In the third of a series of interviews with mayoral hopefuls, Mehmood Mirza discuss the big spending promises being made by Newham Independents, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter

Mehmood Mirza doesn’t shy away from bold statements.

A current councillor and opposition leader from the Newham Independents, he’s now standing as the party’s candidate for mayor.

Not only does he think he can win the borough’s mayoral contest, but he thinks his party – with currently just four councillors – can win a majority.

“It’s the first time in the history of Newham that this is going to be a different election,” Cllr Mirza told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

“The Labour Party have never been challenged here, and this is the first time the Labour Party is facing a challenge.

“I think we’ve got a very, very good chance of coming in with a majority and winning the mayoral election as well. I’m very confident that we will come in with a majority.”

Cllr Mirza matches his bold predictions with some equally bold promises should he and the Newham Independents win control of the council.

These include a freeze on council tax, making residents’ first parking permit free, plus two free hours of free parking across the borough, and free school meals for all secondary students.

Cllr Mirza also says he wants “more social housing”.

Together, it all needs a lot of spending – at a council that only a year ago needed exceptional financial support from the government, and which has recently become the most indebted council in London, with over £2bn owed by the town hall.

How would Newham Independents pay for it?

Cllr Mirza feels it’s wrong to increase council tax “in one of the deprived boroughs in the country”. He points to an “unprecedented” 9% council tax hike for Newham residents in 2025.

“I volunteer in a foodbank and I see firsthand how people are struggling,” he says. “It’s not the right time to increase council tax.

“Yes, the council needs money, but there are other ways to save money and to generate money and to ask for money from the central government.”

Cllr Mirza says he believes a lot of the council’s money has been “wasted” on what he describes as “vanity projects” such as its attempt to become ‘London Borough of Culture’.

However Cllr Mirza also plans to lobby Westminster. “In central government, they’ve got enough money. They’re increasing the defence budget by £13.5billion.

“Yes, defence is important for the country, but there is more need to help local people”.

He adds: “We will campaign for more funding from central government. We will tell them our needs, we will explain to them what our needs are.”

On housing, Cllr Mirza says his council will push developers to include more social homes in their developments when they apply for planning permission.

The council’s current planning policy asks for 50% affordable homes in new developments. In practice, developers have often been able to provide far less by claiming that their schemes are financially “unviable” without reducing the affordable housing quota.

Cllr Mirza is undeterred. “If the developers don’t commit to 50% social housing, we’ll refuse them,” he says.

He adds developers will “still make a lot of money” even if they have to provide more social housing.

Newham Independents Party is one of a number of independent challengers to Labour in councils across the country.

The groups are sometimes referred to in the national press as “pro-Gaza independents” due to their criticism of Labour’s stance on Palestine.

Yet while it’s true that Palestine is an important part of the Newham Independents’ politics, it’s not the only one.

“This is not just about Gaza,” Cllr Mirza says. “I got elected in July 2023 when Gaza wasn’t a hot issue.

“I stood for Palestinian rights from day one, but it’s not just Palestinian rights. We stand with everybody who is oppressed across the world – Sudan, anywhere there’s injustice.”

Cllr Mirza says his party’s appeal takes in much broader criticisms of Labour nationally and locally. He says he thinks “people are fed up with Labour Party broken promises”.

“The Labour Party, nationally, let us down. As soon as they came in they abolish winter fuel allowance. They were going to keep the two-child benefit cap, then came the pressure and they voted against it.”

He adds that “people also still remember Starmer’s statement about an ‘island of strangers’,” referring to a speech the Labour prime minister made on immigration.

“What Reform UK is saying, the Labour Party is following the same line. In fact, they’re saying they can do better than Reform on immigration policies.

“[Home Secretary] Shabana Mahmood’s statements about immigration, changing the rules, making it difficult for residents to get settled permanently. It’s harsh politics.”

Cllr Mirza claims that, in contrast: “We do support people to apply for asylum in this country if they fear for their life.

“We do support the immigrants who are bringing their knowledge, wealth and contributing to society.”

The Greens also hope to challenge Labour in Newham, and on similar issues.

Their mayoral candidate, councillor Areeq Chowdhury, also believes he can win.

In an interview with the LDRS published last week, Cllr Chowdhury said he didn’t believe the Newham Independents represented “socialist values”.

He also criticised the party for its free parking promises.

“I think we shouldn’t be punishing drivers just for keeping a car,” Cllr Mirza responds.

“I’m up for the environment. I campaigned against the Silvertown tunnel, I’m against the expansion of City Airport or any other airport. But we need to be realistic, cars are the reality.”

He adds: “It’s not a luxury in Newham. People use their cars or community work, for their businesses.

“Many taxi drivers live here, many van drivers, and a lot of people use their cars to take their families out because they can’t afford the other means of transport.”

Cllr Mirza says the Newham Independents are “aligned with socialist policies” but, he says, what unifies the party is that its candidates are “rooted in the community”.

“They are community champions,” he says. “We are here to serve the local community. Their interest, not anybody else’s interest.”

In contrast, he claims, the “majority” of the Green Party’s support comes from “middle-class white people” and who live mainly in new developments such as the Olympic Village.

“I can’t see a challenge from the Greens,” he says. “The Greens are nowhere close to us.

“Yes, they are popular in Olympic Park. But the Olympic Park is not truly Newham. It was built in 2020 and the majority of the population moved in from a different area.

“They’re not from Newham. Newham does not want the Green Party.”

It’s another bold claim. The elections next week will show how true it is.

The LDRS is aiming to interview candidates from as many parties as possible ahead of the election on Thursday, 7th May.

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