My Mayoral Priorities
Creating a Lewisham that works for everyone
I promise to be a mayor who is collaborative, innovative, and hits the ground running on day one.
I am standing to be Mayor because Lewisham needs leadership that can deliver on our shared Labour values, and the confidence to act decisively. After 14 years of Conservative austerity, local government has been forced to do more with less, and to make every decision count. That means the next Mayor must be disciplined, collaborative, and focused on delivery. I am ready to lead from day one, with the experience and judgement to make the mayoralty count immediately. I believe in practical solutions to real problems, rooted in Labour values and delivered through strong partnerships that get results quickly and fairly. As Mayor, I will bring together residents, public services, and the voluntary and community sector to create a Lewisham that works for everyone. My ambition is clear: a Lewisham where every child gets a fair start, every resident can live in a decent home, and no one’s health or chances in life are limited by where they live.
Support our
Young People
Establishing Lewisham's FIRST Young People's Trust
Our young people have struggled through the pandemic and the cost of living crisis. According to Trust for London, 36% of our children are living in poverty after housing costs are considered.
To support them, and those that work with them, I will create Lewisham’s first ever Young People’s Trust. This will be a body that will act as an umbrella organisation to fundraise, coordinate and build capacity in the voluntary and charity sector and act as a signpost for young people to point them directly to the support they need. It will build on the work of the Youth Alliance and enable us to understand the challenges our young people are facing and look at evidence of who is at risk of being left behind and target support to those in most in need.
Improve Housing
Standards
Delivering the decent homes everyone deserves
Everyone in Lewisham deserves a safe, decent, genuinely affordable home. I will take a tough, practical approach to housing standards, expanding landlord licensing, enforcing the law, and holding bad landlords to account, while working constructively with good ones.
I will prioritise building new council-led homes at social and London Affordable Rent, on brownfield land where possible, with strong space, accessibility and environmental standards. Housing delivery must be matched by investment in infrastructure and services, so growth strengthens communities.
My focus is clear: raise standards, increase supply, and make housing work for Lewisham residents first.
Healthy
Living
Raise the age of healthy living in Lewisham
According to recent statistics, the age of healthy life expectancy in Lewisham has dropped from 64, to 57 years. This puts Lewisham second from last London-wide for our healthy life expectancy. This is a significant public health issue whose causes we need to work to understand better, and tackle urgently.
We need to create a borough-wide plan to increase the number of years people enjoy good health in Lewisham. The council has to lead on this, and as Mayor I would do exactly that.
On day one I will form a Healthy Living Task Force of public sector partners – NHS, police, schools, social landlords – coming together to deal with the wider determinants of health like poverty, economic opportunity, poor housing conditions and educational achievement.
Climate Action
and Retrofit
Protecting Lewisham from the Climate Crisis
Lewisham has declared a climate emergency, and that must be matched by action people can feel in their homes and bills.
Amanda has already delivered in this area through the cost of living climate retrofit project, improving energy efficiency, cutting bills, and supporting residents most affected by rising costs.
As Mayor, she will make retrofit central to Lewisham’s response. That means insulating homes properly, upgrading heating, and reducing energy waste across council housing, schools, and community buildings. Priority will go to neighbourhoods with the highest energy costs and poorest housing, working with residents so improvements are practical and trusted.
Climate action should also create local jobs and skills, keeping public investment circulating in Lewisham.
Tackling Crime
Hotspots
Keep our communities and streets safe
We know that the recent spate of knife-crime incidents in the borough have upset and disturbed our communities. We know that nearly one in three recorded crimes in the borough involves serious violence.
But even less serious incidents of anti-social behaviour like fly-tipping and graffiti really affect people’s morale and confidence in their community. We aren’t the police but there are things that we can do about it.
Acting on resident intelligence, we can bring together police, council enforcement teams, housing and youth services for hotspot interventions. We can use council powers on environmental enforcement, street lighting and CCTV to disrupt violence-prone spaces. As Mayor I would do all of this.
Committed to
Lewisham
I believe that we can do better. Lewisham deserves leadership that is rooted here and committed for the long term. That is why I am standing again to be Labour’s candidate for Mayor of Lewisham.
As I said last time, leading Lewisham would not be a stepping stone for me. It would be the privilege of my life, and a responsibility I would take on with care, seriousness, and pride.
We can change the way we govern here in Lewisham, starting now. I would be a candidate, and a Mayor, who listens, works with you as members, and leads in partnership.
I am ready to step up, stay the course, and lead the borough we all love.