Anntoinette Bramble to become deputy mayor of Hackney

Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, the new deputy mayor

Anntoinette Bramble is to be appointed deputy mayor of Hackney, the Hackney Citizen can reveal.

The councillor for London Fields stood against Philip Glanville for the Labour candidacy earlier this year and previously served as children’s services chief.

In 2013 Cllr Bramble said she was “disappointed” with the council for snubbing her proposal that fast food takeaways be banned from setting up shop within a 400 metre radius of primary and secondary schools.

She will now serve as the second most senior politician in the Town Hall. A black woman who was born and raised in Hackney, her appointment is likely to be warmly welcomed and seen as a significant move by critics who have viewed the political leadership of the council as being too white, too male, and too distant from the borough’s most longstanding residents.

A leaked list showing the makeup of the new cabinet reveals Cllr Jonathan McShane, who also vied with Glanville for the Labour candidacy, will retain the health portfolio he has been in charge of for several years, and Cllr Geoff Taylor keeps the influential finance brief.

Cllr Clayeon McKenzie takes over Glanville’s former brief, housing, and Cllr Jon Burke – yet another who threw his hat into the ring in the contest to choose Labour’s mayoral candidate – takes the reins on sustainability and community services. A passionate environmentalist, he regularly tweets about global warming and recently called for throwaway plastic cutlery to be banned.

Cllr Feryal Demirci, who formerly held the environment brief, has been handed responsibility for neighbourhoods, transport and parks.

Cllr Guy Nicholson retains responsibility for the Olympics legacy as part of his planning, business and investment role.

Cllr Caroline Selman has responsibility for community safety and enforcement, while Cllr Carole Williams heads up employment, skills and HR.

There are also two mayoral advisers on the list: Cllrs Rebecca Rennison and Sem Moema.

Mayor Glanville’s choice of who to appoint to the paid cabinet roles is likely to be picked over closely by political obsessives who watch the machinations at the Town Hall, but already questions have been raised about possible cronyism.

A source said: “Rumour has it that the new Mayor Philip Glanville has given paid cabinet jobs to the friends who ran his campaign to become the Labour Party candidate for Mayor of Hackney – Clayeon McKenzie, Carole Williams and Sem Moema. It’s what used to be called ‘Mates on the Rates’ in the bad old days.”