Richard Watts

Richard has served as the Mayor’s Deputy Chief of Staff since May 2021. Before joining the Mayor’s office he was a Councillor in Islington for 15 years, serving as Council Leader from 2013. Prior to this he was appointed Executive Member for Children and Families and then Executive Member for Finance and Performance. Richard also chaired the national, cross-party Local Government Association's Resources Board and, before that, its Children and Young People’s Board.

Earlier in his career Richard ran the Children's Food Campaign, a national campaign to improve children's diets. Previously he worked for a number of different campaigns and a consultancy organization, including working on political and governance development in the Balkans. Before attending university, he worked at the Pretty Polly tights factory in Nottinghamshire.