Peray Ahmet wins seal of approval from Labour colleagues

Peray Ahmet has been re-elected leader of Haringey Labour after the group scored its biggest election win in two decades.

Cllr Ahmet, who represents Noel Park, said she was “thrilled” to be re-elected by her colleagues during a Labour group meeting on Tuesday and pledged to make Haringey “truly collaborative”.

She is now set to continue as council leader when the official appointments are confirmed during the authority’s annual general meeting (AGM) later this month.

The Labour group enjoyed its best set of local election results since 1998 last week, gaining eight seats and boosting its majority over the Liberal Democrats to 43.

Cllr Ahmet said: “I am thrilled to be re-elected as leader of Haringey Labour group. I’m grateful for my Labour colleagues’ confidence that the council is moving in a positive direction since I became leader last year.

“It’s my aspiration to make Haringey truly collaborative; to engage and work closely with local people, doing things with them and not to them, and empower them to make important decisions about our collective future.

“Labour won the local election with a convincing majority, our largest in over 20 years, giving us a strong mandate for our ambitious manifesto. I’m really excited for the hard work ahead, working with residents to deliver our green, radical, and collaborative policies for the people of Haringey.”

Mike Hakata, who now represents the new ward of Hermitage and Gardens, was re-elected as deputy Labour leader. Adam Jogee, who served as mayor of Haringey for the past two years, announced on Twitter that he will be standing down from the role and extended his congratulations to mayor-elect Gina Adamou.

Cllr Ahmet, who grew up in Wood Green, became council leader in May last year after winning the backing of her Labour colleagues. Her victory ended the three-year tenure of Joseph Ejiofor, who had taken the helm in 2018. Earlier this year, Ejiofor was blocked from standing for re-election as a Labour councillor and did not stand as an independent candidate.

After last week’s election win, Cllr Ahmet pledged to address the climate emergency, make 50% of new homes truly affordable, protect private renters, keep libraries open, improve leisure centres and support local businesses.

Haringey Council’s AGM is due to take place at 7.30pm on Monday, 23rd May.