Zoe Garbett has been elected the Green Party’s first-ever Mayor after dramatically ousting Labour in Hackney.
Ms Garbett won 35,720 votes in the first-past-the-post election and defeated her Labour rival Caroline Woodley by nearly 10,000 votes.
Ms Woodley received 26,685 votes, losing the mayoralty which has held by Labour since the position was created in 2002.
In her victory speech, Ms Garbett said: "Today we start a fightback.
"In this election, over and over, people kept telling me that they felt let down. People kept saying, ‘it’s hard for me and it’s hard for us’. Council services are failing those who need them most and people are struggling to make ends meet.
"To everyone who voted for me, I truly thank you for putting your trust in me today."
She added: "I’m going to change the system. That’s why you’ve elected me, to lead the fightback here in Hackney, this campaign has never just been about the Green Party.
"Countless people, movements, organisations, parties and communities have come together to make this change possible."
In the wake of her victory, GB News looks back at her most controversial views.
Zoe Garbett became the Green Party's first-ever Mayor
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Helping to block letter praising Golders Green police officers
The Green Party refused to back a proposed message for the brave Golders Green police officers who responded to the antisemitic attack last month.
It is reported Ms Garbett "could not support" the letter intended to thank the officers for their "swift response" and bravery.
Ms Garbett objected on the grounds the video footage "looks like two officers kicking the attacker in the side of the head after he has been tasered".
She said: "We should be seeking to understand if the officers were following the correct protocols."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Zoe Garbett ousted Labour with a majority of nearly 10,000 votes
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‘We don't have to accept UK Supreme Court ruling on definition of a woman’
Last April saw a landmark Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman, according to which the terms "woman", "man", and "sex" in the Equality Act 2010 refer specifically to biological sex—the sex registered at birth.
In a statement, Ms Garbett slammed the ruling as "shameful" and "discriminatory" before claiming "trans people are under attack".
She wrote on April 25, 2025: “This shameful ruling works to further marginalise and exclude trans people, using the Supreme Court judgment as a tool to deny people access to basic facilities and vital services."
She added: "I believe this ruling is discriminatory and could give people the license to push their bigotry and hate, but that doesn’t mean we have to go along with it.
"We don't have to accept this interpretation of what gender is or isn't, and we absolutely can and should resist it."
‘I’ve used drugs’
In an interview with the Standard ahead of the local elections, Ms Garbett admitted to using drugs in the past and has called for them to be legalised.
She said: "I’ve used drugs in the past and that’s why I’ve campaigned for them to be legally controlled and regulated."
Ms Garbett is reported to have played a significant part in crafting the Green Party’s drug policy which aims to move drugs "into the hands of health professionals".
Hackney has one of the highest rates of drug poisoning deaths in the capital and the local council estimates just over 4,000 residents are frequent drug users, representing around 6.4 per cent, higher than the London average of 5.6 per cent.