David Floyd talks to Reform UK’s Barnet chair Mark Shooter

Barnet Council's first Reform UK councillor Mark Shooter, pictured with assembly member Alex Wilson — Mark Shooter (right) with Reform’s London Assembly member Alex Wilson

It’s a sign of how much politics has changed in the past four years that Reform UK didn’t even run in Barnet at the previous local election in 2022.

Now the Nigel Farage-led populist party is running a full slate of 63 candidates and is confident of making a breakthrough in the borough.

While often associated with strongly right-wing stances at a national level, Reform’s local approach seems more focused on nuts and bolts issues.

Barnet chair Mark Shooter, a councillor who defected from the Conservatives in early-2025, explains: “We’ve looked at some of the core issues, such as fly-tipping and lack of hospital parking.”

He adds: “Barnet’s now in a state with so many problems with roads and pavements and cleaning, and we just want to try and pump money into those services.”

They even know which machine they will use to fill in the potholes: “We’ve got very specific solutions based on some experience in other Reform councils with new technology, the JCB Pothole Pro, which will significantly reduce the cost of fixing the potholes, as well as fixing many, many more in the same amount of time.”

On finance, Reform joins almost all the other parties in pledging to ask the government to give Barnet Council more money. However, for Cllr Shooter, the idea of “fair funding” is based on the idea that the council’s current settlement doesn’t reflect the extent of development in the area. He says: “We built so many units and the old parties haven’t anticipated the extra funding for social care and infrastructure around all of these new developments.”

Beyond that, though, he believes Reform has what it takes to make the council’s approach to spending significantly more efficient: “We need to review all contracts. There have been all these structures set up, which basically hide the transparency that’s needed for the public who are actually paying for these services.

“We need to take control of the procurement. And then we need to deliver real solutions based on some of our candidates who are business leaders with experience, who know exactly where and how to cut the costs.”

Cllr Shooter goes on to mention AI and new technology. So, while it’s described slightly differently, is Reform’s approach to the council’s woes really so different to the measures the other parties are proposing?

“I don’t believe that they really have much intention of cutting the deficit. They’re the ones that actually were the cause of this deficit. The Conservatives set up all these corporate structures, which I believe need to be dismantled. So really, I don’t think Barnet residents have much faith in them being able to deliver on cutting.”

On housing, Reform offers a variation on the yes-to-housing, no-to-that-housing theme.

“We want to see regeneration, certainly. There’s areas of Barnet that certainly need it. But we want to also keep the character of Barnet. We want to ensure that all our green spaces are protected.

“We don’t want to see these sprawling developments taking place, taking away all the parking spaces next to stations and ruining the skyline of places like High Barnet.”

What does Cllr Shooter expect will happen at the election? “I would expect us to form a group; the bare minimum. We’ve got 63 excellent candidates. I hope they all get elected,” but, he admits,

“That’s not realistic.”

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