Newham’s Labour Group of councillors have voted to allow a free vote of councillors in next year’s referendum on local governance. This means that Labour councillors will be free to campaign for either side in the referendum and can take full part in the campaign for the committee structure (or indeed the campaign to preserve the mayoralty, if one is set up).

In the last referendum in 2002 a lot of pressure was put on councillors to support the campaign for a directly elected mayor, so this is good news.

Click here for our press release.