The thirty-two London boroughs were established in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. They are the principal authorities in Greater London and have responsibilities including education, housing, planning, highways, social services, libraries, recreation, waste, environmental health and revenue collection. Some of the powers are shared with the Greater London Authority, which also manages passenger transport, police and fire.[4]
Since its formation, Hackney has usually been under Labour control except for a period from 1968 to 1971 when it was under Conservative control and from 1998 to 2002 when it was under no overall control. Councillors have mostly been elected from the Labour Party, Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats, and Green Party councillors, but the Liberal Democrats have not had any councillors since 2018. The council is run under a mayoral system, so its leader is the directly elected mayor of Hackney.
Council term
Former mayor Philip Glanville stood down after being suspended by the Labour Party when a photo emerged of him at a social event with an ex-councillor convicted of possessing images of penetrative and sadistic sexual abuse of young children. Tom Dewey, the councillor involved was elected in 2022 and resigned after six days, due to his arrest. Caroline Woodley was subsequently elected as Mayor in 2023.[5][6]
In May 2024, three Labour councillors left the party to form the Hackney Independent Socialist Group, or Hackney Independent Socialist Collective.[7][8]
Electoral process
Hackney, as is the case all other London borough councils, elects all of its councillors at once every four years, with the previous election having taken place in 2022. The election takes place by multi-member first-past-the-post voting, with each ward being represented by two or three councillors. Electors will have as many votes as there are councillors to be elected in their ward, with the top two or three being elected.
Hackney is one of five London councils led by a directly elected mayor; all voters across the borough vote to elect a mayor by first past the post system in addition to voting for their local councillor.
All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in London aged 18 or over are entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities.[9] Voting in-person at polling stations takes place from 7:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters are able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.[9]
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