Lutfur Rahman re-elected as mayor in Tower Hamlets despite racist attacks

Lutfur Rahman, leader of the Aspire Party, was reelected as the Tower Hamlets mayor with 38.8% of the share of the votes.

Rahman also won in 2022, after Labour had held the position previously.

Aspire is one of the local independent groups supported by Your Party. 

5Pillars celebrated his win, adding that the Muslim Vote backed Rahman was subject to “several campaigns to unseat him.”

Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman has been re-elected with more than 35,500 votes – a huge 16,000 majority over second placed Labour.

Rahman is a Muslim Vote backed candidate and has been the subject of several campaigns to unseat him by his opponents over the years. pic.twitter.com/e8MhQobf2K

— 5Pillars (@5Pillarsuk) May 8, 2026

Jeremy Corbyn has congratulated Rahman, adding that Aspire had won again by implementing economic policies that improved people’s lives.

Congratulations to Lutfur Rahman — re-elected Mayor of Tower Hamlets.

Aspire has taught establishment parties a simple lesson: the most effective way to win is to implement economic policies that improve people’s lives! pic.twitter.com/f1IegvJVpm

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) May 8, 2026

Racist foghorn targets Aspire

In March 2026, The Telegraph ran a story headlined “Tower Hamlets ‘funnelling cash to Bangladeshi groups'”, reporting that government envoys would conduct a “deep dive” into the council’s spending. Journalist Richard Sanders called the article not a racist dog whistle but a “racist foghorn.”

Not so much a racist dog whistle as a fog horn.

Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman continues to be a case study in how the media treats Muslim politicians who dare to build an independent power base. /1https://t.co/a0az2T7UVL

— Richard Sanders (@PulaRJS) April 1, 2026

For Sanders, the backlash to Rahman is about punishing a Muslim politician who built an independent power base outside the main parties.

Sanders points to his own 2015 investigation for The New Arab, which found that the inquiry that removed Rahman from office that year involved far-right figures. Sanders posted: