Cllr Thorpe, who was elected to take the helm on Wednesday night, previously served as Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Sustainability.

The new Leader also announced his Cabinet Members and other key posts for the Council which retained Labour control at the elections held earlier this month.

Cllr Thorpe paid tribute to outgoing Leader Councillor Denise Hyland, who had served in the role since 2014, as both a great colleague and friend.

The 36-year-old who has represented Shooters Hill Ward for Labour since 2004 is also to serve as the Cabinet Member for Community and Corporate Resources. Cllr Thorpe who has always lived in Royal Greenwich grew up on the former Ferrier Estate in Kidbrooke and the Page Estate in Eltham. He attended Haimo Primary School and Thomas Tallis School in Kidbrooke and both inspired him to train and work as a primary schoolteacher.

"It is a great honour"

Cllr Thorpe said: "It is a great honour to be elected Leader of the borough I have always been immensely proud to call my home. Growing up in Royal Greenwich and attending its schools gave me wonderful opportunities and I want to make sure all residents get the support and life chances I had."

"Cllr Denise Hyland worked tirelessly to deliver greater opportunities and better services to enhance the lives of residents across Royal Greenwich despite serving during the period of severe Government funding cuts. She is definitely going to be a tough act to follow."

"The key priorities for the Council moving forward include maximising our assets to deliver more council and genuinely affordable housing and increasing our engagement with residents to make sure new developments bring positive benefits to our communities."

"We will also be working to reduce traffic and improve air quality around schools and establish a programme of healthy streets around the borough. Against the back drop of rising knife crime and serious youth violence across the capital we will be increasing our work with young people and the police to tackle this complex area."

"Importantly I have established a Cabinet Member role dedicated to finance and resources to make sure every pound we spend goes towards achieving our key priorities."

Cabinet appointments

The full appointments to the Cabinet are as follows:

• Cllr Danny Thorpe - Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member for Community and Corporate Resources
• Cllr David Gardner - Deputy Leader, also Cabinet Member for Children's Services and Schools
• Cllr Averil Lekau - Adult's Social Care, Health and Poverty
• Cllr Denise Scott-McDonald - Air Quality, Public Realm and Transport
• Cllr Jackie Smith - Community Safety and Integrated Enforcement
• Cllr Miranda Williams - Culture, Leisure and the Third Sector
• Cllr Denise Hyland - Economy, Skills and Apprenticeships
• Cllr Christine Grice - Finance and Resources
• Cllr Sizwe James - Growth and Strategic Development
• Cllr Chris Kirby - Housing

Key Council appointments

Appointments made to other key Council roles, include:

• Mayor - Cllr Christine May
• Deputy Mayor - Cllr Mick Hayes
• Opposition Leader - Cllr Matt Hartley