From New Labour Sleaze to Reform UK’s Hate: Why Newham Must Reject Robin Wales and Clive Furness

The announcement that former Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales and his long-time ally Clive Furness have defected from the Labour Party to Reform UK might have made national headlines, but here on the ground in Newham, it makes perfect, grim sense.

Furness, who has just been announced as Reform’s mayoral candidate for our borough, and Wales, the architect of decades of local mismanagement, represent a dark chapter in Newham’s history. Now, they are attempting a political comeback wrapped in the divisive, anti-immigrant flag of the far-right. We, the residents of Newham, know exactly who they are, and we must reject them outright.

Let’s start with Clive Furness. Deselected by the local Labour Party eight years ago, Furness hasn't spent his time working for the community; he has spent it nursing a bitter grudge. He channels this through his blog, Open Newham, a site that has devolved into a hate-filled echo chamber. For years, Furness has demonstrated an unhealthy obsession with tearing down the current mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz, using his platform to wage a relentless, vindictive campaign against her. His descent into a right-wing, anti-immigrant spiral is the predictable end-point for a politician who swapped public service for personal vendettas. To see him now standing as the mayoral candidate for Reform UK is an insult to the diverse, hardworking communities that make Newham what it is.

Then there is Sir Robin Wales, a man whose name is practically synonymous with New Labour corruption and local sleaze. While the national media might try to paint his defection as a "shock," locals haven't forgotten his disastrous legacy. He is the man who gifted a taxpayer-funded stadium to his porn baron friends, David Gold and David Sullivan, handing their multimillionaire mates the keys at an unbelievable, scandalous discount while Newham residents footed the bill.

We haven’t forgotten how he signed local taxpayers up for high-interest LOBO (Lender Option Borrower Option) loans—reckless financial gambling that threatened to cripple our borough's finances for generations. And we certainly haven't forgotten how, under his autocratic rule, our youth services were decimated and Newham’s unique cultural identity was eroded.

But our warning is not just about the men wearing the teal rosettes of Reform UK today. It is also a warning about the local Labour Party they left behind. Current Labour council candidate lists are still littered with Robin Wales’s acolytes and enablers. The culture he built casts a long shadow, and as residents, we will not forget the harm he and his cronies caused to our local area. We must hold anyone who supported his toxic administration to account.

Newham is a borough built on solidarity, diversity, and community resilience. Wales and Furness have shown they care only for their own bruised egos and the politics of division. They left this borough worse off than they found it, and now they want to return to sow hatred.

We strongly reject their division. We reject their bitterness. We call on all local people to see this Reform UK stunt for what it is: the desperate thrashing of two reviled politicians who will do anything to claw back power. Newham deserves better. Let’s make sure they hear us loud and clear at the ballot box.