Rokhsana was elected as the Mayor of Newham in May 2018. Prior to this, she was a councillor for Custom House Ward from 2014. Her priorities since becoming Mayor include tackling the housing crisis in Newham through an ambitious house-building programme. She has promised to build at least 1,000 new genuinely affordable homes over her four year term and is already on target to exceed this with help from a grant of £107 million from the Mayor of London. She has also committed to ensuring 50 per cent of all new homes built will be available at social rent levels and residents will be fully involved in future development through community co-design and production. This is exemplified in new resident-led tenant and leaseholder assemblies which are already influencing new policies and how housing is managed.