David Floyd talks to Childs Hill candidate Sarah Hoyle

Sarah Hoyle, Liberal Democrat candidate for Finchley and Golders Green — Sarah Hoyle, Liberal Democrat candidate for Childs Hill

Unrepresented at the town hall since 2018, times are tough for Barnet’s Liberal Democrats, but they are approaching May’s
elections with a sense of optimism.

Sarah Hoyle, one of party’s candidates in Childs Hill ward, says: “We have lots of amazing local champions who are standing for their communities because they’re passionate about their communities and communities are what drives us as a party.”

She describes a vote for the Lib Dems as “a sensible vote” compared to what’s on offer from the other parties, describing the centrists as
“a strong party that has a record of local government”.

She adds: “We have a track record across London of being community-based politicians and I stress community because it’s really important. So the way we do things is much more led from the ground upwards”.

Hoyle explains that the party carried out a survey last summer to understand what Barnet voters wanted. In terms of the results she says “there’s a big focus on feeling safe in communities” adding: “Then there’s just the small things that really irritate people, like fly-tipping and litter.”

The Lib Dem candidate is dubious about Labour’s track record at the town hall since it won power in 2022. She says: “It’s difficult to unpick it, to be honest, because I know that they inherited a long regime from the Conservatives, but I think everybody wanted them to do more. From the residents I speak to, they couldn’t tell you what Labour has done in four years.

“Labour is now running on [the slogan] ‘ambitious’ for their local areas. My question would be why weren’t they ambitious four years ago? What have they been doing for four years that they’re only ambitious now, four years later.

“Barnet needs more. I’d hate to think that the last four years were a warm-up act. People’s lives move quicker now, and people need more, and therefore we need more dynamic politics, but safe.”

In a possible dig at Reform UK and the Greens, she adds: “I’m not talking about populist politics.”

When it comes to tackling the borough’s financial challenges, which have seen the council apply for over £130million of exceptional financial support to balance its budget over the past two years, Hoyle is unimpressed by Labour’s approach, questioning whether
the administration knows what it’s doing.

She adds: “We go back to the fact that it’s a Labour government and a Labour administration and a Labour mayor.

“Why can’t they talk to each other and sort this out? I think there’s a big challenge for the government to provide more money for the local authority and the mayor to help out where he can.”

As the vote approaches, Hoyle is realistic that her party is unlikely to win control of the council but is hopeful they can win some seats.

She says: “We’ve done lots and lots of canvassing. I genuinely think people are looking for an alternative.

“We’re picking up votes from the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. We’re picking up votes from people who may have at one point voted for Reform because they wanted a change. We’re picking up some degree of people who are green-leaning but we’re picking it up all the way across for lots of different reasons.”

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