Hackney mayor elected as new chair of London Councils

The Mayor of Hackney, Jules Pipe, has been elected as the new chair of London Councils today.

Pipe was voted into the position by a meeting of borough leaders.

Jules Pipe was elected as Mayor of Hackney for a third term in May 2010; having become the borough's first directly elected Mayor in October 2002.

Over this period he is widely credited with leading the transformation of Hackney Council into a 3 star, high-performing and more efficient local authority.

He was a national newspaper journalist as well as serving as a ward councillor from 1996 to 2002, and leader of the council from June 2001 before being elected as Mayor in 2002.

Pipe is currently one of four directly elected mayors in the capital - including Boris Johnson - and one of only eleven directly elected local authority mayors in the country. As a directly elected mayor Jules Pipe is not a councillor.

Mayor Pipe said: "The aftermath of the global recession, the Government's aim to reduce the deficit, and an impending programme of cuts across the public sector will set local government a challenge the scale and impact of which we cannot yet know.

"London Councils will work hard to ensure that London is prepared for the tough decisions that we all know will have to be made. We will also continue to promote innovation in London's authorities, championing improvement and sharing best practice.

"The leadership of the organisation may have changed, but London Councils' commitment to getting the best deal for London's local authorities will not. We will continue to work in a cross-party and collegiate manner, representing all of London's councils, and remaining ambitious for London and for local government.

"We will also continue to press for more powers to be devolved to the local level, and in doing so promote a vision of local democracy that is truly local."

At the same meeting Councillor Claire Kober (Haringey) was elected as deputy chair. Councillor Sean Brennan (Sutton), Councillor Edward Lister (Wandsworth), and Stuart Fraser (City of London) were elected as vice chairs.

Following the local elections in May, Labour now controls 17 boroughs, Conservatives 11, Liberal Democrats two and there is no overall control in two boroughs.