Leonie Cooper

Biography

Leonie Cooper AM was elected to the London Assembly in May 2016. She was re-elected in 2021 with a more than three-fold increase in her majority. She is Deputy Leader of the Labour group at City Hall and leads for Labour on the Environment. Leonie chaired the Assembly’s Environment Committee from 2016-2018, and was Deputy Chair 2018-2021. Under her leadership, the Committee produced reports:

1. with recommendations on how to reduce single-use plastic bottle waste in London, which led to the Mayor’s programme of water fountains and work with Refill London; 
2. on how to tackle Londoners’ fuel poverty, which led to the first Mayoral Fuel Poverty Strategy;
3. on how to maintain London’s parks and open spaces, despite budget cuts. 

Leonie also produced her own report for the Assembly Housing Committee on biodiversity in new housing developments, with recommendations to introduce biodiversity net gain and the Urban Greening Factor, which were then included in the new London Plan.

Prior to her election in May 2016, Leonie worked in the field of environmental sustainability and campaigned on air quality - an issue she has continued to work on since being elected. 

For two years 2019-2021, Leonie was the Chair of the Economy Committee, which then produced its first-ever report on the Skills required for the Low-Carbon, Circular Economy, as well as looking at Food Insecurity, the Mayor’s Economic achievements and the impact of Brexit. During 2020, the Committee focused on the economic impacts of the pandemic on businesses, on self-employed and furloughed Londoners, on London’s many high streets and on trade in the pre-Christmas period.

Responsibilities for 2023-24

Chair of the Environment Committee.

Member of the Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee.

Member of the Housing Committee.

Member of the GLA Oversight Committee.

Member of the Confirmation Hearings Committee.

Member of the Standing Orders Working Group.