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A London GP has quit as a Labour councillor and defected to the Tories because she thinks the NHS will be better under David Cameron than Gordon Brown.
Dr Anwara Ali, who is the face of the NHS in an East End poster campaign, said Labour's failure to reform the health service had led to her decision.
Dr Ali, a Labour councillor in Tower Hamlets since 2006, is the borough's cabinet member for health and wellbeing. She has also led the council's drive to ensure that jobs for the 2012 Olympics are open to people in the area.
As a GP in the Spitalfields Practice, she was chosen to front the NHS campaign locally to persuade Bengali-speaking women to sign up to breast screening programmes.
“I have been a lifelong Labour supporter, but I believe the country cannot afford five more years of Gordon Brown,” she told the Standard today.
“As a GP working on the frontline in the largest practice in the East End, I have become increasingly disillusioned with Labour's failure to reform the NHS. The past decade has seen this Government waste millions of pounds on bureaucracy in hospitals.
“Gordon Brown's obsession with top down targets and a tick box culture has ruined the morale and goodwill of the national health staff. Ill health and early death in the East End is a direct result of Labour's failure to bring real reform to the NHS.”
Dr Ali added: “I feel I cannot continue to serve the people of Tower Hamlets whilst I am part of a Labour party in the borough that is racked by divisions and splits unable to deliver services to the most needy people.”
Labour hopes to win back Bethnal Green and Bow at the general election, as Respect MP George Galloway steps aside. The Tories have targeted the neighbouring seat of Poplar and Limehouse, which is held by environment minister Jim Fitzpatrick.
Conservative Party chairman Eric Pickles said he was delighted that Dr Ali had joined the party.
“Week by week people are deserting the Labour party in droves, tired of Gordon Brown's half truths, broken promises, and recycled slogans. The Prime Minister should do everyone a favour and hurry up and call the election,” he said.
Reader views (17)
No sour grapes from Labour Tower Hamlets here then.
One question, if she was so bad, why was she selected in the first place?
- Mike Law, Newham, 27/02/2010 00:03
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I really do hope Anwara Ali reads the comments which have been posted.
- Unknown, London, 26/02/2010 18:02
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This woman has no principles or political affiliations. She's a careerist and goes with whichever party she thinks will be in government. I'd love to hear how she thinks the tories will improve the NHS! I'm disillusioned with Labour myself but I'm certain we'd barely have an NHS if we'd had tory rule for the last 13 years.
- June Brown, London, 26/02/2010 10:07
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If we were to use a footballing analogy, I believe she would be called a glory hunter. Gutless and unprincipled!
- Trevor Smith, Cardiff, 25/02/2010 18:53
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Anwara, you are a DISGRACE and you know it. People see straight through you. Even for you, you have stopped very low!
- Cllr Abdal Ullah, Tower Hamlets, 25/02/2010 17:13
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I am the leader of the council at Tower Hamlets and can say that we all at the Tower Hamlets Labour Party are glad that she has left. She is full of rhetoric but no action. She never made time for her Bow west area. She is sure to cause divisions amongst the Tories. The reason why she defected was because she was delected from Bow West and changed to Shadwell - a ward that would have been tougher to win. I for one am glad that she is now their problem rather than ours.
- Luthfur Rahman, Tower Hamlets, London, 25/02/2010 11:16
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She is a DISGRACE. Only changed parties for personal gains.
- William Norman, London, 25/02/2010 10:41
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What this weightless hankerer for fame doesn't tell you is that she was asked to represent Shadwell instead of Bow. this is just an excellent example of how weightless she is in her principles and political standing.
The labour Government has done wonders in the NHS and to begin the process of change, implement change and realise the change in such a LARGE organise takes mant years. Dr Anwara Ali is full of hot air and deluded self importance. If anyone votes for this ludicrous example of a social figure, more fool you. this defect to the Tories is a personally motivated one and has nothing to do with the Greater Good for the NHS. Shame on You Anwara Ali. You only Expose yourself.
- Unknown, london, 24/02/2010 15:55
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Tory Cllr Anwara Ali says that G.B. has failed to reform the NHS - what suggestions does she have for NHS reform? When has she ever spoken about NHS reform, apart from praising Labour?
One of the Labour reforms was to dramatically raise the earnings of GPs to a level that is many multiples of her local electorates' earnings - I am assuming that she supports this reform!
