Labour councillor Dr Anwara Ali defects to the Conservatives
(24 February 2010)

The Conservatives are delighted to announce the defection of Labour councillor Dr Anwara Ali of Tower Hamlets to the party. Dr Ali, a Labour councillor in the borough since 2006, said her growing disillusionment with Labour and their failure to reform the NHS convinced her to join the Conservatives. The move will cause embarrasment to the Labour party as Dr Ali was one of the amabassadors of their taskforce to encourage more BME women to become councillors. The Taskforce, launched in July 2008, is chaired by Baroness Pola Uddin - the first Muslim woman in the House of Lords.

Commenting Dr Anwara Ali said: “ I have been a lifelong Labour supporter but I believe the country cannot afford five more years of Gordon Brown. Only David Cameron and the Conservative Party can bring the real change this country desperately needs. 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 moral 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. I feel I cannot continue to serve the people of Tower Hamlet 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.”

Conservative Party Chairman Eric Pickles added: “ I am delighted that Dr Anwara Ali has joined the party. She will make an invaluable contribution to the Conservatives and play a key role in helping to bring change to the country. 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.”