Richard Watts

Richard Watts (born 1975), is a Labour Party politician. He is currently Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. He was previously Council Leader of Islington London Borough Council, England. He was elected to that role in October 2013. In the borough elections of May 2014 he led the Islington Labour Party to an increased majority on the Council. Early life Watts attended Haywood Comprehensive School, Nottingham. He graduated with a degree in politics from Durham University and before this worked in the Pretty Polly tights factory in Nottinghamshire. Career Watts has lived in Islington since 1998. He represented the ultra-safe Tollington ward in the north of Islington from the 2006 until stepping down in 2021, during which time he led the council's Labour group.