{"id":32024,"date":"2026-05-09T05:46:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T05:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/32024\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T05:46:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T05:46:17","slug":"local-elections-2026-who-are-londons-elected-mayors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/32024\/","title":{"rendered":"Local elections 2026: Who are London’s elected mayors?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WEST<\/p>\n

Five London mayors have been elected in the local elections this week. <\/p>\n

The capital has two Green mayors for the first time, marking a historic win for Zack Polanski\u2019s party. <\/p>\n

Green candidates Zoe Garbett and Liam Shrivastava stormed to victory in Hackney and Lewisham respectively. <\/p>\n

The Conservatives held onto Croydon with their mayor Jason Perry, while Labour\u2019s Forhad Hussain was elected in Newham. <\/p>\n

In Tower Hamlets, independent Aspire Party mayor Lutfur Rahman was re-elected as the borough awaits full results on Saturday. <\/p>\n

There are only five boroughs with directly elected mayors and unlike mayors in other boroughs, these elected mayors have control over council decisions and appoint their own cabinets to deliver on policy targets. <\/p>\n

Elected mayors also control the borough regardless of the outcome of the councillors. For example, even though Newham fell to no overall control, Labour will still have control in the borough courtesy of its newly elected mayor. <\/p>\n

So, who are London\u2019s new elected mayors? <\/p>\n

Hackney: Zoe Garbett – Green<\/p>\n

In her widely predicted victory, Ms Garbett won with 35,720 votes to Labour candidate Caroline Woodley\u2019s 26,865. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Green Party leader Zack Polanski and Zoe Garbett celebrate their victory in London\u2019s Hackney<\/p>\n

Getty<\/p>\n

Ms Garbett has advocated for change in the borough, prioritising social housing and overhauls to the healthcare system. <\/p>\n

Speaking after her victory, Ms Garbett said: Today we start the fight back. In this election, over and over, people kept telling me that they felt let down.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncil services are failing those who need them most, and people are struggling to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo everyone who voted for me, I truly thank you for putting your trust in me today.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcross London and the country, people have made it clear that they are desperate for an alternative to this failing Labour government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Green party leader Zack Polanski was full of praise for Ms Garbett, declaring her victory was the end of \u201ctwo-party politics\u201d. <\/p>\n

The victory could be a case of \u201cthird time lucky\u201d for Ms Garbett, who has run for Mayor Hackney twice before in 2022 and 2023. Both times she was beaten by Labour. <\/p>\n

Ms Garbett also stood for London Mayor in 2024, but lost out to Labour\u2019s Sir Sadiq Khan. <\/p>\n

She has also played a key role in drafting the Green Party\u2019s controversial drugs policy – which includes legalising all drugs in the UK. <\/p>\n

In Hackney, Ms Garbett has planned to protect Ridley Road and reduce the cost of living crisis through food co-ops and networks. <\/p>\n

Lewisham: Liam Shrivastava – Green<\/p>\n

Liam Shrivastava won Lewisham in a sensational victory that ousted Labour from its throne for the first time. <\/p>\n

Mr Shrivastava won 35,265 votes, beating Labour\u2019s Amanda De Ryk, who came in second with 30,374 votes. <\/p>\n

The south London borough has only ever had a Labour mayor and in 2022, all seats on the council were won by Labour. Since then, three councillors have defected to Green and another joined the Greens after being suspended from the Labour party. <\/p>\n

Mr Shrivastava\u2019s win has therefore exceeded all expectations for the Green Party, with party leader Zack Polanski welcoming the “phenomenal result\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"<p>Liam<\/p>\n

Liam Shrivastava, the new mayor of Lewisham<\/p>\n

Getty<\/p>\n

The new Green Mayor of Lewisham has pushed for plans to \u201ctackle inequality, invest locally, and create real change\u201d throughout his campaign. <\/p>\n

He was formerly a member of Sir Keir\u2019s party but switched in mid-2025, citing that Labour had become \u201cunrecognisable\u201d from when he first joined. <\/p>\n

Mr Shrivastava will have a long road ahead of him as Lewisham Council has faced significant financial challenges in recent years. <\/p>\n

The borough was also criticised by the Housing Ombudsman for housing failures at the end of last year. <\/p>\n

But the Green Party manifesto for the borough has pledged to retrofit existing council homes, bring empty homes back into use, campaign for rent controls, and establish a Rogue Landlord Taskforce. The party said it would deliver some 1,000 high-quality homes. <\/p>\n

The Greens have also vowed to declare Lewisham a trans-friendly borough and set up an advisory panel for victims of the Windrush scandal.<\/p>\n

Croydon: Jason Perry – Conservative <\/p>\n

Tory mayor Jason Perry has been reelected for a second term in Croydon after a closely-fought contest with Labour.<\/p>\n

He won with 35,871 votes, up on the 33,413 in the last election, and narrowly beating Labour\u2019s Rowena Davis who had 34,758 votes. <\/p>\n

