Hackney's new Mayor Zoe Garbett pledged to 'change the system' as she claimed victory at the local elections, marking a historic shift in the borough's political landscape. The Green Party secured a decisive win, overturning Labour's long-standing dominance and gaining 42 council seats, leaving Labour with single digits. This article explores what happens next and how Garbett plans to achieve her goals.
The Historic Victory
The returning officer had barely declared the result when cheers erupted at Hackney Council's Service Centre. By a margin of nearly 9,000 votes, Zoe Garbett made history by becoming the Green Party's first-ever Mayor of Hackney and the borough's first Green executive leader. It was the Greens' top ambition, and they succeeded. In her victory speech, Garbett reaffirmed her pledge to 'change the system' and 'start the fightback.' Meanwhile, Labour councillors grappled with the arithmetic, anticipating a council results landslide. The Greens increased their vote share by 30% from 2022, and Labour faced a 'Green tsunami' as sitting cabinet members lost their seats one by one.
Challenges Ahead
Garbett enters office facing the same financial strains that plagued previous administrations: surging demand for social care, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, and homelessness, amid high inflation and constrained funding. The housing crisis across London and a slump in affordable housebuilding add to the pressure. During the campaign, Garbett told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the Greens deliberately avoided committing to a specific housing target, acknowledging that funding from Whitehall and other sources would determine outcomes. 'A lot of this comes down to how much government grants you can get, how much we can get from the pension funds, getting in there and getting under the bonnet,' she said. Nonetheless, the Greens have promised to make housing a core priority, using council-owned land and every available route to boost the supply of safe and affordable homes.
Town Hall vs City Hall
One avenue the Greens are exploring to increase housing supply is freeing up money from the council's pension fund, following Kensington & Chelsea's move to use up to £100m from its fund for temporary accommodation. Another pledge is to prioritise community-owned housing developments, such as community land trusts and co-ops. This follows a London Assembly report Garbett contributed to last year, which pushed for Mayor Sadiq Khan to provide more funding to the London Community-Led Housing Hub. Garbett is likely to be more combative with City Hall than her predecessor Caroline Woodley, who was openly supportive of the Labour Mayor. Sir Sadiq has said he will work with any new local leaders for the 'common good,' but he holds power over planning and licensing decisions in areas of 'strategic importance.' A Green-led Hackney Council has clear incentive to collaborate on economic development, transport, and policing, but the party's manifesto draws battle lines with its rebuke of the Metropolitan Police as a 'failed system.' Garbett, who once challenged Sir Sadiq for the London mayoralty, has criticised his approach to housing, particularly after he cut a deal with the government to drop the capital's affordable housing quota. Expect sparks over stop-and-search, live facial recognition, and development policies.
A Revised Budget?
The previous Labour-run council passed its last budget in March, including £200m for maintaining council homes and £130m to support lowest-income residents. The new Green leadership can revisit this budget. Garbett could enact alternative plans her party tabled in opposition: more investment in voluntary sector grants, freezing waste fees for Ridley Road Market traders, and imposing a Hackney tourist tax. A Green spokesperson told the LDRS: 'Whilst we are not yet in a position to make specific announcements, we are revisiting the proposals we put forward when in opposition, amongst various other measures to tackle the issues Hackney residents face every day. We promised to get the basics right, tackle the housing crisis, bring back community spaces and reduce poverty - that is what we will do.'
Foreign Affairs
In her victory speech, Garbett directly challenged the Labour government's failures, including on foreign policy, which has been contentious in Hackney since the Israel-Hamas war. The Greens and activist groups have lobbied the council to divest its pension fund from firms linked to Israel's military and promised a 'full ethical divestment process from companies complicit in genocide.' In October 2025, former Mayor Woodley stopped short of committing to such a process, arguing that councils cannot disentangle investments on ethical grounds alone if it risks reducing financial returns for pensioners. Instead, she vowed to work with the London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV), which manages local government pension funds. LCIV has said it needs a 'critical mass' among member funds to trigger an exclusion. In her first week, Garbett signalled she was prioritising the issue by meeting with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and she has previously lobbied LCIV to 'move toward divestment.' It remains to be seen whether she can go further than her predecessor. However, the new Green-led council may face intense pressure just from passing a motion committing to 'full ethical divestment,' as happened with Bristol City Council. A more symbolic action may involve ending the borough's dormant twinning relationship with the Israeli port city of Haifa, which the Greens committed to in their manifesto. A spokesperson told the LDRS the party was 'in discussions with officers' and hoping to make 'rapid progress.'
More Elections
The council is still adjusting to the sea change ushered in on May 8. Garbett unveiled the first members of her cabinet, naming eight senior members for key policy areas. The new structure of committees, including planning and licensing, will be decided at the council's annual general meeting on May 28. Meanwhile, two by-elections are pending: Garbett cannot take her seat as a ward councillor due to winning the mayoralty, and another Green councillor, James Tilden, had to quit because he was ineligible to stand. No date has been set, but Labour hopes to use the contests to get back into double digits in the council chamber.
