Labour has ended its 12-year run as the single party in charge of Newham Council following the historic election of two Green Party councillors at the 5 May local and mayoral elections.

Voters across the Borough have once again backed Labour as the main party, but the Green Party is now Newham’s second party. Total votes across all wards were 100,535 for Labour, with 27,268 for the Green Party and 23,049 for the Conservatives, now in third place.

Boundary changes saw the number of wards go up from 20 to 24 and the number of councillors increase from 60 to 66. Some 64 seats are now held by Labour and two by the Green Party’s Nate Higgins and Danny Keeling who were elected in the new Stratford Olympic Park ward.

You can read our exclusive interview with them on page 5.

In the Mayoral elections, Labour incumbent Rokhsana Fiaz swept back into office with an emphatic victory. She won 35,696 votes, well ahead of her closest contenders Conservative Attic Rahman (7390 votes) and Rob Callender for the Green Party (7003).

Announcing her new ‘Get Stuff Done’ Cabinet, Ms Fiaz said she was ready to “deliver on my important agenda to build a fairer Newham in the face of the cost of living crisis facing so many of our residents.”

Following his election, Councillor Higgins promised voters that Green Party councillors will be “tough, but fair, not just for our ward but for all Newham residents, as we work with the new cabinet as Newham’s main opposition party. We will work hard to ensure social and climate justice for our community.”

A spokesperson for the Newham Labour Group said: “We hope the Minority Green Group of two councillors will support the comprehensive programme of measures Newham Labour Group is delivering under the leadership of Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz.”

The last time Newham elected candidates in opposition to Labour was in 2006 when six non-Labour councillors took their seats. Simeon Ademolake from the Christian Peoples Alliance was one of them. You can read his bitter recollections of the experience under the party led by former Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales here.

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