Zoë speaking after the declaration of the vote count on 10 November

Hackney Green Party Mayoral candidate Zoë Garbett has secured a record share of the vote in the by-election for Mayor in the borough.

Greens placed second with 9075 votes, a 24% share, significantly ahead of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. This election should not have been until 2026, but a by-election was needed following the resignation of the Labour Mayor in September. The borough is one of only five in London where voters directly elect an executive mayor.

Hackney Green Party candidate, Zoë Garbett, said:

“A heartfelt thanks to everyone who had to find time to vote in this by-election. I am deeply grateful to everyone who put their trust in us and want a greener, fairer Hackney.

“Only 1 in 5 voters cast a vote though, and the fact that most London boroughs function without this role shows that it isn’t needed.

“We still think that the money the role costs should be returned to the council to distribute, along with the power held by the mayor.

“But this by-election has also shown that the appetite for Green representation is growing in Hackney, and Labour should welcome the scrutiny that democratic opposition provides. It is up to them now to do the hard work of rebuilding the trust that they’ve lost. As the leader of the Green group I will continue to respect people as experts in their own lives, and work with communities to change the relationship between residents and the council.”

Garbett, a councillor in Dalston, previously ran as The Green Party candidate for Hackney Mayor in 2022, coming second with 17% of first preference votes.

We in the Hackney Green Party stand in support of all those who have lost loved ones, have been injured, or are searching for missing family and friends as a result of the attacks in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank over the past two weeks.

Zoë is also pledging to give residents more power over crucial local issues, and to open the council up to more public scrutiny. The cornerstone of this is to abolish the directly elected role of Mayor.

• Hackney Greens select Dalston councillor Zoë Garbett for mayoral by-election
• Garbett, who came second in 2022 election, vows to prioritise housing crisis
• Further commitments include non-policing, community-led solutions to serious youth violence
• Click here to support Zoë's crowdfunder

Hackney Green Party members have voted to select Dalston councillor Zoë Garbett as their candidate for the upcoming by-election for Mayor of Hackney. This follows the resignation of Labour Mayor Philip Glanville, over his conduct in relation to the arrest of former Labour councillor Tom Dewey.

Zoë stood as the Greens' candidate for Mayor of Hackney in the May 2022 election and achieved 17% of the vote, coming second ahead of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. The Greens also came second in borough-wide vote share for councillors, with 23%.

Zoë said: “I’m thrilled to have been selected by Hackney Green Party members to be the candidate for this important by-election. I love Hackney, but too many people feel unheard and there are multiple challenges faced by far too many.” 

“I want to see a fairer borough so I am committing to doing everything I can to tackle the housing crisis, support community groups to grow and thrive and deliver non-policing, community-led solutions to serious youth violence. I have a track record of championing small business and market traders and standing up to developers so that the needs of residents are prioritised. As a Green, I recognise the urgency required to address the climate and ecological emergency - which will run through all of my campaign.”

As leader of the Green Group on the council, Zoë led calls for the resignation of the former Labour Mayor, and continues to call for an independent investigation to ascertain what the council and Labour Party knew about former Labour councillor Tom Dewey’s arrest and police investigation. 

Zoë added: “In this by-election, I will continue to challenge the Labour administration in areas where it has let residents down, and offer voters a real alternative to the status quo. This includes calling to abolish the directly elected Mayor position in favour of a more representative, democratic system and sharing power with residents so they can have more control over their lives. I'm looking forward to speaking with more residents during this election about the changes they want to see in the borough.”

Click here to support Zoë's crowdfunder for this by-election.

Sign up here if you'd like to volunteer with the campaign!

Further information

1. Hackney Green Party members elected their candidate through an open nominations process and democratic vote, with no shortlisting or filtering of nominees by the party administration.
2. The Green Group on Hackney Council had tabled a motion of no confidence in Mayor Glanville prior to him tendering his resignation on 15 September. His last day in office was 22 September. The Motion has been amended to call for an independent investigation. 
3. A date for the by-election has not yet been announced, but Hackney Council has previously stated that it is likely to be in the coming weeks.
4. The winner of the by-election will serve the remainder of the previous Mayor’s term, to May 2026. 
5. Hackney Council is currently composed of 50 Labour councillors, 5 Conservatives and 2 Greens. 
6. Zoë has worked in senior roles in the public sector for over 10 years and currently works in the NHS addressing health inequalities. 
7. Zoë is also the Green Party candidate for Mayor of London, and a candidate on the party’s London-wide Assembly list, for the London Mayor and Assembly elections in May 2024.

For any enquiries about Zoë's campaign or Hackney Green Party, email [email protected] 

The Green Party have today announced their candidates for Hackney at the coming General Election. They have selected Antoinette Oyinkansola Fernandez for Hackney North & Stoke Newington, and Chesca Walton for Hackney South & Shoreditch.

