Redbridge’s longest-serving councillor has joked that his only regret is not becoming prime minister.

In his 40 years as a Labour councillor, Muhammed Javed, 71, has served in opposition, as council leader and as mayor. 

He has survived eleven local elections and is on track to be one of the longest-serving councillors in England, according to the Local Government Association.

Throughout these years he confidently says he has been “one of the best” and, partly in jest, that his only regret is not becoming Prime Minster.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service about his career, he said: “I have been mayor, leader, a councillor, chair of committees – there isn’t anything I have not done in the council.

“It’s a huge experience, I would say that I’m deeply honoured and privileged to have served this area where I lived.

“I have served the people of Redbridge to the best of my ability and would like to think that I was the best… I’m one of the best.”

Today, some describe Cllr Javed as the “unofficial opposition” in the large Labour group, a title he disputes, although he admits to “challenging” decisions internally.

Cllr Javed was elected in 1982 when the Labour had only 12 councillors, but the group gained seats through the 1980s and became the majority in 1994.

For the next eight years, no party had a majority that would give them full control of the council, so Labour needed to work with the Conservatives and Lib Dems in order to approve any major decisions.

Cllr Javed embraced this need for political compromise and eventually served as council leader for two years until the Conservatives won control again in 2002.

He said: “It sounds more difficult than it was, each party recognised the situation and worked accordingly.

“We had to do everything in consultation with the other, I couldn’t go for a photo shoot on my own.”

Despite the lack of overall political control, Cllr Javed felt he managed to improve the borough’s housing situation, encouraging council tenants to take more control of their homes through residents’ associations.

He said: “We built a record number of houses in 1994 to 1998, I think in total 7,500 to 8,000 homes, including the private sector.

“When I finished we didn’t have people [temporarily housed] in B&Bs, the only people in them were during the investigation periods.

“These families were at their lowest in temporary accommodation, they had children in local schools and we were placing them in Tillbury”

In 2002 the Conservatives won a majority and Labour was in opposition for another 12 years, during which Cllr Javed was elected ceremonial Mayor, a recognition of the cross-party respect he had earned over two decades.

Cllr Javed said he was pulled into politics because of “absent” local councillors in the early 80s.

He found himself supporting residents with housing issues, drawing on his work as an officer at Tower Hamlets Council and his own family’s struggles.

He said: “I saw my dad struggling to buy a house and living in private housing, in addition to his language skills.

“Then I became interested in housing because I lived with my parents and wife; how was I going to get a mortgage?

“Young people then and today have a terrible chance to make it – if they have a house they can’t afford a family and if they have a family they can’t afford a house.”

One of his biggest inspirations was his father, who worked in the car industry in Dagenham and taught him to “always think about the other person”.

Cllr Javed was the oldest of seven siblings and moved to Barking from Pakistan aged 15 before moving to Ilford, which he found to be “more tolerant”.

He said: “The area was changing, my parents didn’t speak much English and children didn’t have good language skills.

“Ilford was 75 to 80% white, then that slowly changed, now it’s the other way around.

“White flight has taken place and that’s not good, I believe in mixed communities, both in terms of colour, culture, religion and background.”

He added: “I didn’t know about the racism bit until I came here, I thought we were all equal, that might have been a naive view.”

But he was also impressed with the “honesty and truthfulness” of London commuters who bought newspapers by leaving money on a plate that nobody stole from.

In a parting message, he said: “I want to ask that we think about each other, British society is very caring and courteous.”