London 8 May: Lutfur Rahman has been re-elected Mayor of Tower Hamlets with 35,679 votes in an exceptionally high turnout election.

The Labour Party was nearly relegated to third place with only 19,454 votes, in a major blow to Labour, with their Mayoral candidate receiving only 231 more votes than the Green candidate who received 19,223 votes.

Lutfur Rahman made history as the first person of colour to be elected as Executive Mayor in the UK in 2010. After being elected again in 2014 and 2022, today marks his fourth election as Executive Mayor.

His party, Aspire, also made history in the 2022 election as the first party other than the Conservatives, Labour or Lib Dems to win a London borough outright.

Jeremy Corbyn and Your Party endorsed Rahman and Aspire and joined the campaign launch, saying Lutfur Rahman has “shown what a transformative local council looks like”, and, writing in the Standard, he urged other councils to “choose to follow the example of Tower Hamlets”.

Rahman’s manifesto will see Tower Hamlets become the first council in the country to introduce free travel for students from low income families, after making history as the first council in the country to introduce universal free school meals for all primary and secondary pupils and to bring back the EMA.

The travel pass for the tube, overground and buses aims to ensure young people starting university or college are not held back from higher education by the cost of travel. The policy draws inspiration from similar initiatives internationally, including New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pledge to scrap bus fares. Under the proposal, the Council would fund travel passes students to use on Transport for London (TfL)’s networks. Currently, bus travel in London is only free up to the age of 16. This would be universal for all students whose families are below a determined income threshold, which would be determined following discussions with TfL, as would the duration of the travel pass.

*Lutfur Rahman, Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said:*

“Thank you to the people of Tower Hamlets for placing your faith in me to continue delivering our groundbreaking cost of living support and transformative programme of affordable and social homebuilding.

“Thank you for choosing the politics of hope over fear and division. Our opponents resorted to increasingly desperate and divisive attacks in an attempt to stop us, inducing AI generated fake videos of me to spread misinformation. A former Tory MP even urged white residents and ‘non-Bengali speakers’ in Tower Hamlets to ‘vote as a bloc’ against me as the ‘favourite son among the Bangladeshi community’.

“In the face of a far right on the march, here in Tower Hamlets, we are proud to be one of the most diverse places in the UK and one of the most cohesive, which elected me as the first person of colour to become Executive Mayor in the UK.

“In 2022, Aspire became the first party outside Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to win a London borough outright. The people of Tower Hamlets wanted an alternative to Labour and Tory austerity, and they helped lead a shift that has now become a political earthquake felt across London and the UK.

“We made history and set an example to the rest of the country as the first council to introduce universal free school meals for all primary and secondary school children, and the first council to reverse national government cuts – from restoring the Education Maintenance Allowance scrapped by the Tories to bringing back Winter Fuel Payments cut by Labour.

“I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved together. I hope the new progressive administrations elected today will follow our lead, adopt similarly transformative policies, and work together to deliver real change for our communities.

The post Lutfur Rahman re-elected Mayor of Tower Hamlets with huge majority and Labour nearly knocked to third place appeared first on Lutfur Rahman.

VOTE ASPIRE & LUTFUR
for a proven record and continuity.

The post Only 2hr left.Please come out appeared first on Lutfur Rahman.

Please come out and vote ASPIRE and LUTFUR for:

• Better delivery
• Stronger continuity
• A proven record
• A brighter future for everyone

The post Only 4 to 5 hours left, TODAY is a BIG day: a very important election. Please come out and vote ASPIRE for: appeared first on Lutfur Rahman.

TODAY is a BIG day: a very important election. Please come out and vote ASPIRE for:

Please come out and vote ASPIRE for:

• Better delivery
• Stronger continuity
• A proven record
• A brighter future for everyone

The post TODAY is a BIG day: a very important election. Please come out and vote ASPIRE for: appeared first on Lutfur Rahman.

TODAY is a BIG day: a very important election. Please come out and vote ASPIRE for:

Vote LUTFUR and ASPIRE for:

• Better delivery
• Stronger continuity
• A proven record
• A brighter future for everyone

The post TODAY is a BIG day: a very important election. Please come out and vote ASPIRE for: appeared first on Lutfur Rahman.

The new manifesto promises include:

– Free tube, bus, and overground travel for students from low-income families.

– 12,000 affordable and social homes by the end of the second term.

– Introducing the Tower Hamlets Pregnancy Payment to support parents on low incomes with the costs associated with a newborn baby.

– Providing laptops to young people from low-income families to bridge the digital divide.

– A review of the provision of childcare vouchers for low-income families struggling with the cost of childcare.

– Opening a new lido—outdoor swimming pool—in Victoria Park, in addition to building new swimming pools at St George’s Leisure Centre and Whitechapel Leisure Centre.

– In-housing more services, including creating a bespoke, in-house domestic violence unit, reviewing in-housing the repairs service when the contract with the outsourced company expires in 2027, and exploring the establishment of further council-run mental health support services working with healthcare partners.

– Launching luncheon clubs to combat loneliness and bring our elderly and vulnerable residents together, as well as organising beanos (day trips) for elderly residents.

– Providing further support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including play spaces in leisure centres with sensory rooms to ensure all children can enjoy physical activities, and a review to consider the introduction of SEND

-friendly after-school provisions, along with investment to build on the £1 million fund supporting young people with SEND as they transition into adulthood.

Please check the full manifesto:
https://lutfurrahman.co.uk/manifesto-2026/

The post I am so pleased with people’s response to our manifesto. Please check the video to understand briefly: appeared first on Lutfur Rahman.

The post On 7 May, please vote for Aspire. Vote for continuity, a proven record, and a brighter future. appeared first on Lutfur Rahman.

The post Manifesto 2026 appeared first on Lutfur Rahman.

At the Aspire campaign launch, I shared how truly grateful I am for the continued support from our residents. I also explained why your support is vital once again, to keep progressing together and build on our achievements.

Please watch and discover why we are united in backing Aspire and our diverse community.

The post Please take a moment to watch these short clips from various speakers, representing our wonderfully diverse community appeared first on Lutfur Rahman.

No child should feel excluded at school due to the cost of uniforms. Accordingly, as Aspire administrators, we have introduced the first initiative in England to provide free, universal school uniform support.

Some of the NEWS reports about this groundbreaking policy:

BBC:

The Guardian:

The Standard:

The post We are not just talking—we are making a real contribution to support families. appeared first on Lutfur Rahman.