David Floyd talks to Barnet Conservative leader Peter Zinkin about how race hate affected this month’s vote
The vote in Barnet took place amid a backdrop of the alarming rise in attacks on Jewish people and buildings in and around the borough in recent months.
Talking to Barnet Post at the count last month, Barnet Conservative leader Peter Zinkin reflected on the impact of the situation on Jewish voters he had spoken to on the doorsteps.
Cllr Zinkin said: “The Jewish community is desperately anxious, and therefore they are looking for support, and they are looking for the council to provide them with that support.”
When asked what Jewish residents were asking the council to do, he explained that they saw the council as having a key role alongside the Mayor of London and central government. He said: “What they see at the moment is we have a Labour government, a Labour mayor and a Labour council, and what they believe is that those three layers of government have a collective responsibility to sort things out, because the progressive escalation of events is very, very worrying.”
Describing an example, he said:“It affects every aspect of life. We have the letter that yesterday one of the main Jewish boys’ schools sent out to parents, saying there was an attempt by a car to drive at a group of pupils on the way home. Something like that is not the sort of thing which is designed to reassure people that the authorities are on top of things.”
Cllr Zinkin praised the role of the police but said the need for additional policing showed how serious the problem was.
He said: “The police have done a tremendous job. Unfortunately due to all the things that have happened, police resources have very significantly been increased. And that is government money.”
“But the real question is, why was it necessary to do that? And the reason why it was necessary to do that is because the government has allowed wider society to normalise Jew hatred.”
Cllr Zinkin’s Labour counterpart, Barry Rawlings, also recognised the impact of the attacks. He told the Post: “It’s been a long period and a difficult election. Given that, in Barnet, it was at the same time we just had those absolutely terrible antisemitic attacks.
“That makes you realise what the council does to make a difference.”
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