IT WAS out with the old Speaker and in with the new Speaker at the AGM of Tower Hamlets Council on Wednesday, 20th May 2026.

The Speaker of the Council chairs the Council meetings, as well as attending public events as the ceremonial mayor – called the “Speaker” in Tower Hamlets, to avoid confusion as the borough has an Executive Mayor. The Speaker also nominates one or two key charities and raises money for them during their year in office.

Outgoing Speaker Cllr Suluk Ahmed kicked off the AGM proceedings by welcoming the public to the meeting. As is customary, he was also given a few minutes to talk about his year in office. He gave a full review of the year, while also being brief and too the point – a great contrast with last year’s valedictory address from the Speaker, which lasted about three days (or at least that is what it felt like).

Cllr Suluk Ahmed's last moments as Speaker

Cllr Ahmed reminded the meeting that he had promoted the Whitechapel Mission as his charity. He had raised money and raised awareness, and he hoped councillors and the public would continue to support them. He thanked his son for supporting him at a number of events over the year. He will now enjoy working for his constituents in Spitalfields & Banglatown, who had elected him for a third time.  He also thanked his wife and other members of his family for their support during his year in office.

The Monitoring Officer then invited Members to respond to the Speaker’s address.  Because of time, she only wanted to take three or four contributions, which seemed a bit off, really. If Members wanted to talk about the outgoing Speaker, surely they should be allowed to do so. Warning everyone there is not enough time for councillors to speak is a strange way to run a Council.

Outgoing Deputy Mayor Cllr Maium Talukdar did step up, however, and congratulated Cllr Suluk Ahmed on all he had done over the year – especially to promote sport. Cllr Sabina Akhtar added her congratulations, on behalf of all Members.

Cllr Kabir Ahmed then joined in and congratulated Cllr Suluk Ahmed on running Council meetings during what had been a testing election year. He echoed Cllr Ahmed’s praise of the Whitechapel Mission. Cllr Gulam Kibria Choudhury then congratulated Cllr Ahmed too, saying that as Speaker he had always been available for Members.

Cllr Suluk then took over the chair again to deal with the first item of business – which was, of course, to elect a new Speaker from among the available councillors. He asked for nominations, and Cllr Talukdar proposed Cllr Musthak Ahmed. This was the only nomination, and the meeting moved to a vote.  Aspire councillors voted in favour of the nomination and Cllr Musthak Ahmed was elected to continue the dynasty of Ahmeds. We have enough Cllr Ahmeds on the Council to elect a Speaker Ahmed every year. Cllr Suluk Ahmed waved as he left the platform and received a warm round of applause.

Cllr Musthaq Ahmed then opened his first Council meeting as the Speaker. He thanked Mayor Lutfur Rahman for having the confidence to support him as the Speaker. He thanked his fellow Councillors for electing him. He thanked the people of Tower Hamlets who had given his colleagues a democratic mandate – especially the people of Bethnal Green West, who had elected him. He had put on the formal chain of office, but he was not going to get carried away.  He was thinking about the people of Tower Hamlets who had trusted the Members they had elected, who would observe the democratic outcome of the election.

The new Speaker Ahmed spoke of his background. He is one of a decreasing group: a councillor who was born in Bangladesh and had to work hard when he came to the UK to make a living for himself and his family. He praised Tower Hamlets for having many good qualities – not because of Canary Wharf but because of the diversity of its people. Diversity is not a weakness – it is our strength. 

Speaker Ahmed promised to chair Council meetings impartially, promoting fair debate. There may be disagreement, but residents want more than noise – they want Members to focus less on themselves and more on the residents and their needs.

The meeting then moved to elect a Deputy Speaker. Cllr Iqbal Hossain of Lansbury ward was duly nominated and seconded, and was the only nominee. Strangely, Labour and Green councillors voted for him too. Perhaps they were mindful of their new Speaker’s earlier words about not being petty, or perhaps their support came out of respect for a councillor who is still running marathons – despite being one of the older Members of the Council. It is likely that Cllr Hussain will be nominated as Speaker next year – in which case the dynasty of Ahmeds will be broken by a very popular Member.

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