Zoë Garbett seizes political leadership of the borough and becomes first ever candidate to win mayoral race other than Labour
Green Party politician Zoe Garbett has been elected as the Mayor of Hackney with 46.8 per cent of the vote in a shock defeat for Labour following the local elections on Thursday, May 7.
Voters have ousted Labour from the mayoralty for the first time since the post was created as Garbett won 35,720 votes, beating Labour’s incumbent Caroline Woodley by a majority 8,855 votes on a turnout of 40.98 per cent.
Hackney is one of five London boroughs which has a directly-elected mayor, and Labour has won every contest since the post was created in 2002.
The full council ward results are yet to be declared, but the Greens are expected to make substantial gains across the borough and even wrest control from Labour, which has dominated Hackney politics over the last half century.
She said: “The fightback starts now. Across London and the country, people have made it clear that they are desperate for an alternative to this failing Labour government. This is about a system of fear versus a movement of hope.
“Hackney voters have said loud and clear that they are sick of politicians who put profit before our planet, for supporting genocide and letting down so many people who are struggling.
“I don’t want to tweak around the edges. I’m going to change the system. The people of Hackney own Hackney, and it’s time to take it back,” she said.
Garbett has won the office on a swing of 29.8 per cent from the 2022 elections. This is her after her third attempt to become Mayor following previous runs in 2022 and at a mayoral by-election in 2023, where she was beaten by Woodley.
Mayor Woodley congratulated her opponent and said the Labour government had “a lot of work to do” as she accepted defeat.
“To Zoe, you’ve shown great determination and resilience, and I know you have the support of the council to continue the good work we have done as a liberal administration,” Ms Woodley said
She also thanked council officers, Labour colleagues and family members, along with London mayor Sadiq Khan, and thanked the Labour government for housing investment, the Renters Rights Act and increasing the minimum wage.
The Conservatives’ Tareke Gregg came in third place with 6,345 votes, while Reform UK’s candidate Vahid Almasi took fourth place with he Liberal Democrats’ Eva Steinhardt won fourth place, while Reform’s candidate Vahid Almasi trailed in last.
The result indicates Labour’s worst fears for London’s elections are being realised. Hackney has been widely tipped as the Green Party’s number one target seat in London, with local elections expert Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics describing it the party’s “number one hope”.
The LDRS understands that given the scale of the swing towards the Greens from 2022, Labour councillors are anticipating they may lose control of the borough, where it currently holds a huge majority with 43 out of 57 seats.
Leader of the Greens, Zack Polanski, was at Hackney Service Centre for the count. He called the result an “historic victory” and said it proved “the end of two-party politics”.
The ward election results for Hackney Council are expected later today, with the first declarations due around 2:30pm.
