Andrew Boff Elected New London Assembly Chair: Hackney 2026

Key Points

• Third Term in Office: Conservative Assembly Member Andrew Boff has been elected as the Chair of the London Assembly for a third, one-year term.
• Accountability Vow: Boff has pledged to stringently hold the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, to account on major issues affecting Londoners.
• Political History: Boff has a varied local government background, previously serving as leader of Hillingdon Council and later as a councillor for the Queensbridge ward in Hackney.
• Cross-Party Support: Boff was nominated by outgoing Labour Chair Lord Len Duvall and seconded by City Hall Conservatives group leader Susan Hall, who praised his independent thinking and occasional party rebellions.
• Committee Changes: The appointment comes alongside the annual reshuffle of committee leads across multiple parties, including Labour, the Green Party, and the Liberal Democrats.
• Reform UK Refusal: The Reform UK group declined the opportunity to take up committee chairships or deputy chairships, labelling the positions as investigatory and lacking meaningful power.

London (Extra London News) May 20, 2026 – The London Assembly has elected Conservative Assembly Member Andrew Boff as its new Chair, marking his third time presiding over all-member proceedings in the City Hall chamber. Boff, a veteran politician and former Hackney councillor, secured another one-year term in the role last week as part of City Hall’s annual reshuffle of committee leads. Upon taking the helm, the newly appointed Chair vowed to stringently hold the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, to account on the issues that matter most to capital residents.

The position of London Assembly Chair carries significant procedural power over all Assembly sessions, including the highly scrutinised monthly Mayor’s Question Time (MQT). The Chair is responsible for maintaining order, selecting speakers, and calling out individual members for inappropriate questioning or reprimanding the Mayor himself for avoiding direct answers. Boff’s election follows the conclusion of the Assembly’s 25th anniversary year and triggers a wider reshuffle of chairs across various cross-party investigative committees, which hold the power to scrutinise high-profile public figures from Transport for London (TfL), the Metropolitan Police, and the London Fire Brigade.

Who Is the New London Assembly Chair, Andrew Boff?

The newly elected Chair possesses a long and varied career in London local government, stretching back across several decades. Before his tenure at City Hall, Boff served as the leader of Hillingdon Council between 1990 and 1992, having been first elected as a councillor in that area in 1982. He subsequently moved to Hackney in 1993, where he integrated into the local community by helping to run Broadway Market’s Saturday market and publishing a local magazine.

Boff entered Hackney Council after winning a highly contested local by-election for the Queensbridge ward on January 20, 2005. During that contest, Boff gained 696 votes, finishing ahead of Labour’s Patrick Vernon, who secured 595 votes. This victory represented a notable 19.5 per cent political swing from Labour to the Conservatives.

However, Boff’s local council seat in Hackney was short-lived. In the local government elections held the following year in 2006, Boff lost his seat to the exact same Labour opponent. Whilst Boff managed to increase his personal vote share to 913 votes, he was ultimately surpassed by Vernon, who secured 1,119 votes. Alongside his time as a ward councillor, Boff stood as the Conservative candidate for the Hackney Mayoral elections in both 2002 and 2006, finishing in second place on both occasions. He was eventually elected as a London-wide London Assembly member in 2008, a position he has maintained continuously.

Why Was a Conservative Rebel Nominated by a Labour Peer?

Despite his alignment with the City Hall Conservatives, Boff has developed a distinct reputation as a political independent willing to challenge his own party’s hierarchy. This trait was highlighted on the floor of the chamber during his nomination process.

As reported by Kumail Jaffer, a Local Democracy Reporter for the Hackney Citizen, outgoing Assembly Chair Lord Len Duvall, a Labour Assembly Member, personally nominated Boff for the position. Lord Duvall stated that Boff “thinks out of the box and challenges his own group to think about issues raised in this chamber.”

This nomination was formally seconded by City Hall Conservatives group leader Susan Hall AM. As recorded in the same reporting by Kumail Jaffer for the Hackney Citizen, Susan Hall stated that the Assembly was “very lucky” to have Boff in the chair, specifically acknowledging his history of “occasional rebellion against his own party.”

Boff’s independent streak gained national media attention during the 2023 Conservative Party Conference. During that event, Boff was famously marched out of the conference hall by security staff after publicly heckling the then Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, over her rhetoric regarding gender and diversity issues.

