Labor retains two seats in Newham as two new councilors are elected

Labor retained two seats on Newham Council after winning by-elections in two wards last night (Thursday 18 July). Blossom Young will join fellow Labor councilors Tonia Wilson and Rohima Rahman to represent the Beckton ward after winning 597 votes.

Shahzad Abbasi of the Newham Independents came second with 476 votes, followed by Justine Levoir of the Green Party with 228 votes. The Conservatives’ Maria Clifford came fourth with 144 votes, while James Alan-Rumsby was bottom with 96 votes.

There was a voter turnout of 13.55%, with 1,552 ballots verified. And in the Little Ilford ward, Aktharul Alam is the new Labor councilor after winning 884 votes. Tahir Mirza, a Newham Independents candidate finished second again with 738 votes.

READ MORE: Newham’s ‘abandoned’ Victorian theater could be restored to its former glory after being a bingo hall

Liberal Democrats’ Akm Mahibur Rahman finished third with 274 votes, while Vijay Parthiban, an independent candidate, finished fourth with 163 votes. The Conservatives’ Mohamadu Faheem finished fifth with 104 votes, while the Greens’ Joe Oteng finished close behind on 103 votes.

The by-election was triggered after James Asser resigned as Beckton ward councilor as he was chosen as Labour’s parliamentary candidate for the West Ham and Beckton constituency, which he went on to win. Liz Booker, who was a Labor councilor for the Little Ilford ward, recently resigned from the council.

The turnout in Little Ilford was 18.30% with 2,277 ballot papers verified. Reflecting on her win last night, Cllr Young wrote of X: “Tonight was a really good night. This has been hard won and it is all thanks to an incredible team of campaigners, advisors and supporters too numerous to mention here. beyond grateful for everyone’s hard work and dedication.”

Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, congratulated Cllr Young and Cllr Alam on X. Ms Fiaz said: “I look forward to working with them to deliver a fairer Newham for our residents as they are engaged in public service.”

Get London’s biggest stories straight to your inbox. Sign up to MyLondon’s The 12 HERE for the biggest 12 stories every day.