Oldbury's "Mary Celeste" Street!

Three houses - no voters!

Yesterday, I visited The Kremlin to look at the brand new electoral register for 1st December, 2014. I spent a full two hours reviewing a large number of addresses (more anon) and, as ever, pass on thanks to the helpful and courteous staff.

May I say that although Sandwell Labour take the view that the laws of the land do not apply to them, other local authorities are under a legal duty to ensure that folk go on the electoral register. Most try and do this to the best of their abilities but due to service cuts they often do not do as much as they wish to do.

The Chief Executive of Sandwell Council is Mr Jan Britton. I am sure he is aware of this blog if only via the ranting of the demented Labour "leader". And yet there is clear evidence already of "errors" in the register which, at "best", seem to have been ignored. Britton is supposed to be the Returning Officer for the elections in May.....

John Street in Oldbury is a very short street and as it had no houses it didn't feature in the old register. But three houses have been built there now (see photo) and so I was pleased to see that John Street appeared in the index of the new register. But upon checking the actual register, er, nothing. A SMBC staff member checked the situation for me and confirmed that there were no registered voters and any of these three properties. When I have been down there in the last few months there have been clear signs of occupation. Have SMBC staff been told to ignore these properties Mr Britton?

Sandwell Council now have an obligation to send "Requirement to Register" letters to the respective properties. As at 30th September, 2014 all three properties were owned by Sandwell Council employee, "property developer" Azeem Hafeez, son of Labour's amnesiac Deputy Leader [sic] Mahboob Hussain.

The larger of the three properties has been occupied for some of the time by one of Hussain's other sons and yet he and his wife are on the electoral register at "Hussain Towers" in McKean Road. (Incidentally there were 9 adults registered to vote from Mahboob's mansion but this has gone up to TEN in the new register).

The council house that doesn't exist!

And here is another oddity! The above property - 2 Judge Close, Oldbury - has appeared in this blog before. This is actually a Sandwell Council House and is occupied (or has been until VERY recently) and yet there is no-one listed there on the new register. Surely SMBC staff know the identity of their own tenants? The elections staff seem to me to be perfectly competent so have they been "warned" off from chasing the tenant(s) to register?

One recent tenant was widely said to be one of Mahboob Hussain's daughters but that cannot be correct. She cannot be in a 4-bedroomed council house as she and her husband own a house in Century Road where both of them ARE listed as voters on the new register.

This address is a three or four minute walk from The Kremlin. Perhaps Mr Britton will want to send someone round to check who the tenant really is and to hand over a "requirement to register" letter.

Rouf Hall - Florence Road

It must be gratifying for Mohammad Shauib - son of Labour Councillor Mohammad Rouf - that his palatial seven-bedroomed house - being built on land being sold cheaply to him by Sandwell Labour - is nearing completion as he is having to live in cramped conditions above the barber's shop at 88 Shireland Road, Smethwick. Strangely, he is still shown as living at this address with a female and one Mohammad Javed, who I always understood to be his brother, a pharmacist. He won't know what to do with all that space and we must hope that he doesn't "run riot" at Ikea!

Councillor Zahoor Ahmed admits to owning two properties including 28 Durban Road but that is another "Marie Celeste" property with no voter. I am sure the Councillor will hasten to ensure the current occupier(s) hasten to register.......

Of course, I have written elsewhere about the Liar Labour Councillor, Lucy Cashmore, who is now on the Registers for both Sandwell and Birmingham Councils.

And finally, we still have TWO Abdul N. Quyam's at the related properties of 42 and 52 Warley Road, Oldbury. (Info please....)

No doubt Britton will hasten to ensure the integrity of the new Register so that the public can have confidence in the fairness of the forthcoming election.

Remember the Regional Fraud Team direct line - 0121 251 2175

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