A campaign group aiming to end Newham’s Mayoral system in favour of a council committee structure was launched on Tuesday 8 December. Newham residents will be asked to vote on the issue in a referendum to be held on 6 May 2021.

The launch gathering on Zoom, facilitated by Josephine Grahl, heard a number of speakers from around the country who are supportive of the committee structure of governance, chosen by Newham Labour group to be an option on the ballot paper, alongside the status quo option of directly elected mayor.

Following a law change in 2000 Newham Council moved from a traditional model of leader and committee to having a directly elected Mayor. In 2002 voters elected Sir Robin Wales to become their Mayor, the first directly elected Mayor in the country.

Current Newham Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz, in her 2018 manifesto, promised that within her first term she would hold a “referendum on having a directly elected Mayor by 2021 and change the way the Council works so that we build a culture of trust and openness that involves our residents in our decision making.”

The referendum was delayed from May this year due to restrictions caused by the pandemic.

Labour councillors in Newham have been granted the right to campaign freely ahead of the referendum. Cllr John Gray resigned as deputy mayor and cabinet lead for housing services last month in order to “play an active role in the 2021 Newham Mayoral referendum campaign in support of a committee model.”

Speaking at the campaign launch this week he admitted “we’ve all been in bad committees” but wanted to highlight the good practice of the Newham pension committee which includes members who are not elected, such as union representatives.

Councillor Ruth Dombey from Sutton Council which moved to governance by committee in 2012, spoke passionately for the move to a committee structure. She highlighted the importance of the full involvement of all councillors in the decision-making process, saying that this happens most effectively at committee level. By the time issues reach full council meetings it may feel as if the decision has already been made.

A question from Shantu Ferdous, local resident, who came along to the launch undecided about which way she would vote in the referendum, raised concerns that working in committees can be slow and decision making arduous.

Speaker Ruth Hubbard, who campaigns for a committee structure in Sheffield, explained that moving to a committee structure was not about going back to the old system but moving forward to a modern committee system.

Newham Voices looks forward to representing all views as part of this debate in the run up to May’s referendum. So please get in touch and tell us what you think about the Mayoral versus committee system of local government.

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