Tower Hamlets First
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Tower Hamlets First
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| Leader |
Lutfur Rahman (founder) (18 September 2013–23 April 2015) Vacant (23–29 April 2015) |
| Founded | 18 September 2013 |
| Dissolved | 23 April 2015 (suspended) 29 April 2015 (registration cancelled) |
| Ideology | Social democracy |
Tower Hamlets First was a British political party represented in Tower Hamlets London Borough Council, which was launched to contest the 2014 local elections. At the 2014 London borough council elections, it was the second largest party on Tower Hamlets Council and the fifth largest political party out of all London borough councils.
Established by Lutfur Rahman on 18 September 2013, Tower Hamlets First was led by him until 23 April 2015, when the party was suspended following an Election Court report that found Rahman "personally guilty of 'corrupt or illegal practices' or both" with the party labelled as a "one-man band". The party was removed from the list of political parties maintained by the Electoral Commission on 29 April 2015.
The party stood candidates in the 2014 Tower Hamlets Council election, where it won 18 out of 45 seats, becoming the second largest party on Tower Hamlets Council, and the fifth largest political party out of all London borough councils. Nick Cohen in The Guardian described the party as a cult of personality surrounding Lutfur Rahman.
Tower Hamlets First faced ongoing accusations of using intimidation, fraud and bribery to gain votes and having divisive policies. In April 2014, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, ordered an investigation into suspected governance failure, poor financial management and fraud in Tower Hamlets.
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