Newham needs a
safe, connected cycle network!
Finishing just four key cycle routes would help make cycling in our borough safe everywhere, and fun for everyone.
We told the next Mayor of Newham we want streets for cycling
Every child should be able to cycle to school. Every family should be able to cycle to their local park, or their local pool. Everyone should be able to cycle to the shops on the high street. To work? Football practice? Library? Friday prayers? Coffee date? No matter where, when, or who, cycling should be safe and fun.
This is already a reality for our neighbours! Just a few miles away, residents of Waltham Forest have a safe, connected cycle network. They can cycle almost any journey they like, and enjoy a journey that’s comfortable, direct, and drama-free.
We can have this in Newham too! That’s why we asked all the candidates for Mayor of Newham to commit to building a safe, connected cycle network if elected on 7 May. Scores of people who lived in Newham sent emails to all the candidates to ask them to pledge to Streets for Cycling.
Finish the Four to make cycling safe and fun for everyone
Achieving a Newham where cycling is safe everywhere is simple: you build a safe, connected cycle network, with a mix of low-traffic streets and protected space for cycling on main roads. Do that, and you make cycling for anyone and everyone.
Newham’s Mayor has the power to make this happen. And the funding is there—Transport for London will pay for it! So we kept it simple this election season, and asking candidates for Mayor of Newham to complete the core cycling network TfL has identified for Newham by 2030.
Just 4 key routes would create a grid-shaped network in our borough:
- Stratford to Ilford, providing a direct, 24/7 route for students at UEL and for the businesses in Little Ilford, and fixing a run of dangerous junctions
- Leyton to Silvertown, finally providing a safe alternative to the closed Greenway— giving NHS staff back their safe journey to Newham Hospital
- Canning Town to Barking, serving thousands of school students and connecting Green Street and East Ham to London’s cycle network for the first time
- Manor Park to the Woolwich Ferry, connecting Wanstead Flats with High Street North, the big ASDA at Beckton, and Gallions Reach for UEL’s Docklands campus
Finishing the four key cycle routes would revolutionise how Newham gets around. More people—particularly women, children, elderly people, and Disabled people—will feel comfortable to ride from A to B on a safe, connected cycle network. Making everyday journeys joyful; eliminating the hassle of sitting in traffic or circling for a car parking space; and putting money back in people’s pockets that they can then spend at local businesses. Everyone wins if Newham gets a safe, connected cycle network.
Candidate Statements
As of 07/05/26 (polling day) the following Mayoral candidate(s) have pledged to build a safe cycle network (listed in alphabetical order by surname):
Areeq Chowdhury – Green Party (pledged)
The Newham Green Party’s manifesto, published Thursday 16th April, commits to:
Build a safe, connected cycle network in Newham. With the aim of ensuring residents can cycle safely to their school, local high street, and local park, we will seek to finish four key cycle routes across Newham. These routes will be Stratford to Ilford, via Forest Gate; Leyton to Silvertown, via Plaistow; Canning Town to Barking, via East Ham; and Manor Park to North Woolwich, via East Ham. In addition, we will explore the expansion of the bikeability scheme.
Laura Willoughby – Liberal Democrats (pledged)
I pledge for more Streets For Cycling and better and safer cycle routes across Newham.
Supportive Messages
We spoke to and met with the following candidates in the run-up to the elections, who sent messages of support, but did not commit at that stage to building the full cycle network. Unfortunately we were unable to confirm agreed wording with the candidates before polling day.
- Terri Bloore (the Conservative Party candidate)
- Forhad Hussain (Labour Party) [elected]
- Mehmood Mirza (Newham Independents)
Other Candidates
Despite our best efforts, we did not receive any substantive reply to our messages from the following candidates:
- Clive Furness (Reform UK) — no reply to email sent to branch secretary
- Kamran Malik (Communities United Party) — no reply to email
- Bharath Swamy (Christian Peoples Alliance) — brief acknowledgment of our “concern for cyclists” but no pledge or detailed reply
About the campaign
We wrote to all the Mayoral candidates who declared they were running, offering to meet with them to talk about our request to build a safe, connected cycle network. On 25/03/26 we wrote to all the candidates declared at that point, with an information pack about what a safe cycle network would look like, and asking them to pledge. Where direct contact details were not available on whocanivotefor.co.uk, we sought to contact them via their local party secretary or election agent.
As candidates pledge to build a safe connected cycle network, we updated this page—our campaigning partners at the London Cycling Campaign did the same at this page.
The last update to this page was on 07/05/2026.
Political neutrality
Newham Cyclists, as part of the London Cycling Campaign, is politically neutral and independent. As part of a registered charity, we don’t (and legally can’t) tell you who to vote for. But we can encourage candidates to support pro-cycling policies, and we can report on candidates’ policies and allow you to make up your own mind.
We endeavoured to contact every candidate who declared their candidacy and who was listed on whocanivotefor.co.uk. We are within our rights not to seek a view from minor or “fringe” parties which advocate for policies opposed to Newham Cyclists’ or LCC’s objectives and values. For instance, we would decline to engage with candidates or parties that espouse views that are clearly racist, or peddle conspiracy theories.