\"<p>LONDON,<\/p>\n

Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch (C) with Conservative Party Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp (C-R) and Mayor of Croydon Jason Perry (C-L) <\/p>\n

Getty<\/p>\n

The Tory mayor is a passionate Crystal Palace fan. He grew up in a council house in Hamsey Green in the borough. <\/p>\n

He has vowed to \u201crestore pride\u201d in Croydon and find a solution to the borough\u2019s bankruptcy. As it stands, Croydon Council has declared bankruptcy on three occasions since 2020 due to mismanagement and failed investments.<\/p>\n

It received a government bailout in 2025 but balancing the books will be Mr Perry\u2019s biggest challenge as mayor. <\/p>\n

Other priorities for Mr Perry have included \u201cprotecting family homes and the character of our neighbourhoods\u201d, according to his website. <\/p>\n

He has also pledged to tackle graffiti and shoplifting in the borough. In the year ending June 2025, Croydon logged 34,560 shoplifting offences, according to ONS data. This is lower than the London average and a reduction on the previous year. <\/p>\n

In a post on X, Mr Perry said: \u201cI am incredibly grateful to the people of Croydon for placing their trust in me once again<\/p>\n

\u201cFour years ago, I was elected to help rescue a borough that had been broken by bankruptcy, instability, and failure.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, we have stabilised the Council, restored discipline and begun rebuilding pride in Croydon.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that there is \u201cstill much more to do\u201d, but today\u2019s result is a \u201cclear vote to keep Croydon moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newham: Forhad Hussain – Labour<\/p>\n

Labour\u2019s Forhad Hussain secured 25,538 votes to become Newham\u2019s Mayor. <\/p>\n

He toppled Newham Independent Mehmood Mirza who won 20,234 votes and Green candidate Areeq Chowdhury, who had 18,999 votes. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Forhad Hussain makes his victory speech<\/p>\n

Newham Council<\/p>\n

In his victory speech, he vowed to work with \u201cenergy, humility, and determination to deliver for every part of our borough\u201d, adding that the day\u2019s results marked \u201ca new chapter,\u201d as reported by Newham Voices. <\/p>\n

In campaign leaflets, Mr Hussain said he would \u201cincrease community pride\u201d, \u201creduce crime and anti-social behaviour\u201d, and strive to clean the streets to ensure \u201cflytippers were properly punished”. <\/p>\n

Mr Hussain was a Labour councillor in Plaistow North between 2010 and 2018, serving as a Cabinet Member for Commercial Opportunities and later as a Cabinet Member for Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour. <\/p>\n

For the past eight years, Labour\u2019s Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, has been the Mayor of Newham. There were doubts over Labour\u2019s success in the borough following Ms Fiaz\u2019s announcement in 2025 that she would not be standing for mayor for a third term. <\/p>\n

Tower Hamlets: Lutfur Rahman – Aspire <\/p>\n

Aspire Party leader and founder Lutfur Rahman won the mayoral race in Tower Hamlets.<\/p>\n

Mr Rahman won 35,679 votes, down from the 39,533 he won in the last election. <\/p>\n

\"Mayor<\/p>\n

Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, is quoted on the run\u2019s website congratulating those who participated (Aaron Chown\/PA)<\/p>\n

PA Archive<\/p>\n

He beat Labour candidate Sirajul Islam, who has been backed by London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, and the Green\u2019s Hirra Khan Adeogun. <\/p>\n

Mr Rahman has historically proved a controversial figure, having served a five-year election ban after being found guilty of electoral fraud in 2015. Accusations of the party\u2019s \u201ctoxic\u201d culture have also been rife since his election in 2022, even prompting Labour minister Steve Reed to threaten intervention. <\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Mr Rahman has remained a popular figure in the borough, particularly among the Bangladeshi community. <\/p>\n

His manifesto included promises to freeze council tax, create a homelessness fund, and introduce free travel for students from low income families. <\/p>\n

Another big spending plan includes building an outdoor swimming pool in Victoria Park. <\/p>\n

In a post on X, Mr Rahman wrote: \u201cThank you to the people of Tower Hamlets for re-electing me and continuing the revolution we started in 2022.<\/p>\n

We became the first party outside Labour, Conservatives and Lib Dems to win a London borough outright, leading a shift away from the main parties which has now become a political earthquake felt across London and the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that he has \u201cset an example\u201d to the country with \u201ctransformative socialist policies.\u201d <\/p>\n

The borough is home to one of London\u2019s largest economic hubs, Canary Wharf, but also maintains some of the highest poverty rates in London. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five London mayors have been elected in the local elections this week. The capital has two Green mayors…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[1360,1745,27,2181,13906],"class_list":{"0":"post-32024","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-elections","9":"tag-hackney","10":"tag-london","11":"tag-mayor","12":"tag-zoe-garbett"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116543041269761173","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}