Mayor Garbett unveils first Green cabinet as new era begins at the Town Hall

Mayor Zoë Garbett’s new cabinet. Photograph: Hackney Council

Hackney’s new Mayor Zoë Garbett has named the first members of her cabinet, just days after sweeping the Greens to an historic victory at the Town Hall and ending more than four decades of Labour dominance of the borough.

The appointments, announced today (Monday 11 May) will be formally presented at the council’s annual meeting on 28 May, with further names expected in the coming days.

Garbett, who took 46.9 per cent of the vote in last Thursday’s mayoral contest, will retain personal responsibility for the council’s budget and overall strategy, alongside policing and community safety, domestic violence, hate crime, and anti-poverty work.

She will be supported by Cllr Dylan Law, who has been appointed statutory deputy mayor with a brief covering council housing management and repairs, the private rented sector, and housing affordability — likely to be among the most politically charged portfolios in a borough where rents and disrepair have dominated local debate for years.

Cllr Alastair Binnie-Lubbock, one of the longer-serving Green councillors takes regeneration, planning and inclusive neighbourhoods.

He has previously been a member of the corporate, children and young people, constitution and scrutiny committees

Cllr Florence Schechter has been handed finance, resident services and digital — effectively the role of the borough’s chief number-cruncher at a moment when Town Hall finances remain under acute strain.

Cllr Soraya Adejare becomes cabinet member for children, young people and early intervention, while Cllr Sam Mathys picks up culture, leisure, nightlife and licensing, a portfolio of particular significance in a borough whose night-time economy has been under sustained pressure. Cllr Rachel Nkiessu-Guifo takes on inclusive economy, skills, high streets and markets.

Two deputy cabinet roles have also been confirmed: Cllr Laura-Louise Fairley as deputy cabinet member for SEND Support, and Cllr Abi Kingston as deputy cabinet member for homelessness prevention and temporary accommodation — areas where the council has faced mounting pressure and rising costs.

Announcing the appointments, Mayor Garbett said she was “so proud that Hackney has put its faith not just in me as the new mayor of Hackney, but an incredible group of new councillors who believe that Hackney can change for the better”.

“My new cabinet has deep roots across Hackney, reflecting the borough’s diversity, its solidarity, and its communities,” she said. “Together, we were elected on a message of hope for Hackney. The team I have appointed has the passion, talent, and experience to turn that hope into real change.”

The Greens took 42 of the 57 council seats on offer last week, an emphatic majority that leaves Labour reduced to nine seats and the Conservatives to six. Garbett herself defeated the outgoing Labour mayor Caroline Woodley by 8,855 votes on a 40.98 per cent turnout.

The new administration inherits a borough grappling with persistent housing pressures, a fragile high street, and a children’s services budget that has tested every London council in recent years.

Garbett’s cabinet — several of whom are new to executive office — will have little time to settle in before residents begin to measure the “hope” of the campaign trail against the realities of running the Town Hall.

Further appointments are expected later this week.