NOMINATIONS for candidates for Tower Hamlets’ first executive mayor have closed and East Enders have a list of five politicians to choose from in the upcoming election.

Current leader of the council Cllr Helal Abbas is now the Labour Party’s candidate after former council leader Cllr Lutfur Rahman was deselected earlier this week. Mr Rahman is now running against Mr Abbas as an independent candidate.

Neil King is standing for the Conservative Party, John Griffiths for the Liberal Democrats and Alan Duffell for the Greens.

East Enders will get to cast their votes and decide who they want to be Tower Hamlets’ first ever directly elected mayor on Thursday, October 21.