London mayor appoints new environment deputy

An east London councillor has been announced as the next deputy mayor of London for environment and energy.

Mete Coban, who is Hackney's cabinet member for climate change, environment and transport, as well as a councillor for Stoke Newington, announced the news on X, formerly Twitter.

He said he was "honoured" to be appointed to the role by Sadiq Khan.

Mr Coban will receive a salary of £147,769 and is due to start work in July.

Mr Coban became a councillor in 2014 and was the youngest-ever councillor in Hackney , when he was elected at 21.

Announcing the role, he said: “The Mayor has introduced world-leading policies on climate action and I am hugely excited to bring my experience to this city-wide effort”.

Mr Khan said on X that he was "delighted" to appoint Mr Coban to the position.

"I look forward to welcoming him to City Hall as we continue our world-leading action to tackle the climate crisis, clean up our air and rivers and grow the green economy," he said.

Shirley Rodrigues stepped down from the role in May after the mayoral elections. She held the position for more than seven years.

Mr Coban is currently chief executive of the campaigning group My Life My Say, which seeks to increase youth voter turnout and for which he received an MBE in 2020 for services to young people.

The group’s partnership with Lime Bike recently came under scrutiny after the e-bike rental company won a £2 million contract to run the bikes in Hackney in early 2022.

He also was part of the team of volunteers who helped Mr Khan become Labour’s mayoral candidate in 2016 with the campaign slogan #YesWeKhan.

Hackney Council has asked if Mr Coban will remain in his Stoke Newington seat.

If he does remain, he will become the third Hackney councillor to have a position at City Hall, joining Labour Hackney Downs councillor Sem Moema, and Hackney Green Party co-leader Zoe Garbett.

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