Cllr Diarmaid Ward becomes Acting Leader of Islington Council
Cllr Diarmaid Ward has become the Acting Leader of Islington Council, following the resignation of Kaya Comer-Schwartz.
Earlier this month Kaya Comer-Schwartz, who had been Leader since May 2021, announced she would be stepping down.
Her appointment as London’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime was formally confirmed at a London Assembly Policing and Crime Committee hearing on Wednesday (23 October).
First elected as a councillor for Holloway ward in 2014, Cllr Ward has been on the council’s Executive since 2016 – serving first as Executive Member for Housing and Development, before becoming Deputy Leader and Executive Member of Finance, Planning, and Performance in 2022.
Before joining the Executive, Cllr Ward worked as legal aid solicitor and was a member of the Duty Solicitor Scheme at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court.
As well as stepping down as Leader, Kaya Comer-Schwartz has resigned as a councillor for Junction ward. A by-election will now take place in the ward on Thursday, 28 November. A notice of election was published on the council's website yesterday (Thursday, 24 October).
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