Cllr. Michael White, Leader of Havering Council

Cllr. Michael White is married with four children. He was educated in Dagenham and went to college in Havering. He attended the University of North London where he obtained a BA (Hons) in Politics.

Michael worked in information technology for the Police IT Organisation for 12 years. The sole purpose of this organisation is the design and provision of ICT systems for the Police to enable and assist them to undertake their law enforcement duties.

Michael joined the Conservative Party in 1982 and has been involved in politics ever since. He has been a Member of Havering Council for 13 years and in that time has held many different positions mainly in the fields of Information Technology and Communications.

In 1998 he became Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group on Havering Council and Deputy Leader of the Council in 2002. His responsibilities were e-government and communications but he later took on responsibility for the Council’s drive to improve its CPA score.

In May 2004 he became Leader of the Council with a focus on improving the community leadership role of councillors representing the authority. He also Chairs the Havering Strategic Partnership.

Michael is a member of the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation Board and also sits on the Environment and Transport Sub-Committees of the Corporation, he is Vice-Chair of Thames Gateway London Partnership; a member of the Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence Board; and in 2008 was elected as Deputy Leader of London Councils.

Michael also holds the portfolio for Improvement on London Councils which involves Capital Ambitions, the London Centre of Excellence and London Connects. His responsibilities also include London Overview & Scrutiny, the GLPC and other parts of the Human Resource agenda.