Mirza Declares his Mayoral Candidacy

Cllr Sophia Naqvi, Jeremy Corbyn MP and Cllr Mehmood Mirza (Leader of the Newham Independents)

The main contenders in the race for mayor have now declared.

Earlier this year, Forhad Hussain was selected by the Labour Party to replace Fiaz and he is slowly beginning to assert his authority over the party.

Newham Independents have now declared their candidate.

It will come as no surprise to learn that the leader of Newham Independents on Newham Council will be standing for mayor. Mehmood Mirza has taken the group from zero to the largest opposition group on the council in three years. 

In a meeting at the Royal Regency banqueting suite on 11th December he announced that he would be running for mayor.

It will also be unsurprising that the packed meeting at which he declared his intention was largely male, South Asian and we suspect, drawn from a single religious community.

This is both the strength and the weakness of the Independents. They have a loyal and committed following on which they can rely, but outside the Muslim community, their influence and support is limited. Within the Muslim community, their support may not extend far beyond the Pakistani community. Hussain is of Bangladeshi origin.

We have yet to hear from Tories, Lib-Dems, Reform, the Greens or the CPA as to whether they will be standing candidates and who they will be, but the main contenders have now entered the ring. The battle will be between Hussain and Mirza; Labour and the Independents.

We look forward to hearing how they will tackle Newham’s problems.