Hackney mayor Jules Pipe announces his resignation
Resignation: Mayor of Hackney Jules Pipe. Photograph: Hackney Council
Hackney’s mayor Jules Pipe has announced his resignation from next month, after he was appointed Sadiq Khan’s Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills.
Jules Pipe has been the borough’s Labour mayor since October 2002, nearly 14 years.
He has won four elections for the directly-elected post, and represented Hackney for 20 years in total, first as a backbench councillor, then as Leader of the Council, before becoming Mayor of Hackney in 2002.
Mayor Pipe said: “This is an amazing opportunity to serve our city, but the decision to leave was not an easy one to make. It’s been an enormous privilege to serve the residents of Hackney for two decades and I’m proud of everything the council has achieved: the transformation of our schools, the clean streets, the new homes, a decade of frozen council tax, award-winning services, making a difference to the lives of our most vulnerable residents.
“I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by a dedicated team of officers and councillors, and I’d like to thank them, and of course Hackney’s residents, for their support over my 14 years as Mayor. Leading Hackney on its journey from the worst local authority in the country to one of the best will always be something of which I will be very proud. Hackney is a unique place. It represents the very best of London, and I hope that from City Hall I can continue to make a difference here.”
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Jules Pipe brings to City Hall extensive knowledge of the capital, and the key challenges it faces.
“He and I share a determination to ensure London’s prosperity is shared by all Londoners, and that we plan ahead to equip the city for its future economic, infrastructure, skills and housing needs. Jules will be a fantastic addition to my top team at a time when London needs a stronger voice more than ever before in championing its unique interests, following the fallout from the EU referendum result.”
I've appointed Jules Pipe my Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills. A fantastic addition to my top team https://t.co/sMJxZdAfbv
— Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) 30 June 2016
Mayor Pipe will formally resign next month.
Deputy Mayor, Cllr Philip Glanville, will step in to fulfil the functions of the position until a new mayor is elected.
A mayoral election is expected to be held in September.
What piffle. This man has almost single handedly ruined the lives of so many hackney communities and citizens. The fraud and nepotism that is rife at Hackney Town Hall. The slum landlords also known as hackney homes. Council affilation to corrupt local charities like City and Hackney Mind who repeatedly get away with abuse and neglect of the most vulnerable people in the borough. The gentrification of hackney at the expense of the long standing local communities. Forcing local shop keepers who have been here for decades like Spirit of Broadway Market or the Music Shop on Dalston lane out of business just to sell out to affluent arabs and russians.
He has sold hackney down the river. We dont expect this of a Labour government. We do expect it of Blairites like Jules Pipe.
Good riddance to bad rubbish. Hes the worst thing to ever happen to Hackney.
As above!!
Pipe resigns …a borough rejoices! He has always reminded me of lazy smugness personified.
Hackney beware! You could have had Lutfur Rahman. Count your blessings.
Jules Pipe has been an outstanding Mayor for Hackney.
He fought tirelessly to get a slice of the Olympic pie and has ended up with a borough full of new jobs, where people want to live. He pretty much created Tech City.
From being a by-word for crime and deprivation (even though that was very unfair on Hackney) a few years ago, Hackney is now one of the up and coming areas of the capital.
Along the way he has worked to make sure local people get the benefits by extracting money from developers, the London Mayor and central government. He froze council tax for 10 years. He fought the Bishopsgate Goodsyard Scheme on behalf of local residents. He’s done loads of other stuff.
But let’s just take one area – education. In 2002 Hackney’s schools were literally the worst in the country at KS2. Now they are well above the London average. That’s a phenomenal turnaround which will make a real difference to the lives of Hackney kids for many years to come.
No-one who has been a Mayor for so long can do it without annoying some people. No decision pleases 100% of those affected. But let’s be fair to Jules, he has been pretty good and he leaves Hackney a better place than when he started.
He turned Hackney into Croydon. His legacy is appalling.
I don’t think Jules Pipe can be credited with the improved results in schools in Hackney. This was down to the learning trust, a not for profit, independent organisation set up in 2002 completely taking over the council’s entire education function. Unfortunately, it’s been downhill again ever since these services went back to Hackney Council in 2012. Nepotism and conflict of interests galore. This we could credit Jules Pipe with!
I don’t think many people could have explained it quite like Rachel has in the comment above. She is spot on. I have personally experience the gentrification to allow yuppies move in to the borough who have created their own community and created a large division. The old shops have been removed and the increase prices in rent have meant a generation has had to be pushed out to make way for this terrible unkind people. Not all unkind but majority. Where’s the affordable housing we were promised ? Oh that was affordable for yuppies, where’s the new children’s playground we’ve always wanted? Oh now there is one at the request of these yuppies. The biggest problem is the division and although street parties and events have been organised tho show diversity, it has been just a show. Oh and one last point, the famous Chatsworth Road seems to have their own independent planning team separate to hackney council which sounds like a Mafia set up where certain individuals are approved or declined if the group sees fit.
100% agree with you Rachel. The gentrification has removed so many original people and business from Hackney. It’s caused a massive division.
I’m not really commenting on someone who is well informed in an overall sense about this. But some comments: in Dalston, development after development has extracted negligible affordable housing contributions from developers. And the Council, have instead that overall they are delivering lots of affordable housing when this is mostly (80%) down to estate regeneration.
Secondly Pipe opposed Bishopsgate Goodsyard, but didn’t do anything to oppose other egregious although slightly smaller scale developments just the other side of shoreditch highstreet.
So I’m not too enthusiastic about his appointment. Having said that, he has always said that his hands are tied, so maybe now he is in a position of more power, he might be able to nudge things in a better direction.
Concerning the Shoreditch High Street planning application mentioned above the Mayor of Hackney has no say in the decisions of the councils Planning sub-committee. We make our decisions independently of the Mayor.