The days when independent councillors were well-meaning, often single-cause, advocates saving a hospital or moving a gypsy camp, are long gone.
Although Reform UK caught the headlines in early May’s local elections, their success was soon drowned out in the news cycle by yet another Prince Harry interview and a convenient rounding up of Iranian terror suspects. Also hidden in the mainstream media fog was the emergence of another party – further concealed through use of the label ‘independent’.
All 84 Lancashire seats on the county council were contested on May 1st. Previously, the Conservatives controlled Preston County Hall with 48 members. A 53-seat Reform rout saw both Labour and Tories reduced to a rump, with the third-largest grouping being independents, one seat behind the Conservatives and two ahead of Labour.
Not quite old ladies on a mission, the names of the independents are: Azhar Ali, Uzman Arif, Mohammed Iqbal, Maheen Kamram, Almas Razakazi, Yousuf Motala and Michael Lavayette. If you think Michael Lavayette is cut from a different cloth than his six co-independents, you’d be wrong.
But first, Azhar Ali. If the name’s familiar, that’s because Mr Ali hit the headlines last year when standing for Parliament for Labour in the Rochdale by-election. Won by George Galloway on a Gaza ticket, the upset led to Prime Minister Sunak broadcasting to the nation in an emergency address from the steps of Downing Street. Mr Sunak commented,
‘In recent weeks and months we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality. What started as protests on our streets has descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence. Jewish children fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveal their identity… and it’s beyond alarming that last night the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate who dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7th, [and] who glorifies Hezbollah.’
At the time, was Labour’s Azhar Ali any better than Galloway? A year later, has the situation improved? Galloway lost his seat at the general election, but as we discovered the other Thursday, the likes of Ali still have a constituency.
George Galloway’s path to Parliament was eased by Azhar Ali being dropped by the party after a secret recording appeared in The Daily Mail. Not keen on the you-know-whos, Ali claimed Israel allowed the 7th October massacre, and went on to make dark insinuations about ‘Jewish quarters’ in the media.
With Ali already on the ballot paper and the deadline for making changes passed, it was too late for him to be replaced. Instead, the Labour Party did not support his campaign, and he stopped campaigning after issuing a hard-to-believe sincere apology, publicly saying the exact opposite of what was said in private.
Not to worry, Ali stood as an independent in Nelson East in the elections on May 1st and was elected to Lancashire County Council with a majority of 874. Forty-four per cent of the vote from a turnout of 36% pushed the Conservative candidate, Mohammad Aslam, into second place.
During both the Rochdale embarrassment and the council elections, something that remained little mentioned was the OBE awarded to Ali in 2020 for ‘service to the community in the North West’.
A high-flyer, Ali began his political career as leader of the students’ union at Nelson and Colne College. At 24, he joined Pendle Council, becoming leader from 2000 to 2003. He was elected to the county council in 2013. While at Pendle, he was also chairman of the North West Regional Assembly.
However, Ali’s selfless service to his local (Pakistani?) community was controversial, not least from within his own people, as that service included being a government advisor to the Blair and Brown administrations.
In 2006, at the height of the 2nd Gulf War and following the previous year’s Muslim 7/7 terror attacks on London, Ali became a director of the Sufi Muslim Council. This organisation was, its critics claim, a state-backed attempt to create a state-friendly version of Islam. Also, while being described by Lancashire County Council as a ‘Champion for the Prevent agenda’, he was part of the Home Office’s Preventing Extremism Together workgroups.
Subsequent events show Ali’s commitment to such things as wafer-thin, with the neutral observer forced to suspect him an opportunistic grifter. With such characters involved in Prevent, is it any surprise that white men complaining in pubs go to jail while immigrants who take knives to school go free?
Likewise, Burnley solicitor Uzman Arif joined the county council through the town’s North East ward with 59% of the ballots cast. His whopping 1,527 majority was accompanied by a 37% turnout.
Arif self-defines as a human rights solicitor and community activist. Once a Labour councillor, he left the party because of ‘its position on the Middle East’, i.e. Gaza. Not keen on the you-know-whos, he uses social media to accuse Israelis of war crimes and to encourage sanctions against them.
For the past decade, Arif has been employed by Resolve Solicitors. Puffins will be delighted to learn that Resolve specialises in immigration, sponsor licences, visa applications, skilled worker visas and immigration appeals.
They also handle ‘asset protection’, clinical negligence and personal injury, especially in ‘public spaces.’ In other words, a series of immigration and compo scams.
