Ezra Cohen won a by-election prompted by the mysterious resignation of Liron Velleman, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Ezra Cohen (centre) campaigning in Whetstone (credit Barnet Labour)

Barnet Labour has successfully defended a council seat in Whetstone following a by-election.

Labour candidate Ezra Cohen was elected as the ward’s new councillor following the by-election yesterday (Thursday 15th).

The poll was prompted by the mysterious resignation of ex-councillor Liron Velleman, who quit both the Labour group and the council for unknown reasons in April.

Cllr Cohen was elected with 965 votes, 147 more than the runner-up, Conservative candidate Tom Smith, won won 818 votes.

In third place, Reform UK candidate Adrian Kitching won 592 votes, while Green Party candidate Charli Thompson was fourth with 208.

Candidates representing the Liberal Democrats, Rejoin EU, Independent Trade Union and Socialist, plus an independent, finished fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth respectively.

Reacting to his win, Cllr Cohen said: “I want to thank all the residents who put their confidence in me, and all of the volunteers who supported me through the campaign.

“I am so excited to join the Labour administration’s work in transforming Barnet into a well-run council that prioritises residents’ safety and the state of the borough. I will work for all residents, whether they voted for me or not.”

Council leader Barry Rawlings congratulated Cllr Cohen and said: “Barnet residents are backing Labour’s responsible running of the council, unlike the reckless Conservatives. We have made difficult decisions and will have to make more.

“But voters can see a borough where the CCTV works and the roads are being fixed. I am grateful for Barnet residents’ continued support.”

However a Conservative group spokesperson dismissed the win, insisting Labour had “failed” Barnet. They said: “Barnet Conservatives are incredibly proud of our campaign and the efforts of our candidate, Tom Smith, although the by-election didn’t deliver the result we hoped for.

“Labour’s vote share dropped significantly by 18 percentage points, from 51% in 2022 to around 33% in 2025—a one-third reduction.

“In all three Barnet by-elections this year [Finchley Church End, Burnt Oak and Whetstone], two prompted by Labour resignations and costing the council around £100,000, Reform has consistently placed third behind the Conservatives and Labour, showing that Barnet residents do not view Reform as electable.

“With Labour’s vote collapsing and Reform unelectable in Barnet, we’re confident in our ability to re-establish an administration that prioritises the needs of Barnet residents.”

Meanwhile, Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson echoed the council leader’s thoughts on the improvements Labour had made to the borough.

Tomlinson said: “I’m a local resident in Whetstone, so I’m grateful to my neighbours near and far for supporting Labour in this by-election.

“The Labour council is fixing roads, improving Barnet’s CCTV network and improving our green spaces. This result is a testament to that work, and to Cllr Ezra Cohen’s commitment to working hard for Whetstone in the next year.”

Whetstone remains a single-party ward with the other seat being held by Labour’s Ella Rose.

The number of eligible electors in the ward for this by-election was 8,431, however there was only a 34.3% turnout.

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

Whetstone by-election results

Candidate	Party	Votes
Ezra Cohen	Labour	965
Tom Smith	Conservative	818
Adrian Kitching	Reform UK	592
Charli Thompson	Green Party	208
Luigi Bille	Liberal Democrats	176
Richard Hewison	Rejoin EU	65
Martin Hudson	Independent Trade Union and Socialist	47
Brian Ingram	Independent	13

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