Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, has spoken in response to the government’s budget proposals

She said: 

“Working people have been hit hardest by the pandemic in lost  lives, lost jobs, and lost schooling and nowhere harder than in Newham, yet the budget provides too little help for those hardest hit now and no real plan for secure better paying jobs in the future.

“The people who have paid such a high price in the last year need to be top priority and deserve a plan for hope and recovery  that brings good secure jobs and better housing for all, and not the least the government think they can get away with in the short term.

“I will continue to fight for what the people of Newham need and the future they deserve."

Newham is one of the most diverse, but deprived London boroughs. 4 areas are among the poorest in England.  50% of children across the borough live in poverty and 30% of local jobs still don’t pay the London Living Wage. Newham has the third highest population in any London borough.