Mayor of Newham

The Mayor of Newham is a directly elected mayor responsible for the executive function of Newham London Borough Council in east London, England. The position is different from the previously existing (and largely ceremonial) annually appointed mayors of Newham, known as 'Civic Ambassador' from 2002 until the office was discontinued in 2009.^[1][2] The inaugural holder of the post, created on 2 May 2002, was Robin Wales - who held the position for five terms between 2002-2018. Wales was deselected as the candidate for Labour in the 2018 election, which led to the election of Rokhsana Fiaz as mayor, after Labour held Newham in the mayoral and local council elections.

A referendum on the governance of the council was held on the 6 May 2021, in which local electors voted for the continuation of the current mayoral system as the executive of the council (described as the "Mayor and Cabinet" model) over its replacement with a councillor-led committee model of governance, which would have seen the position of mayoralty being scrapped.^[3][1]

Mayor of Newham referendum
31 January 2002

Choice	Votes	%
Elected Mayor	27,263	68.2
Cabinet System	12,687	31.8
Required majority	50
Total votes	39,950	100.00
Source: House of Commons Library[4]

Mayor of Newham referendum
6 May 2021

Choice	Votes	%
Elected Mayor	45,960	56
Committee Model	36,424	44
Required majority	50
Total votes	82,384	100.00
Source: [2]

Wales was deselected ahead of the 2018 election.^[9]