John Robert Biggs (born 19 November 1957) is a British

Labour Co-op Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an el ...

politician who was

Mayor of Tower Hamlets The mayor of Tower Hamlets is the directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets London Borough Council in east London, England. The first election for this position occurred on 21 October 2010, taking on the executive function of the borough counci ...

between 2015 and 2022. Biggs was first elected to

Tower Hamlets London Borough Council Tower Hamlets London Borough Council, also known as Tower Hamlets Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under ...

in 1988 where he served as a Councillor for St Katharine's Ward and later St Dunstan's Ward until 2002. He was selected as Leader of the Labour Group in 1991, and became a Council Leader in 1994 following a landslide election win. In 2000, he successfully ran for the City and East Constituency London Assembly seat. Over the course of a 16-year career in the Assembly he served as a member of the

Metropolitan Police Authority The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) (2000–2012) was the local police authority responsible for scrutinising and supporting the work of the Metropolitan Police Service, the police force for Greater London (excluding the City of London Police ...

London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) was a functional body of the Greater London Authority (GLA) from 2000 to 2018. It was established with the Greater London Authority by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It replaced the ...

, London Health Commission, Deputy Chair of the

London Development Agency The London Development Agency (LDA) was from July 2000 until 2012 the regional development agency for the Greater London, London region in England. A functional body of the Greater London Authority, its purpose was to drive sustainable economic ...

, Deputy Chair of the

London Thames Gateway Development Corporation The London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC) was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government, with directors appointed by the Secretary of State, including some democratically elect ...

, Chair of Transport, Chair of Planning and Spatial Development, Chair of Regeneration, Chair of the London Assembly Budget Committee, and Chair of the GLA Audit Committee. He was elected

in 2015, and reelected in 2018. In 2007 he was made an Honorary Fellow of Queen Mary University, and of

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

in 2016.

Early life and education

He was educated at

Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet is a boys' grammar school in Barnet, northern Greater London, which was founded in 1573 by Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, and others, in the name of Queen Elizabeth I. It is consistently ranked as one o ...

and graduated from the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

in 1979 having studied chemistry. He then studied Computer Science at

Birkbeck College, University of London Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

, and later studied law at the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

while serving as a Councillor. He served as an elected politician in London, in Tower Hamlets and East London between 1988 and 2022. In his 20s, Biggs worked as a Systems Analyst in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. Later, he was director of the Labour affiliated

Socialist Health Association The Socialist Health Association (SHA, called the Socialist Medical Association before May 1981) is a socialist medical association based in the United Kingdom. It is affiliated to the Labour Party as a socialist society. History The Socialis ...

from 1997 to 2000. He is an Honorary Fellow of Queen Mary University (2007) and

(2016).

Tower Hamlets Council

Biggs was elected to

in 1988, first as councillor for St Katharine's Ward, and Later St Dunstan's Ward until 2002. He was selected as the Labour Group leader in 1991, during the period the council was Liberal Democrat controlled (1986–1994). He led Labour to a landslide victory in 1994, leading the campaign to remove the UK's first BNP councillor, and the populist but discredited Liberal Democrat administration. After standing down as leader in 1995, he remained an active councillor but also attended Law School, served as Director of the

(1997–2000), and was Deputy Chair of Bow Housing Action Trust (1995–2004).

London Assembly

Biggs represented City and East Constituency at City Hall between 2000 and 2016, during the tenures of Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson. Under Ken Livingstone's, initially independent mayoralty, relationships were frosty due in part to the circumstances of Livingstone's election and his subsequent support for Lutfur Rahman, but improved with time. As Assembly Member between 2000 and 2008 he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the

(2004–2008) and served on the

(2000–2003),

and the London Health Commission. He was appointed by Government as Deputy Chair of the

(2004–2008). Within the Assembly, he was variously Chair of Transport, Chair of Planning and Spatial Development, and Chair of Regeneration. Under Boris Johnson he was a witty and bitter critic although the men developed a strange if challenging rapport. Aside from challenging the Mayor in debate he was for 7 years Chair of the London Assembly Budget Committee. He was also Chair of the GLA Audit Committee, which among other matters considered issues of conduct including of the Mayor. Upon his election as

in 2016 he stood down from the Assembly, and was succeeded by

Unmesh Desai Unmesh Desai is a British politician. A member of the Labour Party, he has represented City and East in the London Assembly since 2016. He served as a councillor on the London Borough of Newham from 1998 until 2018, representing East Ham Centr ...

