How has your Bangladeshi heritage shaped you?
I think it gave me a sense of collective responsibility and stability, and the importance of being part of a community, a society. But I soon became part and parcel of the East End of London, growing up here in the 1970s.
What is your priority as Tower Hamlets mayor?
My top priority is more housing, to help the 23,000 people on the housing waiting list.
You were deselected as Labour’s candidate for mayor after criticism of your conduct. Why did you stand as an independent against Labour?
I was elected as the candidate by 433 members of Tower Hamlets Labour Party. All I wanted was that the members should assert their right and decide who led them. If they had chosen someone else, I would have fallen behind that person and served the party loyally.
Were you behind the various smears against your opponent that appeared in a local paper?
For the record, none of my team was associated with any local paper, formally or informally. The stories that the local papers carry is their choice. It has nothing to do with me.
Is it true that Ken Livingstone has been negotiating your return to the Labour Party?
I have a lot of respect for Ken Livingstone. As to what discussions he is having with anyone, that is between him and that person. I have not appointed anyone to enter into any such conversations on my behalf.
Why did Ken come to campaign with you?
You’d better ask him. He is an astute politician.
How would you describe your own politics?
I believe in social democracy, in equality of opportunity, in social justice, in the welfare state.
Who did you back for the Labour leadership?
David Miliband. But I thought Ed Miliband was an equally able candidate. I am sure he will make a great prime minister.
But he tried to get rid of you from the party?
He didn’t get rid of me. Six or seven members of the NEC got rid of me. I believe it would have been different had he been leader at the time.
Who are your heroes, political or otherwise?
Tony Benn. I have a lot of respect for him.
How important is your Islamic faith to you?
I am a proud Muslim. I am glad that my values have come from Islam. But I am also glad that Labour Party values have given me great strength over the past 20 or 25 years. Go and speak to people of Tower Hamlets who voted for someone they believe is a pluralist.
Are you a member of the much-criticised Islamic Forum of Europe?
I am not a member of the Islamic Forum of Europe. I have never been a member.
But you do have close contacts with the group?
I have close contacts with the chair of the Tower Hamlets Inter Faith Forum, with rabbis, with the Bishop of Stepney, with people who are of no faith. The IFE is one group among many. I will work with each and every member of the community, whether they are Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, Jew, Christian or people of no faith.
Is the IFE an extremist group?
I don’t believe we have extremist groups in Tower Hamlets. If so, I am sure the government and the police would have intervened long ago.
Do you support a caliphate, here or elsewhere?
I believe in a social-democratic society. I believe in a society where, through a democratic process, representatives are chosen and elected.
Do you believe sharia law should be incorporated into British law?
I am a lawyer and I was invited to the London Muslim Centre [in July 2008] when the then chief justice, Lord Phillips, came to speak and said that there are merits in learning from certain aspects of sharia law, to help our legal system. Not the penal elements; the family and civil elements. If the chief justice can make those comments, who am I to disagree?
Should the gay population of Tower Hamlets be worried by your victory?
It is not for me to make value judgements. I want to work with every member of the community, whatever their sexual orientation. I grew up with people from all backgrounds, black, white, gay, and many of them are still my mates.
Do you believe in a secular Britain?
I do. I live in a society based on a clear division of powers between the church and the state. Yes, I absolutely believe in a secular society.
Is there a plan?
I always have a plan. I had a manifesto, didn’t I?
Are we doomed?
I am an optimist. I always look for the good nature in people.
Read a longer version of this interview.
Defining moments
1965 Born in Bangladesh. Moves to the UK at the age of four
1989 Graduates from City University with a degree in law and joins the Labour Party
2002 Elected as Labour councillor in Tower Hamlets; re-elected in 2006
2008 Becomes leader of the council
2010 Removed as Labour candidate for mayor of Tower Hamlets in the first direct election, but wins as an independent in October
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