Brenda Dacres elected Mayor of Lewisham
The election was held on 7 March, following the resignation of Damien Egan. The results were:
- DACRES Brenda - Labour and Co-operative Party – 21,576
- HAMILTON John Nicholas - Workers Party of Britain (WPB) – 2,378
- HERRON Michael - The Green Party – 6,835
- LONG Nick – Independent – 917
- MAINES Chris - Liberal Democrats – 4,896
- MARTIN Maureen Maud - Christian Peoples Alliance – 1,233
- QADAR Siama - Local Conservatives – 3,784
Turnout was 20.74%
Brenda has been a councillor since 2014, representing wards in New Cross and Deptford. She has been Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing Development and Planning since 2021. She has also held the Environment and Transport Safer Communities briefs.
Brenda has lived in Lewisham for over 40 years. Her parents came to England from Jamaica in the 1960s as part of the Windrush generation, her Dad working as a mechanic and black cab driver, and her Mum as an NHS nurse.
Brenda received a grant from Lewisham Council and became the first in her family to go to university at London South Bank. She completed a degree in Physical Sciences with Computing before taking a Law degree at the University of Wolverhampton. She was called to the Bar in 2006 by Middle Temple.
Mayor Dacres said: “It's a privilege and an honour to be the first Black woman to serve as a directly elected Mayor in London.
“Our borough is my home of 40 years and where I raised my son. My parents came here as part of the Windrush generation and instilled in me their ethics of community and hard work.
“Over the past 10 years it has been an honour to serve as a councillor, cabinet member and as your Deputy Mayor. I'm excited to be in a position to drive forward the changes we need to ensure we keep moving Lewisham forward and make sure the voices of residents and businesses are heard. I've spent a lifetime fighting against low expectations. I didn't accept them for me and I'll never accept them for Lewisham residents.”