Josh Mastin-Lee is the new councillor for Finchley Church End, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Josh Mastin-Lee (credit Barnet Conservatives)

The Conservatives have successfully defended a council seat in Finchley following a by-election.

The Tory candidate for Finchley Church End, Josh Mastin-Lee, was elected as the ward’s new councillor following the death of former Barnet mayor Eva Greenspan.

Cllr Mastin-Lee won a large majority of the votes cast in the by-election yesterday (Thursday 6th), getting over 500 more than the runner up, Labour candidate Beverley Kotey.

Of those who voted, 1,509 people backed the Conservatives, 977 voted Labour, 351 voted for Reform UK candidate Lisa Rutter, who came in third, and 213 backed Liberal Democrat candidate James Goldman in fourth place, with the Green Party, Rejoin EU, and an independent finishing fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.

Reacting to his win, Cllr Mastin-Lee said: “I’m incredibly honoured to have been elected to represent the residents of Finchley Church End. I’m ready to hit the ground running, continuing Eva Greenspan’s legacy of hard work and community outreach.

“Eva was a dedicated servant to this ward for 35 years, and I’m committed to building on her efforts to ensure our community’s voices are heard and their needs are met.”

Eva Greenspan, who passed away on 11th January, served on the council for nearly 35 years, following her election in 1990, and also served as the mayor in 2006/7.

Finchley Church End remains a single-party ward with the other two seats being held by Conservatives Jennifer Grocock and ex-leader Dan Thomas.

The number of eligible electors in the ward for this by-election was 13,106, however there was only a 25.5% turnout.

The win means there remains 20 Conservative councillors, 40 Labour councillors and three independents on Barnet Council.

Finchley Church End by-election results

Candidate	Party	Votes
Josh Mastin-Lee	Conservative	1,509
Beverley Kotey	Labour	977
Lisa Rutter	Reform UK	351
James Goldman	Liberal Democrats	213
David Samuel Farbey	Green Party	147
Brendan Patrick Donnelly	Rejoin EU London	119
Brian Ingram	Independent	20

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