Daisy Miles and Aidan White on apparent deal between Labour and the Greens

Newham moves into uncharted political territory this month with historic changes in the Council leadership after decades of “one party state” rule by Labour.

The first Council meeting on 20 May saw fiery exchanges as the new Council entered into an era of nervous co-operation among warring political factions.

With no overall control for any party, Newham Independents were furious when Labour and the Green Party appeared to reach a deal on election of the Council’s Chair and Deputy Chair.

The political drama began when the tranquil atmosphere of the vote count at the ExCel Exhibition Centre the day after the 7 May election was disturbed around lunchtime by a roar from the Green candidates over a mayoral victory – not in Newham, but in Hackney.

In Newham, the Green candidate Areeq Chowdhury came third as the Labour Party’s Forhad Hussain swept to victory.

He defeated the Greens and Newham Independents in Newham’s mayoral contest, winning 30.4 per cent of the vote – six points ahead of Mehmood Mirza for the Independents and almost eight points ahead of Chowdhury.

Labour supporters were jubilant, but this was all they had to cheer about. Despite an overall increase in turnout from 2022, the voters wanted change.

Labour lost more than 10,000 votes, with the Newham Independents only six points behind them. The latter had effectively tripled their vote share, while Labour’s had almost halved.

Despite coming third, Green candidates and supporters were overall optimistic about the outcome of the local elections.

And they were further cheered at the first Council meeting when Nate Higgins, a re-elected Green councillor was chosen as the new first citizen of Newham and Council chair.

The Labour former Chair, Councillor Rohit Dasgupta was elected Vice-Chair after an apparent agreement between Labour and the Greens. A furious Newham Independents leader Mehmood Mirza condemned the arrangement saying control of the Council chamber had been “sold” in “last-minute dodgy deals”. But power-sharing is likely to be the key theme of the working programme for the coming administration.

After he took the Chair, Nate Higgins thanked the meeting for its support an pledged to work with all councillors and parties on behalf of all Newham residents.

Newly-elected Mayor Forhad Hussain used his victory speech at the count to outline his agenda as Mayor which included a pledge to work with “energy, humility and determination”, and with councillors, “old and new”.

Following the mayoral count was the tally for Council members. And it was bad news for Labour. Close calls in some wards meant the count went late into the night.

And when the counting ended Labour fell short of a majority. They won 26 seats, eight short of the 34 they needed to win a majority, with 24 seats for Newham Independents and 16 seats for the Greens.

Uma Kumaran, Labour MP for Stratford and Bow, saw most wards in her Newham constituency go Green, but in a statement
she wrote: “Despite our political differences, as those elected to represent our boroughs, I will work with you to deliver the change that our community needs.”

For his part, James Asser, Labour MP for West Ham and Beckton, like many other disappointed Labour MPs feeling the pressure of new voices clamouring for change in politics, called for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to “step aside”.

“If we are to regain the trust of people in communities like mine… we need to provide leadership and a vision for the future,” he said in a statement. “I do not believe the Prime Minister can offer that.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.