In Hackney, we now have our sixth councillor by-election in two years and the fifth in 2024!

We love the chance to increase our effective opposition in Hackney Council and we have two talented, dedicated and hard working candidates ready to represent the residents of Hoxton West (27th June) and Cazenove (4th July).

Dear Resident,

Have your say on the changes to Amhurst Road – which will have an impact on Graham Road. 

I am writing about a leaflet you should have received from Hackney Council about changes on Amhurst Road.

On 24 January 2024, the Green Group’s motion on Responsible Tax Conduct was passed at a Full Council meeting. Polling from the Institute for Business Ethics finds that “corporate tax avoidance” has, since 2013, been the number one concern of the British public when it comes to business conduct. Around 17.5% of public contracts in the UK have been won by companies with links to tax havens. It has been conservatively estimated that losses from multinational profit-shifting (just one form of tax avoidance) could be costing the UK some £17bn per annum in lost corporation tax revenues.

It has been publicly reported that the Labour Party has suspended Laura Pascal, its candidate for the Cazenove by-election, and ceased all campaigning for her. We call on the Labour Party to confirm whether this is the case, and if so the reasons for it.

We and others in the community had previously raised serious concerns about grossly offensive and prejudiced comments shared and ‘liked’ by Laura Pascal on Twitter/X. Calls for Hackney Labour to address these concerns, and to explain why Pascal was selected as a candidate in the first place, have been and continue to be met with silence.

Tamara Micner, Green Party candidate for Cazenove, said: “I stand wholeheartedly with all communities in Hackney, whose diversity is our borough’s great strength. My aim in this by-election campaign has always been to bring the people of Cazenove together and help heal divisions.

“If elected as your Green councillor on Thursday 18th, I will stand up for all Cazenove residents and add to the fantastic work that Hackney Green councillors are already doing to hold the Labour administration to account and make Hackney a safe community for everyone”.

Scroll down to read in Yiddish / יידיש אונטן

Hackney Green Party has selected Tamara Micner for the by-election taking place in Cazenove ward on 18 January 2024.

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.

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.