New young mayor and deputy team
Young people voted to elect sixteen-year-old Fetuma Hassan from Mulberry School for Girls as their new Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets, gaining the majority vote.
38% of all eligible young people (7,167) in the borough cast their votes between 4 and 10 December 2023, following campaigns from fifteen young people.
To announce the result, the fifteen candidates running for Young Mayor gathered in Tower Hamlets’ Town Hall to find out who would be elected.
The Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets and their deputies are the voice of young people in the borough.
They work closely with other local young people and services to understand their issues and raise concerns by:
-
representing young people locally and nationally.
-
getting involved in the Tower Hamlets Youth Council and other local youth forums.
-
attending events and organising special projects.
-
influencing and steering strategic decisions that affect young people in the borough.
At the inauguration event, the fifteen candidates heard from the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Tower Hamlets, along with the previous Young Mayor and deputies who served a two-year term.
Alongside Fetuma Hassan, the deputies to run in the Youth Council were announced:
- Iffat Bhuiyan
- Khadija Dirir
- Ziyad Baksh
- Fatima Omar
- Rochelle Lewis-Geary
Lutfur Rahman, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said:
“I was delighted to attend the inauguration event for the next Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets.
“The Young Mayor scheme is an integral aspect of our delivery of strategic decisions that affect young people in or borough.
“Therefore, it is vital that young people can have their say on the council’s £19m investment into schemes that affect their lives.
“These schemes include our Youth Service, Young Tower Hamlets, universal free school meals for primary and secondary school pupils, the Education Maintenance Allowance, University Bursaries and more.”
Cllr Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning, said:
“I want to thank all the young people who have taken part in the Young Mayor elections - whether you ran as a candidate or voted.
“It has been inspiring to see the commitment and passion of young people to shape the lives of youth in the borough.
“I look forward to working with the new Young Mayor and their deputies moving forward.”
Fetuma Hassan, new Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets:
“I would like to begin by thanking the young people of Tower Hamlets for entrusting me with the responsibility, and honour of serving as your Young Mayor. I would also like to thank my cabinet, you are the best team I could ever have and I strongly look forward to a journey of collaboration, dedicated to the progress of our borough, towards a transparent, inclusive, and thriving Tower Hamlets.”
Posted on Wednesday 20th December 2023