L: Antoinette Fernandez, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Hackney North & Stoke Newington

R: Chesca Walton, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Hackney South & Shoreditch

Ms Fernandez said: “It is an honour to be chosen as the Green Party candidate for Hackney North & Stoke Newington. The surge in elected Greens across the country is a clear sign that voters want a party that does politics differently, and the next election is an opportunity to challenge the status quo in Hackney.

“The Green Party stands for social justice and the wellbeing of communities just as strongly as it stands for the environment. The party has pragmatic, proven policies that can transform our country, and if elected I will aim to deliver on those policies with the integrity and work ethic that the people of Hackney North & Stoke Newington deserve.

“We need to act on the housing crisis in Hackney to ensure that rental prices are fair. Renting in Hackney for a decade or more I have and have witnessed first-hand the astronomical rise in rents that has pushed many of my friends and acquaintances out of Hackney. I know what it is to live in fear of your tenancy renewal date and I will push to implement rent reductions and caps. We need to ensure that new developments in the borough are strictly only for affordable homes and social housing. We can also tackle the energy and climate emergency through practical measures such as fast-tracking the installation of solar panels on council-owned buildings.

“I want to make Hackney safe for young and old alike. We must find ways to reform policing and ensure that the Metropolitan Police serves the entire community.

“If you believe that the time has come for a genuinely different approach that will help Hackney to thrive for everyone, please vote for me in 2024.”

Ms Walton said: “I am delighted to be given the chance to represent Hackney South & Shoreditch at the next election. The two-party system has failed voters, as Tories mismanage the country while Labour offers no vision for real change. Only the Green Party has the ambition and ideas to tackle the climate and cost of living crises that we face.

“If elected, I will be a voice in parliament for the change that Hackney residents want to see. I will push for high-quality public services that are accessible for everyone that needs them; for mental health services to be given real parity with physical health services in the NHS; and for a mass insulation programme, to make our homes greener and warmer while creating thousands of new skilled jobs.

“Vote Green next year for a new way of doing politics that will get Britain back on its feet after years of turmoil.”

More information about Green Party policies is available at https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/. The party’s Political Programme can be read here.

The Hackney Green Group had submitted a motion of no confidence in the Labour Mayor for bringing his office and the council into disrepute and supported calls for his resignation.

We thank Philip Glanville for doing the right thing and stepping down for the sake of the council and the residents it serves. Hackney Greens recognise his 17 years of service and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

With members of all parties and the wider community, and in the interest of full transparency, we continue to call for an independent investigation into who knew what and when around the arrest of Thomas Dewey, and what actions were taken as a result, both within the Labour Party and the council.

We recognise that this has been a distressing and uncertain period for residents and council staff, who have felt let down by the Labour Mayor’s actions.

Hackney Green Party members will choose their candidate for the by-election for the next Mayor for Hackney shortly.

We now know that Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville attended a party with Tom Dewey, his (then) housemate and a former Labour councillor, after he was informed by the council that Dewey had been charged with serious crimes. These reports and the photographic evidence directly contradict the Mayor’s previous statements on the matter.

Hackney Green Party is appalled by Mr Glanville’s conduct. It is unfathomable both that he attended the party with Mr Dewey after learning of the charges, and that he then claimed he had no contact with Dewey at this time. These events call both his judgement and his honesty into account, and have resulted in his suspension from the Labour Party. His position as Mayor seems increasingly untenable and we support calls for his resignation.

There is an urgent need to fully understand the order of events following the National Crime Agency’s raid on Mr Dewey’s home. We have been calling for an independent investigation since the very serious charges against Mr Dewey were made public, to clarify who knew what and how they acted on the information they had. The case for an independent investigation is now even stronger. Hackney residents, Mr Dewey’s victims and the wider public deserve to know the full facts.

Hackney has lost of the equivalent of 20 classrooms of children since 2014. We recognise the context and influences which have led to this loss, including Brexit, a falling birth rate, the opening of free schools and the increased cost of living in Hackney. 

The Green Group on Hackney Council is calling for an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Tom Dewey's resignation as Labour councillor for De Beauvoir in May 2022 and the subsequent by-election to fill the vacancy.

Group Leader Cllr Zoë Garbett said: "Tom Dewey resigned less than 2 weeks after being elected in May last year, with no statement from him or Hackney Labour to explain why. We have now learned from media reporting that he had been arrested in April 2022, before the Council elections, and has now been charged with serious offences.

"We recognise that the charges are subject to court proceedings and we make no comment on these. However, an independent inquiry is needed to establish what the Mayor, councillors and Hackney Labour knew about the circumstances surrounding Dewey's resignation and the fact of his arrest. Hackney residents were kept in the dark while they were voting in the Council elections and the subsequent by-election in De Beauvoir. It is also concerning that he attended the vote count for the May election, alongside others from Hackney Labour, while under police investigation.

"The Green Group will continue to press for full transparency from Hackney Labour and the Council administration."

Q&A with Zoë Garbett

Zoë Garbett spoke with student journalist Jacob Collett about greenwashing, Copwatch and the right to protest