Who will Little appoint as Deputy Mayor?

It will be interesting to see who Andrew Little appoints as Deputy Mayor. There are broadly three paths open to him – an independent, a Labour Councillor, or a Green Councillor.

If he chooses an independent councillor (they are all centre to centre right) this will be a sign that he wants a unity council. There are ways he can do this, beyond the Deputy Mayor such as committee chairs etc. But that would be a powerful sign that he wants one team on council. The possible candidates are Nicola Young and Diane Calvert. As Young endorsed him while Calvert stood against him, I would say Young is the most logical choice.

If he wants a Labour councillor on the basis he is endorsed by Labour then the two candidates are Ben McNulty and Nureddin Abdurahman. McNulty would be the obvious choice based on his huge majority in Northern Ward, and also his clear political and communication skills. However two white men in charge might offend the woke police.

He could go with a Green councillor which would help him have a 10-6 progressive majority for key votes. The two Councillors who have done a full term or more previously are Laurie Foon and Rebecca Matthews. Both could be challenging. Foon was Tory Whanau’s Deputy Mayor so keeping her on may look like the status quo too much. However Matthews has very bad relationships with many in Labour (she used to be Labour) and it is hard to see Little boring up goodwill on her.

So the three most likely are Young, McNulty and Foon with Calvert and Abdurahman possibilities.