Hackney mayor suspended by Labour after photo emerges of him partying with paedophile councillor

[IwantToRetire]

What is it with people who get into power who think they can break the rules, or in this case commit a serious crime against childrn.

And although the Mayor is not the culprit, there is so much wrong with this behaviour, not just lying but lying in relation to this crime, but put his friendship before his position.

Let alone both of them letting down the gay community by seemingly thinking it just wasnt an issue.

I am sure similar has happened in Tory councils, but this hardly makes Labour look like the new hope in this increasingly morally corrupt world.

Not forgetting, the real victims, the children. Just horrible.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/mayor-hackney-philip-glanville-thomas-dewey-labour-photo-councillor-b1103953.html

Not sure what this has to do with women’s rights but I do agree that we have a problem with standards in public life in this country. Not sure what to do about it except for encouraging good people to stand for public office so the dodgy ones face more competition!

What has it to do with women's rights and feminism? Well, it gives us another opportunity to point out that crime statistics all over the world and as far back as records have been kept show that the vast majority of sexual crimes are committed by men. The number of women who commit sexual crimes is minuscule. This is not, as far as I know, related to sexual orientation. Straight men, gay men, bisexual men, a proportion of every group turn out to be paedophiles. Women have agreed to be subject to the same safeguarding procedures as men, which is altruistic of us, because the risk from men is a lot higher.

Anyway, getting back to this specific case, my mind is boggling at the series of events set out in this report.

April 29th Thomas Dewey is arrested at home and presumably his devices are seized as well.
The following week Dewey stands for election as a councillor and is elected, but he presumably hadn't told anybody in Labour or the electorate about the charges he was facing.
May 13th Philip Glanville, Mayor of Hackney, and others at the council were notified of the arrest.
May 14th Eurovision party at the home which Glanville and Dewey share where they are pictured together having a jolly social evening.

How is it possible that Dewey could be arrested at home by the National Crime Agency and one of his housemates claims to have no knowledge that this has happened for a further fortnight?

Not sure what this has to do with women’s rights

Well as this forum is Feminism and Women's Rights absolutely everything.

We have had long threads on the horrendous crimes as against young women and girls apparently covered up by a local council.

And other threads about failure of social services etc., to provide support to the vulnerable.

And whilst in some instances cuts etc., are part of the problem, too often it is about those in positions of power not acting.

And (although I dont know the specific details here) too often powerful men enabling this cover up.

It is about the systems we have in place, created by men and more easily manipulated by men, so that even when women become part of the system they cant or dont speak up.

And over and above this, is yet again systems failing young children.

It is the same as having a thread about the cover up culture of NHS https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4877313-cover-up-culture-in-the-nhs-seemingly-everywhere

Not forgetting that this is the man who for a number of months failed to inform parents of children at the school where a young girl was strip searched at the request of a teacher until it hit the news.

And his response was to have a rally on the steps of the Town Hall where he shared the stage with the SWP ie dumbing down the failure of the system (NB the school invited the police in they didn't just turn up randomly) to make it a cliched rally with lots of clenced fists and switching the focus to only being a problem with the Met.

How is it possible that Dewey could be arrested at home by the National Crime Agency and one of his housemates claims to have no knowledge that this has happened for a further fortnight?

This what stood out for me. Is it about someone being in a position where everyone kowtows so that the start tp think they can just lie and nobody will find out.

Or is it that they think I need to pretend I dont know because I want to go on being Mayor? And anyway the Labour Party will support me?

Hackney MP Diane Abbott said Mr Glanville should consider his position for lying in public office, as he had claimed he did not contact the high-flying member of the party’s right after being told of the police investigation into his crimes last May.The former shadow home secretary also suggested there had been a cover-up by Labour bosses who banned local members from talking about the investigation into Dame Meg Hillier’s former agent.

She told the Morning Star: “I think he needs to consider his position because he has misled people and the images that Dewey had were very serious.

“It’s all very concerning really because Philip had said he had not spoken to Dewey since becoming aware, but he is at a party, so he has spoken to him.

“He also gave the impression that he wasn’t living in the house at the time.”

She raised concerns over the 36-year-old having access to children while politically canvassing in the week between his arrest at his home and his election on May 6 last year.

FOIs have confirmed the council’s former chief executive informed Mr Glanville by telephone of the arrest and allegations against Dewey two days before its leadership announced his resignation for “personal reasons” on May 16.

