Robin Wales
Encyclopedia
Sir Robin Andrew Wales is a Labour Party
politician and current Mayor of the London Borough of Newham
, East Ayrshire
, Scotland
in 1955, and was educated at the University of Glasgow
where he read Chemistry and was chair of the Glasgow University Labour Club
. He formerly worked at British Telecom.
. He was elected Mayor of Newham in 2002, after seven years as leader, the first Labour directly elected Mayor in the country. He was re-elected in 2006. He is often described as New Labour through and through. The Labour politician was returned in the first count of the Newham mayoral vote in May 2010. He won a landslide victory that gave him a third straight term. He polled 64,748 votes, a majority of nearly 50,000 over the second-placed Tory candidate. Wales won 68.02%, up by 20.19% from the 2006 election.
Wales was Chair of the Association of London Government
from 2000 until the 2006 council elections when he was replaced by Conservative Merrick Cockell
.
He currently sits on the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games
(LOCOG) for which he earned £8,000 in 2008/09 and £7,000 in 2009/10 as a non executive director.{www.london2012.com/publications/locog-annual-report-2009-10.php
} Sir Robin also chairs the LOCOG renumeration committee, which ensures no conflict of interest is involved.
He was awarded a Knighthood in the 2000 Birthday Honours List in recognition of his service to local government. He has two children.
overruled Sir Robin Wales' decision to build the 31 storey tower.
Wales has attracted further controversy by being awarded a 4% pay rise taking his salary to £80,029, at a time when government has called for public sector wage restraints and job losses and pay freezes at Newham Council. Wales publically stated that he would be giving the whole of his pay rise to charity (Mayor's consultation meetings October 2010). |However, Wales' pay has increased 40 per cent from £58,500 since 2002. Newham Council defended this pay increase stating that it reflected the responsibilities of his position.
It has also been reported that Wales will refuse to work alongside the first democratically-elected Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman
.
As Mayor, Wales' Newham Council have come under heavy criticism for their £111m project to relocate council offices in a single Newham Dockside block, including £18.7m of design and refurbishment costs. An investigation by the BBC found this to include at least 5 items of designer lighting each costing over £1,800. Revelations have angered local residents in what continues to be one of the poorest boroughs on the UK.
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician and current Mayor of the London Borough of Newham
London Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...
Early life
Wales was born in KilmarnockKilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
, East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1955, and was educated at the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
where he read Chemistry and was chair of the Glasgow University Labour Club
Glasgow University Labour Club
Glasgow University Labour Club was formed in 1946, and has served as a training ground for a number of prominent Labour politicians of the twentieth century. Membership is open to all matriculated students of the University....
. He formerly worked at British Telecom.
Career
Having moved to London in 1978, Wales was a councillor from 1982 to 1986 and then from 1992 to 2002 in the London Borough of NewhamLondon Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...
. He was elected Mayor of Newham in 2002, after seven years as leader, the first Labour directly elected Mayor in the country. He was re-elected in 2006. He is often described as New Labour through and through. The Labour politician was returned in the first count of the Newham mayoral vote in May 2010. He won a landslide victory that gave him a third straight term. He polled 64,748 votes, a majority of nearly 50,000 over the second-placed Tory candidate. Wales won 68.02%, up by 20.19% from the 2006 election.
Wales was Chair of the Association of London Government
Association of London Government
London Councils is the local government association for London, England, bringing together representatives of the 32 London Boroughs and the City of London Corporation, the Metropolitan Police Authority and the London Fire Brigade who are all members by subscription...
from 2000 until the 2006 council elections when he was replaced by Conservative Merrick Cockell
Merrick Cockell
Sir Merrick Richard Cockell is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom, Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Chairman of the Local Government Association...
.
He currently sits on the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games
London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is a limited company, owned by the Government of the United Kingdom, that will oversee the planning and development of the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. After the successful London 2012 Olympic bid, LOCOG was...
(LOCOG) for which he earned £8,000 in 2008/09 and £7,000 in 2009/10 as a non executive director.{www.london2012.com/publications/locog-annual-report-2009-10.php
} Sir Robin also chairs the LOCOG renumeration committee, which ensures no conflict of interest is involved.
He was awarded a Knighthood in the 2000 Birthday Honours List in recognition of his service to local government. He has two children.
Controversy
Sir Robin Wales was involved in a bitter battle with the Friends of Queens Market, which represents the market traders at Queen's Market. The traders and residents were objecting to plans to demolish the market and replace it with a new market hall with 164 stalls and 6,374m2 of shop units, 350 homes, a new civic building and a library. In May 2009, Mayor of London Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
overruled Sir Robin Wales' decision to build the 31 storey tower.
Wales has attracted further controversy by being awarded a 4% pay rise taking his salary to £80,029, at a time when government has called for public sector wage restraints and job losses and pay freezes at Newham Council. Wales publically stated that he would be giving the whole of his pay rise to charity (Mayor's consultation meetings October 2010). |However, Wales' pay has increased 40 per cent from £58,500 since 2002. Newham Council defended this pay increase stating that it reflected the responsibilities of his position.
It has also been reported that Wales will refuse to work alongside the first democratically-elected Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman
Lutfur Rahman
Lutfur Rahman is a community activist and local politician in London, England. He became the first directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets in 2010, having previously been the leader of Tower Hamlets London Borough Council from 2008 to 2010.-Education:...
.
As Mayor, Wales' Newham Council have come under heavy criticism for their £111m project to relocate council offices in a single Newham Dockside block, including £18.7m of design and refurbishment costs. An investigation by the BBC found this to include at least 5 items of designer lighting each costing over £1,800. Revelations have angered local residents in what continues to be one of the poorest boroughs on the UK.