Haringey Council Leader, Deputy Leader and new Cabinet confirmed following Full Council meeting

Cllr Peray Ahmet has been duly re-elected the Leader of Haringey Council for the next four years following the Full Council meeting on Monday (23 May 2022).

Since her initial appointment as Council Leader in May last year, Cllr Ahmet has put collaboration, cohesion, co-design and co-production with the Haringey community at the heart of her administration.

Climate change, council housing and community safety have been among some of the key priorities for Cllr Ahmet and her Cabinet and she has vowed to continue this valuable partnership work with community groups and external stakeholders between now and 2026.

Cllr Ahmet said:

I know it’s a bit of a cliché to say that serving as leader is a huge privilege, but it really iI’ve always thought that other cliché ‘the personal is political’ is very true too – and when you lead the borough where you grew up, everything is personal. It’s not a job to me. This is, and has always been, my community.

I know how much there is to be proud of – and I know how much needs to change. To start with, we have got to get the basics right. We have got to become a responsive and effective council.

After the extreme cuts imposed on councils, there is a lot of rebuilding to do to get the kind of first-rate local services we want to see in Haringey.

The change we need is about more than money though. We need a culture change. We want to have a very different relationship with local people – breaking down the feeling of an ‘us and them’ divide. I want us to be competent, collaborative and radical.

Cllr Hakata has been re-elected as the local authority’s Deputy Leader as well. As the Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment and Transport, he will be at the very forefront of our green agenda as we all strive to become a net zero carbon council by 2027 and net zero carbon borough by 2041.

The make-up of a new-look Cabinet was also confirmed at tonight’s meeting at Alexandra Palace.

The Cabinet is as follows:

Cllr Peray Ahmet – The Leader of Haringey Council

Cllr Mike Hakata – The Deputy Leader of Haringey Council and Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment and Transport

Cllr Zena Brabazon – Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families

Cllr Dana Carlin – Cabinet Member for Housing Services, Private Renters and Planning

Cllr Seema Chandwani – Cabinet Member for Tackling Inequality and Resident Services

Cllr Lucia das Neves – Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Wellbeing

Cllr Julie Davies – Cabinet Member for Communities & Civic Life

Cllr Ruth Gordon – Cabinet Member for House-Building, Placemaking and Development

Cllr Adam Jogee – Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Jobs and Community Cohesion

Cllr Sarah Williams – Cabinet Member for Finance and Local Investment