Richard Blakeway

Richard is responsible for overseeing the Mayor's statutory housing powers, including £3 billion of investment and around 600 hectares of land, following the transfer of functions and assets from the London Homes and Communities Agency and the London Development Agency to the GLA. He also has strategic oversight of the land of the GLA Group and the Mayor's statutory housing strategy.

Richard previously worked in the House of Commons, including for the Conservative Party's policy review, and in 2004 helped launch and edit the International Development Magazine circulated to over 100 countries. He advised the Government of Somaliland, in East Africa, on their election process ahead of the first ballot in the region for 40 years and subsequently worked as an election observer in the Ukraine during the country's parliamentary elections following the Orange Revolution.

Richard is a Young Ambassador for the Samaritans and Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts. He is a non executive director of the Chartered Institute of Housing, and chairs the Homes for London board.