Labour holds Newham as Forhad Hussain elected mayor

Forhad Hussain succeeds Rokhsana Fiaz as borough leader following 7 May poll, while the Green party consolidates its presence across east London.

Labour has retained control of the Newham Council, with Forhad Hussain elected as the borough's new mayor on Thursday — but the result carries a clear message for the party, as the Greens secured a striking number of council seats across some of the borough's most prominent wards.

Hussain, the Labour candidate, secured 25,538 votes, becoming the borough's first new mayor in eight years. He succeeds Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, who served two full terms.

Mayoral candidates by vote and vote share

Registered voters : 242,828
Turnout : 34.6 per cent
Change : +6.6 per cent

The anti-Labour vote was split across multiple candidates, allowing Forhad Hussain to win with just 30.4 per of the vote.

Speaking after his victory was announced, Mayor Hussain said: "The election matters because people deserve a choice.

"Democracy works when people are willing to step forward and serve. I start work next week with energy and determination to deliver for every part of the borough.

"This is the beginning of a new chapter for the borough. Together we will build a Newham where every resident will be proud to call home. It is the honour of my life to be elected mayor of Newham, the borough that made me."

Hussain previously served as a Labour councillor in Plaistow North from 2010 to 2018, where he held senior roles as cabinet member for commercial opportunities and then as cabinet member for crime and antisocial behaviour. He will formally take up the role on Tuesday 12 May and will be asked to form an executive cabinet to lead on major decisions.

Ward councillor elections

Yet while Labour secured the mayoralty, the council elections told a more complicated story.

Newham Labour party won 26 of the 66 seats on Newham Council, whilst Newham Independents party won 24 and the Greens 16, leaving the council with no political party in overall control.

The Green party won both seats in Maryland, with Kelly Drake and Ren Tilbury elected, and took both seats in Forest Gate North, where Matthew Carlile was joined by Labour and Co-operative party candidate Rachel Tripp.

Most significantly, the Greens swept all seats in Stratford Olympic Park, with Nate Higgins and Joe Hudson-Small elected, and made a clean sweep in Stratford ward, where Danny Keeling, Chae Ho Hwang and Sonia Quintero all won seats for the party.

In Plashet ward, two seats were won by the Newham Independents party, with Zuber Gulamussen and Ilyas Sharif elected.

The breadth of the Green and Independent gains — spanning wards from Maryland in the north to Stratford in the west — will be scrutinised closely by Labour strategists, as they represent some of the most substantial challenges to the party's long-standing dominance in the borough.

The elections, held across all 66 seats on Newham Council, required 34 seats for a majority.

The borough last held council elections in 2022, when Labour won 64 seats with 61.2 per cent of the vote, while the Green party received two seats with 19.9 per cent of the vote. Thursday's results show that the Green vote has translated into significantly more council representation than it had four years ago.

Ward results

Council seat totals:
Labour party : 26
Newham Independents party : 24
Green party : 16
Total number of council seats: 66