Biography
I have lived and worked in Newham
for my whole adult life. In 1978 I moved from Kilmarnock in
Scotland to work here for British Telecom. I immediately
appreciated the friendliness of Newham's people. Their warmth and
sense of humour brought the familiarity of my birthplace to my new
home in East London.
I have been part of local government since 1982. I
served as a councillor from
1982 to 1986 and from 1992 until I became Leader of the Council in
1995. I am proud to continue the strong labour tradition in Newham.
The very first Labour council elected in the country was West Ham
and East Londoners elected the first Labour MP, Keir Hardie in West
Ham. Some 115 years later, in 2002, I became the borough's first
ever directly elected Mayor, and was re-elected in 2006. Most
recently in May 2010 I was returned to office with an increased
majority.
Politics for me is all about changing people's lives for the
better. As your elected Mayor I have made a promise to ensure that
the Council acts in the interests of residents. For me this means
the council's role is to provide services residents value; frequent
refuse collection; free school meals; free activities and events
for the whole borough; and quality support which actually gets
unemployed people back into work, to name a few.
As someone who has lived in the borough for many years I have seen
us grow from strength to strength, despite the challenges of lower
incomes, fewer qualifications and poorer health than other parts of
the capital. I believe we can and will change that. I know that the
people of Newham have the potential to achieve anything. I believe
it's my job and that of the council, to help create a safe and
prosperous environment and help people develop the confidence and
the skills they need to get on in life and fulfil that
potential.
Exciting things are happening to bring quality of life in Newham
closer to the standards enjoyed by wealthier boroughs. I am
especially proud of the investment brought to the borough through
major redevelopment in Stratford, Canning Town and the Royal Docks.
I believe the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games coming to Newham
has accelerated the pace of change, representing a unique chance to
bring the scale of growth and prosperity to significantly improve
quality of life for Newham's people.
I am keenly aware, however, that regeneration projects, and of
course hosting the Olympics, won't inevitably bring real benefits
for local people. Canary Wharf, for instance, is hugely successful
in creating wealth but has failed to transform the lives of the
local residents.
That is why I am totally committed to securing a local legacy from
the 2012 Olympic Games and to ensuring that, as well as bringing
investment into the borough, the Council invests in local people to
enable them access jobs and other opportunities created by the
borough's transformation into a major commercial centre.
I serve on the Boards of several organisations that are involved in
staging the 2012 Olympic Games and ensuring the local legacy. These
include the London Organising Committee of the Olympics Games
(LOCOG) and the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC.) I use
my position on these boards to argue for Newham and the wider East
End to ensure that 2012 Olympics deliver the opportunities that we
need.
One of the local initiatives of which I am proudest is Workplace, a
one-stop-shop where Newham residents can get advice about careers,
employment options and business start-up, and where employers
across London can advertise vacancies and recruit staff. What is
special about Workplace is its close relationships with employers
and personalised approach to enabling people get into employment.
We know workplace works. Since 2007 it has helped over 8,500 local
people get jobs. And not just the people with the most experience
or the longest CV. Since Christmas 2010 over 3,700 local people who
have been unemployed for over a year found jobs with the help of
Workplace.
For me, partnership with business has proved critical to promoting
prosperity in Newham. I am really excited about the benefits our
latest joint venture will bring for local people. Newham Council
has joined up again with Westfield and Seetec to establish Skills
Place Newham, a state-of-the-art academy providing industry
standard skills development, apprenticeships and helping people
access jobs in the many shops, restaurants and facilities within
Westfield Stratford City and beyond.
I share the view that working makes a huge difference to our
quality of life. It lifts people out of poverty, raises aspirations
and builds stronger communities. My work as Mayor is focused on
making this happen.