Shimon Ryde was elected ahead of the second-placed Reform UK candidate in a by-election sparked by a controversy over a councillor’s employment, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Barnet Conservatives have retained their council seat in Hendon following a closely-contested by-election.

Conservative candidate Shimon Ryde was elected yesterday (Thursday 30th) as councillor for Hendon ward, taking over from former councillor Joshua Conway.

Cllr Ryde clinched the win with 1,656 votes, with Reform UK candidate Yosef David coming in second with 1,069 votes.

The by-election only saw a 25.2% turnout.

Reacting to the win on social media, the Barnet Conservative group said: “A heartfelt thank you to everyone who put their trust in Shimon Ryde and the Conservatives in this election. We look forward to continuing to serve our community!”

Fellow Hendon councillor, Alex Prager, said: “Delighted that we’ve kept Hendon Conservative! Reform talked big but couldn’t deliver.

“This result shows our community wants practical leadership, not protest politics. A big thank you to every volunteer and voter who supported us.”

The election came after Joshua Conway, the headteacher at Nancy Reuben Primary School in Hendon, was disqualified from his elected position after his school went from being an independent to a state school.

As a teacher at a Barnet based state-run school he was barred from holding office, as he is a paid employee of the authority.

The Conservatives group said the school became a state school following the government’s increasing national taxation and business rates for private schools.

Speaking on the disqualification, Joshua said: “I am deeply saddened. I love serving both my school and my community. It feels wrong to be forced to choose. This wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the Labour government’s envy tax on independent schools.”

The political composition of the council is now 40 Labour, 19 Conservative, two Reform UK and two councillors who are not part of a council political group. 

Hendon ward is represented by three councillors.

Hendon by-election full results:

Candidate	Party	Votes
Shimon Ryde	Conservative	1,656
Yosef David	Reform UK	1,069
Lewis Harrison	Labour	423
Gabrielle Bailey	Green Party	201
Jeremy Walsh	Liberal Democrats	107
Ben Rend	Rejoin EU	81

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