting @going4golds and I raised a motion reminding the Council of the pain (& deaths) caused by construction and the need to manage it better
1/
To also push the new team formed by the Council to deal with these issues (as a pilot)
As an opposition group, we get to choose one subject to debate at each Council meeting, the last one was on HMO's, it can be a difficult choice as so many issues to raise
2/
But what normally happens is that the Labour group amends our motion, this can be a good thing as it means the amended motion has the support of all Councillors rather than just two of us
This is what happened last night.
In pictures is the amended motion
3/
Read 4 tweets
17 Mar
Manhattan?
Last night at 1st Tall Building workshop for the 1st time TH Council has used the @VUCITY_ 3D model to full effect, to model what the IoD MIGHT look like if development continues apace on the IoD
They added in pink what potential development sites could look like
1/
Blue - consented & started work (even if some later stopped)
Yellow - consented but not started yet
Red - planning application in the system
Pink - a forecast of what might come
Views from Greenwich now versus forecast
2/
The forecast sites are all in site allocations & tall building zones where TH Council want tall development
But the pink forecasts can also be a message to developers this is the height/scale we the Council are comfortable with
There will be a battle to come over the detail
3/
Read 7 tweets
12 Mar
There is something Trump-like about @TowerHamletsNow Their latest Our East End March magazine says government "have not fully covered the reduced income & increased costs councils are facing" due to COVID
February 2021 financial statements say exact opposite, a £7.5 m surplus
1/
135,000 copies of Our East End plus distributed + online
towerhamlets.gov.uk/News_events/Ou…
versus number of people who read '6.12c Appendix C - 2020-21 Covid-19 Financial Forecast Summary v5' ?
democracy.towerhamlets.gov.uk/documents/s181…
I think this is what is called a 'big lie'
Repeat it often enough &
2/
people start to believe it
The worst thing is that I suspect the Comms staff who wrote that line actually believed it was true because even within the Council we keep seeing the same myths or lack of understanding about our finances
And the Council having so often blamed the
3/
Read 9 tweets

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