Lewisham’s first black and female has been voted as the new Mayor.

Brenda Dacres, member of the Labour and Co-operative Party, has been named the new directly elected Mayor of Lewisham.

Mayor Dacres won with a final count of 21,575 votes, after securing 51.5 percentage of the total votes in yesterday's election which saw a turnout of 20.74 percent.

First becoming a councillor in 2014, Ms Dacres represented wards in both the New Cross and Deptford area, and later became Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing Development and Planning in 2021.

Mayor Dacres has also held the Environment and Transport Safer Communities briefs.

The new Mayor has lived in Lewisham for four decades, after her parents first came to England from Jamaica in the 1960s as part of the Windrush generation, with her father working as a mechanic and black cab driver, and her mother as an NHS nurse. 

Brenda later attended university at London South Bank, completing a degree in Physical Sciences with Computing, before undertaking Law degree at the University of Wolverhampton, and was called to the Bar in 2006 by Middle Temple.

This Is Local London: Mayor Dacres says she will focus on driving forward change in the boroughMayor Dacres says she will focus on driving forward change in the borough (Image: Lewisham Council)

Mayor Dacres expressed “excitement” to begin her new post as Mayor and added that she would focus on driving forward change in the borough, ensuring that “voices of residents and businesses” were heard.

Mayor Dacres said: “It's a privilege and an honour to be the first Black woman to serve as a directly elected Mayor in the UK.

“Our borough is my home of 40 years and where I raised my son.

“My parents came here as part of the Windrush generation and instilled in me their ethics of community and hard work. Over the past 10 years it has been an honour to serve as a councillor, cabinet member and as your Deputy Mayor.

“I'm excited to be in a position to drive forward the changes we need to ensure we keep moving Lewisham forward and make sure the voices of residents and businesses are heard.

“I've spent a lifetime fighting against low expectations.

“I didn't accept them for me and I'll never accept them for Lewisham residents.”