She previously had responsibility for ensuring local people got jobs on the Olympics site - how many people from Tower Hamlets has she managed to get jobs on the East London construction sites?
When she was a Labour Party Cabinet Member she often failed to report to the Labour Group or to local Party members requests for accountability for her policy decisions, especially concerning elderly people.
I have been an active, local Labour Party member for the last 30 years and I had not come accross her before she was imposed as a Labour candidates four years ago, hardly a life-long Labour supporter!
Cllr Anwara Ali you are an opportunist as I'm sure your new Tory colleagues will soon discover - good riddance, don't come back!
- Steve, London E3, 24/02/2010 15:55
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"A Tory government would be a disaster for the underprivileged"
Says W Islam.
Yes hopefully it will, just as labour have been a disaster for anyone who actually works and pays tax, and I mean a proper job, not working in the public sector.
So pah to the so called needy, we the workers are fed up of keeping the underclass, let them work at being something instead of having a pauper mentality with a begging bowl out all their bloody lives.
- Daisy Willets (Slowly Being Taxed To Death, To Keep The Idle Fed And Housed), London SW1P, 23/02/2010 16:13
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Perfect for the Tories,female,ethnic minority.Yes,I hear you,and im not racist,I believe the best candidate should get the job,unlike Cameron who believes we are the new rainbow nation.
- Dave, london, 23/02/2010 14:45
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She defected because she was moved to a much tougher seat seat. She never turned up in the ward she was suppose to represent, so the Labour party moved her out in favour of someone better. When she got given Shadwell ward, the Respect stronghold, she threw her toys out of the pram!
She didn't care that much when she was trying to be Labour MP for the area, or even when she applied to stand as a Labour candidate.
It's also a lie that she was a "life long supporter". She only joined before the 2006 elections when they were looking for candidates and her husband is a tory!!!
- John Taylor, Tower Hamlets, 23/02/2010 14:34
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As a Labour councillor in Tower Hamlets myself, I have always seen Cllr Al praising Labour's policies on and investments in the NHS. She is doing this in revenge because she was selected to stand in a Galloway's Respect Party stronghold, Shadwell Ward, instead of her own ward, Bow West. Rather than face opposition with dignity, she has stooped low enough to believe the Tories will improve people's life expectancy when they have no answers except to charge for homecare for the elderly which is currently free for hundreds of thousands of people in the country. Dr Ali is simply exploiting the situation to make a protest at the Labour Party for reselecting her elsewhere but all she is now really doing is making herself known as Dr Defector for obvious reasons: to exploit the Tories next! How can someone believe in Labour values all their life and praise the Party and Gordon Brown throughout her councillorship since 2006 only to support the Tories for personal gains? A Tory government would be a disaster for the underprivileged especially at a time when we are coming out of recession but what would be worse is if the likes of Dr Ali suddenly start suggesting changes to the NHS, ruining the life and future of millions of people. But all of this can be reversed if the Tories realise she is merely exploiting them to score a point against the very Labour Party which gave her a platform to make statements today by getting elected. Cllr W Islam, Olympic Ambassador, Tower Hamlets
- Councillor W Islam, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, 23/02/2010 14:12
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Frank why don't you stand as a Tory candidate, you have all the credentials, bigoted, rascist and a total lack of understanding of the issues.
- Kerry, Purley, 23/02/2010 13:56
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And because she is an Asian female Muslim, Cameron will welcome her with open arms. Move aside elected competent white Christian males.
"I have been a lifelong Labour supporter .." she proclaims. Just the sort of individual we want influencing politics in our country then. There is only one thing worse than trusting a Labourite, trusting a turncoat Labourite.
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 23/02/2010 13:35
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What she says about the NHS is the same as my personal observations, and I'm sure many other readers.
It looks as if she's a GP first and a politician second -- and a GP who is not prepared to be used by her (former) party. Labour is not only failing to deliver on its promises, but is also doing massive damage to the NHS as it blunders around imposing targets and other features of Soviet-style central planning.
- Nigel, London, 23/02/2010 13:33
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An ex Tower Hamlets Labour Councillor LMFAO, talk about jumping ship before it sinks.
Says it all about dave cameramans new set of PC clowns, and he wonders why he isn't doing well in the polls.
And also:-
"She has also led the council's drive to ensure that jobs for the 2012 Olympics are open to people in the area"
Well we all know about how successful that little project has been, don't we.
- Daisy Willets, London SW1P, 23/02/2010 12:52
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