Tower Hamlets Council has endorsed an investigation by Tower Hamlets Homes and the police into the curious case of the "Rahman canvassers".This follows reports that bogus representatives from the social housing company were using their access to residents in Wapping to flog Mayor Lutfur Rahman's re-election bid.
All this at a time when allegations of misuse of the mayor's office have surfaced yet again relating to the use of branded letters, contrary to council rules.
And what did the man himself have to say about all this at a recent council meeting when challenged? Furious denial? Tearful apology? The mayor said nothing. Being made to answer to the people "is contrary to his human rights".
To the rest of the world, this continuing policy of silence is a joke, a punchline to a risible tale of East End lunacy. To the residents of Tower Hamlets, it is a serious and barbarous insult that damages their prosperity.
Compare Tower Hamlets to Newham. Both struck by terrible social and structural problems. Yet Newham - far from perfect - is at least outward looking and positive. It has embraced the Olympics and the Docks in order to share the dividends of growth.
Mr Rahman's Tower Hamlets is backward, self-indulgent and dim. It is ripped apart by factionalism and stymied by cronyism. And the mayor, who sits atop this stinking pile, has nothing to offer but a sulk - truly a slap in the face for the residents who crave a future, not a
fiefdom.
It is to be hoped in the 2014 election the man who has tried so hard to undermine the principle of democratic accountability will feel the potency of its sting.
Giles Broadbent is editor of The Wharf. Follow him on Twitter: @MediaGulch
