Tower Hamlets councillors are facing increased scrutiny over their responsiveness to constituents, with a lack of timely replies topping the list of complaints, according to a recent meeting of the Standards Advisory Committee.
The committee convened on Wednesday, 3 December 2025, to discuss the Report on Members Code of Conduct matters. The report highlighted that the most frequent grievance against elected officials is the failure to respond to emails and answer queries from the public.
According to the report, since the last update, the council has received 11 new complaints alleging breaches of the Code of Conduct, bringing the total number of open complaints to 11. Jill Bayley, Head of Legal Safeguarding, presented the report. The committee was informed that they had received 19 complaints in the last year, with the majority already resolved.
While lack of responsiveness is the most common issue, the Report on Members Code of Conduct matters details a range of other complaints, including:
- Harassment and threatening behaviour
- Unprofessional conduct and behaviour including threatening and inappropriate attempt to exert pressure
- False allegations made concerning a post published on social media
- Inappropriate and deeply offensive comments during the Full Council meeting
- Personal attacks, using language beneath the dignity of our council
- Unevidenced, unfounded, and slanderous accusations against councillors
- Abuse directed at officers during full council meeting
- Poor business practices
- The conduct of Elected Member, false and misleading public statements made on camera during the Full Council meeting
- The elected member did not attend the scheduled appointment to address the query and complainant reported experiencing unfair treatment
- The use of a personal or affiliated company's payment system for public donations by the Deputy Mayor at the newly opened community centre
- Acts of abuse of position, interference in the operations of a religious institution, harassment, and intimidation.