Local Labour members only learned of the nature of the arrest when Dewey was charged more than a year later but were banned from discussing the case after raising safeguarding concerns with Labour bosses.

Hackney North CLP’s means of communicating with the rest of the party via its internal mailing system remains suspended after the topic was raised at a meeting attended by Labour’s London regional director Pearleen Sangha last month.
Ms Abbott, who now sits as an independent, yesterday backed local Labour members’ calls for an independent inquiry into who knew what with regards to Dewey’s offences, adding she “shared their concerns” over a cover-up by the party bosses

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/labour-mayor-partied-paedophile-councillor-after-learning-his-arrest-photos-reveal

Well this makes it seem even more grubby and unacceptable. Seems to have been more than a cover up, but an attempt to manipulate formal means of communication.

I wonder if it is because Dianne Abbott who has been suspended from the Labour Party seems able to speak out. I wonder if Meg Hillier, the other Hackney MP who previously employed the actual criminal, will issue a statement.

Well dodgy … and I take the point about this being an example of male-dominated political networks creating a culture of unaccountability which enables crime and abuse, with women and children often as victims. But I don’t think it’s true that women are never complicit. Dewey seems to have worked for a female MP, Meg Hillier.

Yes, as I said I wondered if Meg Hillier would make a statement.

But according to the Morning Star, who I think has been briefed via leaks, it turns out that the London Region Labour Party office was the one who stopped the local Labour group raising the issue by cutting them of from the agreed internet network for local Party organising. ie the Regional office censored members of the Labour Party from talking to other Labour Party members. Which also meant the local group didn't have the official network to organise their own meetings.

So maybe MH isn't commenting until she has been told she is allowed to, whereas DA is now outside of the clutches of the Labour Party message manipulation machine.

Phillip Glanville has "stepped aside".

I bet he gets paid, though. It's not as if he's resigned.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66727091

From the story
"Residents had scheduled a protest to take place on Wednesday calling on Mr Glanville to resign from the £85,000-a -year role."

If I were anyone in Hackney Labour, or indeed London Labour, I'd be looking to get rid of him permanently. I'm not sure anyone in the party has the wit or thf backbone to do that, though.

If I were anyone in Hackney Labour, or indeed London Labour, I'd be looking to get rid of him permanently. I'm not sure anyone in the party has the wit or thf backbone to do that, though.

What I dont understand is that if he has been suspended from the Labour Party how can he still be Mayor. He stood as the Labour candidate not as an individual.

I dont even now why some places have Mayor's. The implication that the people we vote for as councillors need to be supervised or lead undermines the principle of voting.

Things like this just make me think the whole political system is f-worded.

Apart from the fact that just because somebody can make a rousing speech doesn't mean they know how to manage things and get them done.

Look at Birmingham. Bankrupt not because of cuts but because of the millions they still owe to women employees who were not treated equally, and a hugely expensive computer system that doesn't work.

So you have actual incompetence, and then abuse of power and cronies covering up for criminals and paedophiles.

Birmingham Council also committed, in ,2019 when it was already facing the costs of the equal pay judgement, to sprn at least 25% of £778 million, so £194.5 million, on the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Birmingham council leader Zooms ‘on holiday in New York’ as authority ‘goes bankrupt’

John Cotton was reportedly in the Big Apple for his 50th birthday when the local authority issued a section 114 notice – meaning it cannot balance its books.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/birmingham-council-leader-zoom-bankrupt-b2406269.html

John Cotton was reportedly in the Big Apple for his 50th birthday when the local authority issued a section 114 notice – meaning it cannot balance its books.

The bankruptcy didn't come out of the blue.

He knew how this would look and did it anyway.

It's very obvious that people like this expect and have a culture of immunity and impunity.

I have male acquaintances who are members of the Labour Party and it’s shocking how they are downplaying this. Apparently it’s a witch-hunt … all he did was be photographed next to someone , he didn’t do the crime. The thjng is , of any of my friends were charged with such offences I don’t think I could stomach hanging out with them again. I would want to cut off all contact!

Apparently it’s a witch-hunt …

(From a post upthread)

April 29th Thomas Dewey is arrested at home and presumably his devices are seized as well.

The following week Dewey stands for election as a councillor and is elected, but he presumably hadn't told anybody in Labour or the electorate about the charges he was facing.

May 13th Philip Glanville, Mayor of Hackney, and others at the council were notified of the arrest.

