The Rokhsana Fiaz Mayoral Legacy: Seven Years of Failures in Newham
Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz and a concerned onlooker
When Rokhsana Fiaz became Mayor of Newham in May 2018, she promised transparency, accountability, and real change. Now, after seven years, much of that promise has collapsed under a wave of mismanagement and scandal, resulting in a borough plagued by unsafe housing, looming financial collapse, opaque governance, and political infighting. Here’s how her tenure has unraveled.
Council Housing Scandal: Newham Branded a Slum Landlord
Cllr Shaban Mohammed former Cabinet member for Housing
In October 2024, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) issued Newham Council its first-ever C4 rating—the worst possible designation—citing “very serious failings” under Mayor Fiaz’s leadership. Specific findings included:
Over 9,000 overdue fire safety remedial actions, more than 4,000 classified as high-risk.
40% of homes lacked electrical condition tests for over 11 years.
Around 5,400 open repair requests, nearly half past their target completion date
At least 20% of homes failed to meet the Decent Homes Standard and 60% had no stock quality survey in the past five years
The RSH noted limited tenant engagement and transparency, and demanded “fundamental changes” . Newham’s leadership admitted the failures and pledged to act—but residents remain trapped in unsafe, neglected housing.
Financial Meltdown: A Council on the Brink
Comical Ali aka Cllr Zulfiqar Ali
Newham’s financial health has deteriorated under Fiaz. By 2025, the council faced a projected £157 million budget gap driven largely by temporary accommodation and rising social-care costs.
To address this, the council took drastic measures:
Council tax hiked by 8.99%, far exceeding national limits.
Social housing rents increased by 2.7%, and support cuts made for low-income households .
Plans were laid to sell £17.9 million in assets, raising up to £51 million. Many observers saw this as a fire sale of Newham’s best assets.
In May 2025, MHCLG issued a Best Value Notice, citing weak governance, poor value for money, and delivery concerns.
Fiaz responded by highlighting austerity pressures and temporary accommodation costs, emphasizing new governance and transformation actions many of which we are still to see bear fruit.
Secrecy: £3.8 Million on NDAs and Settlements
Since 2018, Newham Council has reportedly spent approximately £3.8 million on non-disclosure agreements and internal settlements with ex-staffers. These expenses occurred while frontline services were cut—and no transparent reporting has followed, directly contradicting earlier transparency pledges by Mayor Fiaz when she took office.
Public Services Slashed, Costs Pushed to Residents
The 2025 budget saw significant austerity measures:
Removal of free refreshments at council-run meetings and services.
Cancellation of Christmas and Eid lights to save around £200,000
A 20% increase in discretionary fees and services .
Reduced council tax support for the poorest households
Criticism on Reddit captured the public sentiment:
“The classic British response of cutting small things that make everything worse which won't make any dent”. - Newham Resident
Internal Chaos: Division, Resignations & Bullying Allegations
Reports emerged in late 2020 that up to 18 Labour councillors lodged formal complaints about Fiaz’s leadership, describing it as “aggressive, dismissive and controlling.” Internal resignations, claims of toxic workplace culture, and backroom conflict significantly impaired governance—yet no public resolution has been reported. The internal tensions boiled over in December 2022 when Fiaz made a formal complaint against her own Labour councillors who were seeking to scrutinise her administrations performance.
The resulting investigation lasted just under a year and cost the taxpayer over £30,000, it’s fair to say that the result of this investigation has split opinions. With the council finding that no party was at fault. However, an outcome of the investigation was that the chair of the standards advisory committee at the time was to write to the Mayor to lay out the committee's concerns with some of the evidence regarding her behaviour which had come to light through the investigation process.
Vanity Projects: PR Over Resident Welfare
Despite the borough’s deepening crises, Fiaz maintained a high external profile—seeking roles such as membership on the Thames Estuary Growth Board and a speaking engagement against the arms trade. Critics argue this focus on reputation-building occurred at the expense of tackling the borough’s core housing and financial challenges.
The Open Newham Verdict: Failure Across the Board
Seven years in office have brought a catalogue of failures under Mayor Fiaz:
Housing collapse: Newham became the first council to earn a C4 rating—“very serious failings”
Financial crisis: Massive budget gap, tax hikes, asset sales, and regulator interventions
Service cuts: From community lighting to essential support, residents have borne the brunt .
Opaque actions: Nearly £4 million spent on NDAs, with no accountability
Leadership breakdown: Formal bullying complaints and internal strife continue to undermine authority.
Regulatory intervention: A Best Value Notice signalled national concern about council operations.
Despite promises in 2018 of transformation, transparency, and fairness, Fiaz’s leadership has left Newham less safe, less secure, and more polarised than before.
What Should Happen Next
Independent Inquiry into governance failures and financial decisions under Fiaz.
Audit of Settlement Spending, including full disclosure of the £3.8 million spent on NDAs.
Tenant Oversight Reform, ensuring regular stock surveys, transparent safety data, and progress reporting.
Financial Strategy Overhaul, reducing reliance on asset sales and regressive tax hikes while pursuing long-term sustainability.
Leadership Accountability, requiring the LGA to force Newham Council to address internal dysfunction and ensure new leadership is brought in asap.
Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz entered office with a mandate for change. Instead, her tenure has produced unsafe housing conditions, fiscal emergency, diminished services, secretive spending, and fractured leadership. Newham's communities deserve accountability, repair, and leadership capable of restoring trust.