Newham voters choose Forhad Hussain as mayor: what...

Contents

Hussain elected after 25,538 votes
A former Plaistow North councillor returns to office
Newham Council seat totals confirm a split chamber
Cabinet formation is the next step

Forhad Hussain has been elected Mayor of Newham, giving Labour the borough leadership for the next four years and bringing in its first new mayor in eight years.

Newham Council said Hussain received 25,538 votes in the 2026 mayoral election. He succeeds Labour’s Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, who served two full terms as mayor.

The result confirms a change at the top of one of London’s largest boroughs, with Hussain due to formally take up the post on Tuesday. His first task will be to form an executive cabinet responsible for leading major council decisions.

The outcome follows a closely watched local election count in the borough, after Newham’s mayoral vote count began with residents waiting for confirmation of the next phase of borough leadership.

Hussain elected after 25,538 votes

Hussain, standing for the Labour Party, described the election as a choice for residents and said he would begin work with “energy and determination” across every part of Newham.

“The election matters because people deserve a choice,” he said in comments released by the council. “Democracy works when people are willing to step forward and serve.”

He added that the result opened “a new chapter” for the borough and said it was “the honour of my life” to be elected mayor of the place he described as the borough that made him.

The mayoral role carries direct responsibility for political leadership at Newham Council. The mayor appoints cabinet members, sets priorities with the administration, and leads on decisions affecting services, housing, neighbourhoods, community safety and local investment.

A former Plaistow North councillor returns to office

Hussain previously served as a Labour councillor for Plaistow North from 2010 to 2018.

During that period he held senior cabinet roles, including Cabinet Member for Commercial Opportunities and later Cabinet Member for Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour. Those portfolios placed him close to council work on local enforcement, public space issues, community confidence and the borough’s approach to growth.

His return as mayor gives him a borough-wide mandate rather than a ward-level role. It also changes the leadership structure after the two-term mayoralty of Rokhsana Fiaz, who had led Newham since 2018.

For residents, the immediate question will be how quickly the new administration sets out its cabinet, priorities and early policy direction. The executive cabinet will shape how the council handles major decisions during the new term.

Newham Council seat totals confirm a split chamber

The wider local election results show Labour remains the largest party on Newham Council, but with a more competitive chamber than in previous years.

Party	Seats
Labour Party	26
Newham Independents Party	24
Green Party	16

The seat totals mean the mayor will lead against a sizeable opposition presence from Newham Independents and the Green Party. That balance is likely to place greater attention on cabinet decisions, scrutiny meetings and ward-level concerns raised by councillors outside the Labour group.

The election also produced Green representation in areas including Canning Town North, Forest Gate, Maryland, Royal Albert, Royal Victoria, Stratford Olympic Park, Stratford and West Ham. Newham Independents won seats across wards including Boleyn, East Ham, Green Street, Little Ilford, Plaistow and Wall End.

London borough contests elsewhere have also brought mayoral results into focus, including Croydon’s executive mayor election, as councils across the capital settle into new terms.

Cabinet formation is the next step

Hussain is expected to formally take up office on Tuesday, when the transition from the previous mayoralty begins in practical terms.

He will then be asked to form an executive cabinet. The appointments will show which councillors are given responsibility for key policy areas and how the new mayor intends to organise the administration for the four-year term.

The council’s next public decisions will give residents a clearer view of the new leadership’s approach to service delivery, neighbourhood priorities and political accountability in Newham.

Source: Newham Council