Zoë Garbett has begun her term as mayor of the London Borough of Hackney following a significant electoral breakthrough for the Green Party of England and Wales in local elections earlier this month.Garbett’s victory ended decades of Labour political control in the east London borough and formed part of a broader advance by the Green Party across England.

Nationally, the party secured more than 500 council seats, gained control of five councils and won two mayoralties during the local elections.The result in Hackney drew particular political attention because of the borough’s longstanding association with the Labour Party.

In addition to Garbett winning the directly elected mayoralty, the Green Party expanded its representation on the council from four councillors to 40. Labour’s representation fell from 50 seats in 2022 to nine.“Before the election, I was saying it’s going to be really different this time, there is going to be a different landscape in London,” Garbett said.

“But I genuinely did not think it would be to this scale.”The political shift in Hackney reflects wider changes in voter alignment in parts of urban England, where housing costs, public services, environmental policy and dissatisfaction with established political parties have become increasingly influential local issues.Hackney is one of London’s most socially and economically diverse boroughs.

According to Hackney Council data, around half of residents are from Black and other global majority communities. The borough also contains significant disparities in income and living conditions, with affluent neighbourhoods existing alongside areas of long-term deprivation.Government data from the English Indices of Deprivation has identified Hackney as one of the country’s most severely affected areas for child deprivation.

Life expectancy in the borough also remains below the national average despite sustained regeneration and investment in parts of east London over the past two decades.Garbett now oversees a council administration responsible for services including housing, transport, public health, adult social care and environmental management.

Hackney Council operates with an annual budget of approximately £2 billion.Housing policy is expected to become one of the defining issues of Garbett’s administration. The borough has experienced sustained gentrification over recent years, driven by rising property prices, private investment and population growth across east London.

Those changes have contributed to pressure on social housing availability and concerns over displacement among long-term residents and community organisations.Garbett said her administration intends to prioritise the expansion of what she described as “genuinely affordable homes” alongside investment in council housing maintenance and safety improvements.

She also announced plans for a programme called “Who Owns Hackney”, which she said would focus on identifying empty properties that could potentially be repurposed for public or community use.“There is no extra money from government but we’ve got all these assets in empty properties and we could be doing much more,” Garbett said.

Her comments reflect wider financial constraints facing local authorities across England. Councils have faced prolonged budgetary pressure following years of reduced central government funding combined with rising demand for social care, housing support and local infrastructure spending.

The mayor said concerns about displacement and loss of community space were particularly relevant for Black residents and Black-owned businesses in Hackney, where redevelopment and rising commercial rents have altered the borough’s social and economic composition.“Black spaces for black communities and black-led business have been kind of pushed out of Hackney,” Garbett said.

“So it is a question of how can we use the council’s assets to push back against some of that and open up these spaces for people to use again.”The Green Party’s electoral growth has prompted debate within British politics about whether the party’s platform has broadened beyond its traditional environmental focus into housing, public services and economic inequality.

Garbett rejected suggestions that climate policy had become secondary within the party’s agenda.She said climate policy remained central to the borough’s proposed governance framework and described climate justice as a guiding principle linking multiple policy areas, including housing resilience, public health, urban planning and transport.

“Everything I do has got climate and climate justice at its centre,” Garbett said. “It’s one of our core principles that runs through our manifesto, from trying to buy back council homes and make housing safer and more resilient, to rewilding in parks, from public health to transport.”Her administration is expected to face immediate scrutiny over how environmental priorities are balanced against financial limitations and rising service demands.

Like many London boroughs, Hackney continues to manage pressures linked to temporary accommodation costs, adult social care funding and infrastructure maintenance.The political implications of the Hackney result extend beyond local government. The Green Party’s gains in London and other urban centres have raised questions about future competition between progressive parties for voters dissatisfied with Labour while also opposed to right-wing political movements.

Garbett acknowledged concerns among residents regarding national political developments, particularly around immigration policy and the growth of right-wing parties in parts of Britain.

“I speak to residents all the time in Hackney who are terrified about the changes to immigration for them or their family members and communities if Reform get in,” she said, referring to Reform UK.She said the Green Party’s local performance created a responsibility to demonstrate effective governance and provide an alternative political model capable of retaining progressive support.

“We’ve got a responsibility to deliver and to make sure that people are looking to the Green party as an alternative rather than to Reform or further rightwing parties,” Garbett said.

The change in leadership at Hackney Town Hall marks one of the most significant local political realignments in London in recent years and places the borough at the centre of wider debates over urban governance, environmental policy and shifting electoral loyalties in Britain.

A growing number of pub operators across the UK are introducing restrictions on children, citing safety risks, staff pressures and changing customer expectations, according to accounts from landlords managing increasingly complex environments.

Egil Johansen, who has run the The Kenton pub in east London for 17 years, said a series of incidents involving unsupervised children prompted him to impose a full ban. He described repeated situations where young children moved freely around the premises, including one case in which a three-year-old entered a restricted staff area and fell through a cellar hatch while parents were elsewhere.

Johansen also recalled a five-year-old colliding with a staff member carrying drinks, resulting in broken glass, and a separate incident involving a group of parents who, he said, did not supervise multiple children who were running through the venue. He said that in such cases, parents often blamed staff when accidents occurred or objected when asked to intervene.

He initially attempted a partial restriction by prohibiting children after 5pm, but said the measure proved ineffective. He subsequently implemented a complete ban, citing legal obligations to ensure safety on the premises and concerns that other customers were being deterred.

The decision has generated debate within the hospitality sector, with some operators taking a different approach. Lee Jones, landlord of the The Brewers Arms, said he reversed a previous ban on children and maintains an inclusive policy.

Jones said his pub is designed to accommodate a broad customer base, including families, and that issues related to children’s behaviour are typically addressed through direct communication with parents. He noted that disruptive incidents are infrequent in his experience.

Other landlords report a more challenging environment. Stephen Boyd, who manages the The Alma, said that efforts to attract families led to operational strain. He described increased demands on staff time, including requests for customised food and drink options for children, which he said slowed service for other customers.

Boyd also cited behavioural concerns, stating that a small number of disruptive children could affect the overall atmosphere of the venue. He said that when staff intervened, some parents reacted negatively. After introducing a ban on children, Boyd reported improvements in staff retention and revenue, though he also faced criticism online.

Beyond safety and service issues, some operators point to financial factors. Mandy Keefe of the The Wheel Inn said her decision to restrict children was partly based on economic considerations.

She noted that children typically order from lower-priced menus and do not contribute to alcohol sales, which can affect overall profitability, particularly during peak service periods.Industry groups acknowledge the sensitivity of the issue.

Tom Stainer, chief executive of the Campaign for Real Ale, said debates around children in pubs can be contentious. While he expressed a preference for inclusive environments, he emphasised that responsibility for children’s behaviour ultimately rests with parents.

The differing approaches reflect broader shifts in how pubs position themselves within their communities. Some seek to maintain traditional roles as family-friendly spaces, while others are adapting to demand for adult-focused environments.

The absence of a uniform standard has resulted in varied policies across the sector, shaped by individual business models, customer bases and risk assessments.Johansen said his decision was not taken lightly, describing himself as a people-oriented operator reluctant to exclude any group.

However, he maintained that repeated incidents and safety concerns left limited alternatives.Across the industry, landlords continue to weigh the balance between inclusivity, safety obligations and commercial viability, with policies evolving in response to local conditions and customer expectations.