Redbridge’s first Labour mayor-elect in 10 years has been announced.

Cllr Muhammed Javed, who has served as councillor of two Ilford wards for 30 years, was announced mayor-elect last week.

The 60-year-old father of four was the only council member to put their name forward, meaning a ballot was unnecessary.

A new system of electing the mayor was put in place last year. Before this, many of the elected mayors belonged to the Conservative group.

Cllr Javed, of Dudley Road, Ilford, will succeed Cllr Chris Cummins in May, when he officially puts on the robes and takes up his busy schedule of appointments as mayor – which consist of around 500 visits and trips a year.

He has not yet decided on the charities he will support but said: “Elderly and vulnerable people are very important. We should all give some time to help them, even if it’s one hour a month. “On Christmas Day I took one of my residents to church for a service, and I also bought one other elderly lady Christmas dinner as she hadn’t had one in ten years,” he added.

All three party leaders – Cllr Keith Prince (Conservative), Cllr Jas Athwal (Labour) and Cllr Ian Bond (Liberal Democrat) –gave consent to bypass the need for a ballot as only one candidate had put their name forward.

Cllr Javed said: “Being a mayor is an honour. I would like to thank my colleagues and all the party members for having this faith in me.”