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What Are Andrew Boff’s Main Priorities for the Year Ahead?

Following his successful election to the chairship, Boff outlined his immediate goals and expressed gratitude to his political colleagues for their cross-party support.

As published by the Greater London Authority (GLA) press service, Andrew Boff AM stated:

“My heartfelt thanks go to Lord Duvall of Woolwich OBE AM for chairing during the very special 25th anniversary year. I am keen to continue his great work in highlighting the work of our incredible young people across the capital through our work with the London Youth Assembly.”

Boff emphasized the practical impact that the local government body has on standard metropolitan life, adding:

“Our cross-party work on the Assembly has a real impact on the everyday lives of Londoners, and I am honoured that the Assembly has chosen me to be chair once again. In the year ahead, the London Assembly will continue to hold the mayor to account on issues that matter most to Londoners.”

How Will the Committee Reshuffle Impact City Hall Scrutiny?

The annual meeting also saw the election of new chairs for the various cross-party investigative committees at City Hall. While the London Assembly itself does not possess direct legislative or decision-making powers, these committees retain significant influence over London’s governance. Committee chairs are responsible for directing investigative budgets and scheduling formal scrutiny sessions for high-profile figures, including deputy mayors, Members of Parliament, and senior executives from the Metropolitan Police, Transport for London (TfL), and the London Fire Brigade. Following these sessions, committees produce formal policy recommendations for the Mayor of London to review.

The annual reshuffle resulted in four of the five political parties represented on the London Assembly obtaining at least one committee chairship. The detailed allocations published by the Greater London Authority listed the updated line-up for the 2025–2026 operational year:

What Key Issues Will the New Committee Chairs Focus On?

Following the confirmation of the committee rosters, several newly appointed chairs released statements via the Local Democracy Reporting Service to outline their legislative agendas for the upcoming year.

Susan Hall, elected to lead the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, highlighted public safety as her primary objective. As reported by the Hackney Citizen, Hall stated:

“Ensuring Londoners are kept safe is an absolute priority for us all, and I am delighted to once again be chairing the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee. We play a vital role in scrutinising the work of the Mayor, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and the Met Police on what is being done to make London a safe place to live, work and visit. I look forward to working with cross-party colleagues on the policing issues facing our city.”

Environmental policy changes were outlined by the newly appointed head of the Environment Committee, Liberal Democrat member Gareth Roberts. As reported by Kumail Jaffer, Roberts stated:

“From tackling persistent problems like fly-tipping to improving access to green spaces, our work will focus on how we can enhance quality of life in every part of the capital. By bringing together a wide range of perspectives, we’ll be looking closely at what more can be done to protect London’s environment and make the city cleaner, greener and healthier for everyone.”

For the Transport Committee, the Green Party’s Caroline Russell indicated that modern technology regulation would form a key pillar of her scrutiny. As reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Russell stated that “probing self-driving vehicles on London’s streets” sits at the very top of her committee’s agenda.

Economic support and employment pipelines were emphasised by Labour’s Bassam Mahfouz, who assumed control of the Economy, Culture and Skills Committee. As reported by the LDRS, Mahfouz stated that his committee will operate with a “particular emphasis on jobs, skills and supporting young people as they take their first steps into the world of work.”

Why Did Reform UK Reject the Opportunity to Chair Committees?

The only political group represented in the chamber that did not take up a leadership role in the annual allocation was Reform UK. Following last year’s political changes, which saw former Conservative defector Keith Prince join Alex Wilson to double Reform UK’s representation on the Assembly, the party was technically entitled to seek either a chairship or a deputy chairship on at least one London Assembly committee under the standard allocation rules.

However, the group formally rejected the opportunity. Party leadership indicated that both Prince and Wilson preferred to direct their political efforts toward holding the Mayor of London accountable through alternative means outside the formal committee chair structures.

As reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a spokesperson for the Reform UK City Hall group clarified the party’s official position, stating:

“The Reform UK Group does not hold any chairmanships or deputy chairmanships on London Assembly committees, which are investigatory and wield no meaningful power to affect the lives of Londoners. As such, it was agreed that allocation and rotation of chairmanships would not be revisited until after the 2028 Assembly Elections. This allows Alex Wilson and Keith Prince to focus solely on the task in front of them – holding Sadiq Khan to account on his myriad of failures in office.”