Elsewhere, a Mr Iqbal Mohammed won the Brieffield and Nelson West ward with 65% of the votes, beating Reform UK into second place.
Iqbal owns a number of properties in Nelson, including a bijou residence in the town’s Burlington Street where houses change hands for under £50,000. One wonders what kind of tenants (through the benefits system?) are paying Iqbal?
Mohammed has also been honoured, with Princess Anne conferring an MBE at Windsor Castle in 2021. Community-minded Mr Iqbal has served on Pendle Borough Council since 1998, representing the Bradley ward, and has led the Pendle Labour group since 2006.
At the time he was honoured, the Lancashire Telegraph reported that hundreds of people reached out to the politician praising him for his hard work in the area. However, despite the adulation, the online version of the Telegraph article attracted only one comment. A Mr Deputy Dave of the Dog felt moved to note: ‘Your [sic] having a laugh.’
Beginning her journey to an MBE and OBE is 18-year-old Maheen Kamram, who gained 1,357 votes in Burnley Central East. This gave her a majority of 268 over Reform UK’s Gavin Theaker. The turnout was 30%.
Described elsewhere as a medical student or aspiring medical student, in fact Maheen fetches and carries at a GP’s surgery. A former volunteer at another surgery and a pharmacy, Miss Kamram also spent three months working part-time at McDonald’s. According to herself via LinkedIn, she is now a ‘care navigator’ at a doctor’s in Colne.
In interviews before the election, Ms Kamram stated her motivation to enter politics was ‘because of Gaza’. She is committed to improving school standards, public cleanliness, fixing potholes and ending the free mixing of men and women in public spaces. What? Yes, the good people of Burnley Central East returned an 18-year-old who wants to segregate men from women in public. Oh well.
Nearby, Almas Razakani won in Preston South East. Twenty-nine per cent of the vote gave him a majority of 36 in a 21% turnout. According to Socialist Worker, Razakazi is, surprise, surprise, ‘centrally involved in the Palestine movement.’
In Preston City, Yousuf Motala won with a 34% vote share, on a turnout of 23%. His 989 ballots gave him a majority of 96 over Labour. Again, via Socialist Worker, Mr Motala was a sitting councillor who left the Labour Party in 2023 in opposition to what that publication calls the party’s support for ‘Israel’s genocide.’
Besides the Islamists and you-know-who haters, there needs to be a brain-dead leftie enabler. Step forward and take a bow, Michael Lavalette. In Preston Central East, Lavalette gained an impressive 48% of the vote, giving him a majority of 898.
Don’t be fooled by the name. Lavalette is a long-time supporter of what he refers to as ‘Palestinian liberation’. His published works include, A Palestine Journey; Respect for Palestine and Voices from the West Bank.
Retired despite being only 62, is Lavalette of the public sector? Of course he is. Michael is a former Professor of Social and Community Engagement, having held positions at both Liverpool and Central Lancashire universities. Besides passing his retirement as a Lancashire councillor, he is an Emeritus Professor at Liverpool Hope University and a visiting professor at the University of Bethlehem and the University of West Attica. Oh.
Across the parties, but not the ethnic or religious divide, Sohail Asghar took Accrington West and Oswaldtwistle Central for the Greens. Asghar’s contributions to social media include commenting that ‘Israel equals ISIS.’
Puffins surprised that the likes of Asghar are Green, might be reminded of Mothin Ali, Leeds City Council member for Gipton and Harehills. He rose to prominence last summer as councillor for the East Europeans rioting in Harehills following the taking into care of some gypsy children.
Elected to cries of Allahu akbar, Mothin Ali’s contributions to local democracy include calling a Rabbi a ‘kind of animal’ and claiming Gaza is the biggest concentration camp the world has ever seen.
As with Azhar Ali’s presence in Prevent, a cynic might conclude this enthusiasm for saving the planet is a sectarian entryism into local politics to further the self-interest of Islam (and of the extended families within).
As for the new Lancashire County Council, it isn’t unitary, meaning that at the district level, subsidiary councils can be dominated by Islamic politics. Some disguised as entryism in the mainstream parties, others out and proud in support for Hamas.
Perhaps the best strategy the new Lancashire Reform administration could follow would be to abolish itself and replace two tiers of local govenment with a unitary structure. This, for the time being, will dilute the Muslim representation to several on Lancashire county councillors rather than a majority at the district level in the unpleasantly racially and religiously segregated county.
© Always Worth Saying 2025
