A disgraced mayor banned from office for five years for corruption has been re-elected to his old position after what his party described as “one of the greatest political comebacks in history”.
Lutfur Rahman, a Bangladeshi immigrant, was banned as the mayor of Tower Hamlets in east London in 2015 after a damning court judgment that found that he had falsely branded his main political opponent as racist and a string of other electoral offences.
After serving a five-year ban, becoming bankrupt and being barred from working as a solicitor, he returned to power in Tower Hamlets after winning Thursday’s vote to take back control of the £1.2 billion ($1.5bn) budget.
The party he established, Aspire, also secured a majority on the local council. Its success has been built on the support of the largest Bangladeshi population in the United Kingdom.
On Friday, after being elected mayor, Mr Rahman urged people to “judge me on what we will do for you”.
Mr Rahman defeated the Labour Party’s incumbent John Biggs — the man he falsely accused of racism in 2014. Mr Rahman won 40,804 votes, with Mr Biggs on 33,487.
The Aspire party won 24 of the 45 seats on the council.
“Yesterday we achieved one of the greatest political comebacks in history,” said the party in a tweet. “There is still so much to accomplish. Lutfur Rahman and Aspire will not let you down.”
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) at 0.658sec
3. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull) 6.012
4. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 7.430
5. Kimi Räikkönen (FIN/Ferrari) 20.370
6. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas) 1:13.160
7. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Force India) 1 lap
8. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Force India) 1 lap
9. Felipe Massa (BRA/Williams) 1 lap
10. Lance Stroll (CAN/Williams) 1 lap
11. Jolyon Palmer (GBR/Renault) 1 lap
12. Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL/McLaren) 1 lap
13. Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Renault) 1 lap
14. Pascal Wehrlein (GER/Sauber) 1 lap
15. Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber) 2 laps
16. Daniil Kvyat (RUS/Toro Rosso) 3 laps
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