Mayor of Tower Hamlets

2014: Candidate

Having won selection as the Labour candidate for directly elected

, Biggs stood against incumbent Lutfur Rahman in 2014. Rahman had previously won support from

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

Ken Livingstone. Livingstone reversed his public position after auditors were appointed to investigate allegations of mismanagement and fraud at the council, but remained privately supportive. Rahman won the

Supplementary Vote The contingent vote is a two-stage electoral system that elects a single representative, in which the winner receives a majority of votes. It uses ranked voting. The voter ranks the candidates in order of preference, and when the votes are f ...

election in the second round with 37,395 (52.27%) votes to Biggs' 34,143 (47.73%) with a total of 84,234 valid ballots cast. Immediately following the election, four voters challenged the result in the case Erlam v Rahman. In a rare intervention the election court overturned the result, ejecting both Rahman and his election agent from office, barring both from future public office for five years, and forcing a fresh election. In 2014 Rahman's actions while in office led to government appointed commissioners being brought in to the council to review its grant making practices. Further investigations were ordered following the election court judgement in 2015. The final government direction was lifted in 2017.

2015: Victory and first term

Following the verdict in Erlam v Rahman a by-election was held on 11 June 2015. Biggs stood against an independent candidate Rabina Khan, who was endorsed by the disqualified Rahman. Biggs beat Khan with 32,754 (55.39%) votes to her 26,384 (44.61%). His first term in office was dominated by addressing the concerns caused by Rahman's actions, and successfully having the government directions lifted. His administration was also marked by a commitment to transparency and accountability, the previous Mayor having markedly refused to answer questions publicly or in the Council chamber.

2018: Reelection and second term

Biggs stood for reelection against Rabina Khan now representing the

People's Alliance of Tower Hamlets The People's Alliance of Tower Hamlets (PATH) was a minor political party in Tower Hamlets, London, England composed of councillors who had formerly been members of Tower Hamlets First and then the Tower Hamlets Independent Group. The group wa ...

, a party formed from the rump of Lutfor Rahman's disgraced

Tower Hamlets First Tower Hamlets First was a local political party represented in Tower Hamlets London Borough Council, which was launched to contest the 2014 local elections in the Borough. During its existence, it was the second largest party on Tower Hamlets C ...

, and Tower Hamlets Independent Group. Biggs won the election with 44,865 (72.66%) votes to Kahn's 16,878 (27.34%), and his leadership resulted in Labour increasing its number of councillors to 42 out of 45. In his second Mayoral term Biggs, * Led a major programme to provide 2000 additional council homes; * invested in parks and the public realm; * led the borough's response to COVID-19; * continued the service improvement begun in his first term; and * campaigned for improving residents' safety. Mayor Biggs committed to investing in additional council funded police officers and youth services, along with a post at the Royal London to work with victims and perpetrators of violence. Like other London Council Leaders, this all took place to a backdrop of massive budget savings, while working to protect services from national funding cuts. As a result of work achieved during Biggs tenure Tower Hamlets London Borough Council won a number of awards and was shortlisted for a number of others, including * Digital Impact; * Growth and Economic Development; * Public Health; * Mental Health; * Substance Misuse Services; * Carbon Reduction; * Hate Crime & Violence against Women; * Most Improved Council; * Public Health; * Council of the Year; and * Most Improved Council of the Year.

2022: Loss

Biggs lost re-election in 2022 to Rahman and his newly formed Aspire Party by 40,804 (54.90%) to 33,487 (45.10%) votes, a result viewed by many as a surprise. Within nine months of Aspire's victory, in February 2023, with the unexpected departure of the longstanding lead official of

Tower Hamlets Council Tower Hamlets London Borough Council, also known as Tower Hamlets Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under ...

, the Chief Executive of the

Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) is a UK based organisation for accountants who work in the public sector, accounting firms and other professional bodies where management of public funds are required. CIPFA is the ...

raised the prospect that the authorities would once again have to intervene following Lutfur Rahman's mismanagement of the council. Following the election he announced his retirement from elected politics and now works as a consultant and Non-Executive Director. He is currently a Director (2022–) of Islington & Shoreditch Housing Association.

References

External links

Biography from the Metropolitan Police AuthorityJohn Biggs WebsiteJohn Biggs Facebook PageJohn Biggs Twitter Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biggs, John 1957 births Living people People educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School for Boys Alumni of the University of Bristol Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Alumni of the University of Westminster Councillors in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets British republicans British socialists British financial analysts Mayors of places in Greater London 21st-century British politicians Labour Party (UK) mayors Labour Members of the London Assembly Labour Co-operative Members of the London Assembly London AMs 2000–2004 London AMs 2004–2008 London AMs 2008–2012 London AMs 2012–2016 Politicians from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets