Labour leader Sagal Abdi-Wali has confirmed the politicians who will run the borough after the party hung onto its majority at the local elections
Camden’s new leader has confirmed who will run the council in her reshuffled cabinet following her predecessor’s ousting at the recent local elections. At the first full council meeting post-election on Wednesday (May 20), Cllr Sagal Abdi-Wali (Labour) officially became the Leader of the Council, making history as the first Black woman to do so.
She has appointed two deputies: Cllr Pat Callaghan and Cllr Adam Harrison. Cllr Callaghan continues as deputy after serving under former leader Richard Olszewski, who lost his seat to the Green Party at the recent May elections.
She will also take on the new Community Resilience brief. Cllr Harrison, who also ran for the leadership, will now be heading up Callaghan’s old role as lead for Safer Communities. In the chamber, the leader paid tribute to Olszewski and said she wanted to build on previous Labour administrations, noting that despite “great successes” the borough’s communities were still facing “unprecedented challenges”.
“We continue to see rising demand for council services, families being deeply impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, and deepening inequalities in our communities, and we cannot allow this to continue and that is the reason why I choose to be a councillor. It is our duty to ensure that we improve the lives of our residents,” she said.
Cllr Abdi-Wali added: “We must also work together to protect the social fabric of our borough, tackle the rise in divisive politics and the attempted erosion of community cohesion.”
The new leader has shrunk the cabinet team by scrapping the voluntary sector, equalities and cohesion portfolio held by Cllr Nadia Shah since 2022. Cllr Shah lost her Regent’s Park seat to the Green Party in May’s elections.
Cabinet members who are staying in post include Camron Aref-Adib for Finance and Cost of Living, Sabrina Francis for Jobs, Young People and Culture, Nasrine Djemai for New Homes and Community Investment, and Marcus Boyland for Best Start for Children and Families.
Cllr Anna Wright has been moved from the Health and Social Care portfolio, and will now take on the brief for Better Homes and Homelessness Prevention, previously held by Cllr Abdi-Wali.
Camden’s new health chief will be Cllr Kemi Atolagbe, who joins the cabinet for the first time. Cllr James Slater, who held a supporting cabinet role under the last administration, has taken over from Cllr Harrison as Cabinet Member for Planning and Sustainable Camden.
As of April 1 this year, each member of the council’s executive is entitled to receive £28,200.95, apart from the leader, who receives £45.120.46.
On Wednesday evening, the Green politician Cllr Lorna Jane Russell was also confirmed as the Leader of the Opposition after her party gained 10 seats at the local elections – bringing the party’s total to 11 and supplanting the Liberal Democrats as the main opposition group.
The Greens have partnered with councillor Shah Bakth from the Camden People’s Alliance, bringing the new opposition group to 12. Newly-elected Cllr James White (Green) said the parties were “brought together by a shared commitment to progressive values”.
Camden also has a new civic mayor, Labour’s Tricia Leman, who takes over from Cllr Eddie Hanson.
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