Antoinette Fernandez
Meet Hackney’s 2026-27 Speaker
The Council’s civic and ceremonial duties are carried out by the Speaker of Hackney. The current Speaker is Councillor Antoinette Fernandez
“Black and global majority people – especially women – are often the most vulnerable in our society. If we can help them thrive, everyone benefits,” says Councillor Antoinette Fernandez, the 2026-7 Speaker of Hackney.
Antoinette, who has lived in Hackney for 18 years, was elected as a councillor for Lea Bridge ward in the borough-wide elections in May 2026. She was subsequently elected as the Speaker of Hackney by her fellow councillors.
She hopes to raise as much awareness as possible for her three chosen charities: the Claudia Jones Organisation, which empowers women affected by abuse through therapeutic support; Justice4Windrush, which secures justice for the Windrush generation; and the Tree Musketeers, which grows and maintains trees and orchards.
Antoinette continues: “I love trees! I want to make sure that everybody in Hackney has a chance to plant trees and have that connection to the earth.”
The Speaker’s role focuses on welcoming people to Hackney. Antoinette chairs Council meetings and presides over citizenship ceremonies.
She says: “Highlights have been meeting so many people. I love the citizenship ceremonies where I talk about my own journey towards becoming a British citizen, and the importance of having a right to choose your home. That resonates with people.
“I invite people to come to the parlour to meet with me. I’m using this non-political role to help inform me of how to better serve the people of this borough.”
Watch a video about the Tree Musketeers – one of the Speaker’s chosen charities
Inspiration for Antoinette comes from strong political figures: “I’m inspired by the Black Panthers, Assata Shakur, Patrice Lumumba and Winnie Mandela. People who have been ostracised for trying to do the right thing,” she says.
“I’ve also been inspired by Anne Boleyn, which I know is random, but I see a very strong female character,” Antoinette adds.
Her interest in politics started at a young age. Antoinette explains: “My mother is the fourth Erelu Kuti of Lagos and she’s also the Yeye Oodua of the Source.
“That means that she’s the Queen Mother of Lagos, but her title isn’t hereditary. She’s very well known in Nigeria.
“I’ve lived under the shadow of having a mother who is very political and savvy – because you have to be to achieve those positions,” she continues.
“But I never grew up with my father. I went to boarding school when I was nine and I left Lagos when I was a baby.”
Her father, the late Oloye Antonio Oladeinde Fernandez, was a UN ambassador and a business magnate once considered to be one of the richest men in Africa.
But Antoinette found herself cut out of her inheritance.
“I got cut off, which was horrific because I was never brought up to be a part of the real world in that way,” she admits. “Literally overnight, I had to find a job. I had no money.
“It became painfully clear to me that as a Black woman in a predominantly white country, people behaved very differently from me when I no longer had the protection of money.”
It was this sudden shift from privilege to the struggle of everyday life that helped shape her political identity.
“Having a perspective of someone who knows what it’s like to never worry about money, to someone who worries about how you’re going to pay for food and rent is invaluable for someone who goes into politics,” Antoinette explains.
And her advice for anyone facing life’s challenges? Antoinette says: “Never believe it when people tell you that you can’t do something because it’s usually not true.”