Hackney mayoral election announced as review launched

Former Labour mayor Philip Glanville resigned earlier this month

A by-election will take place in Hackney on 9 November to choose a new mayor for the borough.

It comes following the resignation of former Labour mayor Philip Glanville.

He left the role after a photo emerged showing him at a social event with a former councillor Tom Dewey, who was being investigated for possessing indecent images of children.

An independent review into the council's handling of events has also been launched.

Mr Glanville quit his job of seven years when a photo posted on social media showed him at a Eurovision party with former Hackney councillor Tom Dewey.

Dewey was arrested on 29 April 2022 over child abuse images, with the photo showing him with Mr Glanville at the party on 14 May the same year.

Dewey later admitted three counts of possessing indecent images of children. Five of the images were in the most serious category A, 41 in category B and 203 in category C.

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The council announced on Wednesday it would set up an independent governance review to examine the decisions made by the council after it had been informed about Dewey's offences.

At a full council meeting Deputy Mayor Anntoinette Bramble said: "I am determined that we learn from what has happened.

"I want to acknowledge anyone who has been hurt or affected by this. Hackney council has always prioritised safeguarding".

Deputy mayor Anntoinette Bramble insisted the council "acted at pace" to make arrangements to replace the mayor

However, the Green Party has said the review does not go far enough and should also look at what members of the Labour Party did after finding out about Dewey.

Green Party group leader Zoë Garbett, who will be standing in the mayoral race and is also the Green candidate for London mayor next year, said: "The disruption caused by the by-election needn't have happened if the Labour mayor and the Labour Party had been totally transparent from the off.

"We know some questions will be left unanswered and that's why we're still pleading to understand what everyone in Labour including elected members and officers knew, and we are still dismayed at the limited scope of the behind the doors in investigation."

So far Caroline Woodley for Labour and Zoë Garbett for the Green Party have announced they will be standing in the by-election on 9 November.

Analysis

By Susana Mendonça, BBC Radio London political reporter

Ever since the former Labour councillor Tom Dewey's conviction, opposition groups in Hackney have been calling for an investigation and ahead of this week's full council meeting the Green Party put forward a motion again.

After months of dodging calls for an investigation, the council announced one - its "independent governance review" will, we are told, look at the decisions the council made.

But crucially it's not looking at the role of the leading Labour Party and the council meeting curiously ran out of time on Wednesday night to debate and vote on a Green Party motion calling for that.

The Labour Party insists they acted promptly back in May 2022, but it will be hoping the forthcoming by-election will focus on other issues, instead of why Hackney residents are being forced back to the ballot box so soon.

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