May 14th Eurovision party at the home which Glanville and Dewey share where they are pictured together having a jolly social evening.

How is it possible that Dewey could be arrested at home by the National Crime Agency and one of his housemates claims to have no knowledge that this has happened for a further fortnight?

This is the best Hackney Labour can come up with and its not even on their website, or their facebook pages which still refers to Glanville as their Mayor.

https://twitter.com/HackneyLabour/status/1699468757561716872

Dont want to appear obsessed by this but am stunned by the way Labour Party is responding to this. Do you remember in the good old days when a disgraced politician would disappear off for a decade or so and do good works. Now they just seem to think it is about having their name in the news.

And as for the Labour leadership. Can Starmer stoop any lower?

Ex-mayor greets guests to Labour business gala where Sir Keir gives speech

DISGRACED former Labour mayor Philip Glanville was pictured last week meeting and greeting guests to a £2,000-a-table Labour business gala dinner where party leader Sir Keir Starmer gave a speech.

Deputy leader Angela Rayner, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting and Labour’s general secretary David Evans were also pictured at SME4Labour’s London shmooze-up, which saw up to 200 pro-Palestine demonstrators accuse the party’s leadership of being “genocide facilitators” on Tuesday.

Mr Glanville resigned as elected mayor after the Morning Star published pictures showing him partying with his councillor flatmate Tom Dewey after being informed of his arrest for possession of indecent child images.

He admitted lying in public in August after previously claiming that he had no communications with now-convicted Dewey after learning of the allegations against him.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/ex-mayor-greets-guests-to-labour-business-gala-where-sir-keir-gives-speech

Good on the Morning Star for not letting this go.

Bloody hell, standards in public life are beyond a joke. It seems like nearly everybody in politics (from local to national to international) has a brass neck and little to no sense of shame.

standards in public life are beyond a joke.

It's a culture of impunity and immunity. Mone's Sunday interview was a disgrace. There really is a complete disregard for Nolan principles of public life.

Why, yes, I may have spent the weekend working on something for which I don't receive either acknowledgement or reward. And for the honour of doing that, I had to fill out detailed questions to scrutinise whether I have any declarations of interest to be assessed as plausible conflicts of interest.

Nolan seems to be for the little people.

It's a culture of impunity and immunity. Mone's Sunday interview was a disgrace. There really is a complete disregard for Nolan principles of public life.

Yes.

The beneficiaries of whom are men, and their increased sexual freedoms.

The victims of which are women and children.

If you honestly can't get why this is a feminist issue then you must have bought into the idea - incidentally beloved by the very kind of man we're talking about - who will try to tell you that feminism means 'is permissive and enabling at all times to the right people, while suppressing the people who the right kind of people would like to use, with no boundaries of any kind'.

Well this has now been printer. Apparently the Council were not at fault in any way and behaved appropriately.

If that is true why did the Mayor resign?

https://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2024/01/25/tom-dewey-stop-becoming-councillor-independent-inquiry/

Apparently the Council were not at fault in any way and behaved appropriately.

All sounds really dodgy, but of course might have been a way of saying it was all the Mayor's fault, he deceived people and we got rid of him. So bureaucratically we are squeaky clean.

These people strike me as the type of people who think technically correct is the best kind of correct 🙄🤯

Somatically correct?

What a surprise - turns out the investigation wasn't as ssqueaky clean as they tried to pretend!

Henderson, a former chief executive of Staffordshire County Council, said it was “rather unfortunate” that neither Dewey or Glanville responded to his request for an interview.

He was given an initial list of names to contact, many of which resulted in follow-up interviews, after he was tipped off about members he should approach.

In total, he interviewed around 15 people at the Town Hall.

“I didn’t follow up with any of his [Dewey’s] contacts,” Henderson explained. “None of them were named to me, it has to be said.

“Nobody said, ‘He’s best friends with X, you need to speak to them’. Had they done so, I would have followed up, but they were never named, and that was quite telling.”

There was a “mixture of disgust and shame” among the officers he spoke to, he said.

Henderson said he couldn’t just email Dewey due to data protection rules, and that it was “quite difficult to find an officer who was willing to contact him”.

A councillor told the investigation that there was a whistleblower, but in the end no-one came forward through the official whistleblowing channel.

https://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2024/01/31/tom-dewey-inquiry-investigator-more-details-probe-disgraced-former-councillor/