The new mayor of Redbridge has vowed to “raise” the borough’s profile over her year as first citizen of the borough.
Sheila Bain, in her tenth year as a councillor for Wanstead Park, was nominated to the council’s top ceremonial position at an annual meeting last night (17 May).
She replaced councillor Jyotsna Islam, who had been elected to the position in May last year.
In her opening address, delivered from her seat next to new deputy mayor John Howard, she said: “In my year as mayor, I want to help raise the profile of our borough, our people, our businesses and our community groups.
“We are a diverse borough. This diversity is reflected in the range of positive activities across Redbridge.”
She added that she particularly wanted to “shine a light on our volunteers – people who do not even consider themselves volunteers but make a huge difference to people’s lives”. She added: “Their tireless work and commitment is what helps to make Redbridge such a special place to live.”
She announced her two chosen charities would be the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and the St Francis Hospice, an independent organisation serving Redbridge.
Father Martin Boland, the parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Wanstead will serve as mayor’s chaplain.
The annual council meeting, which sees the ascension of a new mayor each May, is often one of the most attended.
Last night, the public gallery was packed with residents, RAF cadets, and smartly dressed members of Cllr Bain and Cllr Islam’s families. Former Redbridge leader Keith Prince, now the leader of Havering Conservatives, and Ilford North MP Wes Streeting were also in attendance.
The council is formally run by the largest party’s leader – here, Labour’s Jas Athwal – while the mayor presides over full council meetings and acts as an ambassador for the borough. Councillors must direct their comments to the mayor and should only speak with her permission.
Having been given 15 minutes to speak at the start of the new municipal year, Cllr Athwal joked that Cllr Bain was his “favourite mayor ever,” before delivering a speech that ran for around 18.
In his tenth year of leadership, Cllr Athwal dedicated his speech to what he called the successes of the Labour-run council.
He re-committed to the council’s plans to build a lido in Valentine’s Park, while praising the authority’s “continuing” work on building new homes, its new strategy to bring empty houses back into use, and boosting safety measures in the borough.
Redbridge Conservatives leader Paul Canal responded with a scathing five-minute speech, likening an earlier fault with a promotional video to his rivals’ administration.
He demanded that Cllr Athwal ensures Broadmead Road bridge is repaired before the next general election, which could see him win the Labour safe seat of Ilford South.
A major stretch of the road was closed in July 2023 due to “significant structural defects,” with repairs yet to begin. The council says it needs funding from central government, which denies responsibility, to foot the £250million bill. Meanwhile, Cllr Canal says that shops are suffering real-term losses.
The meeting had opened with both party leaders paying tribute to Daniel Anjorin, a 14-year-old resident of Hainault who died in an attack earlier this month.
