Tense count leaves uncertain results

David Floyd talked to Barnet’s political leaders as a dramatic night in Hendon proved inconclusive

People gathering around tables at the Barnet Council count, with a plane in the background — The count in progress – (Credit – David Floyd)

After the 2024 general election saw exhausted politicians (and journalists) spending all night waiting for the final result, it was a relief that this year’s count took place during the daytime.

However, when the first recount (in Whetstone ward) was announced at around 12.30pm, it was clear we were going to be in for a long day.

As the results came in – and predictions lurched from Conservative win to Labour win to the final end result of no overall control – Barnet Post talked to the borough’s political leaders to get their reaction.

Talking to the Post during the afternoon, Conservative leader Peter Zinkin said that, while the end result was still unclear, he felt that “as Barnet Conservatives, we’ve made huge progress”.

He added: “When we started today, the Labour group essentially had 40 seats in the council, we had 20 seats. At the very least it will be extremely close”

Cllr Zinkin said that the close result “changes the dynamic of everything in the council, because all of the committees and other things are based on political proportionality, and therefore the amount of seats that we will have and the amount of seats that they will have, will be completely different, and the whole place will feel completely different”.

In terms of key priorities, he drew attention to the council’s growing debt, which has seen it request over £130million in exceptional financial support – permission from central government to borrow money – in the past two years. Cllr Zinkin said: “We have to either sort out the finances, which would be my preference, and that if we don’t get to that point, we will have them to account.”

Labour leader Barry Rawlings, also speaking to the Post before the final result was clear, reflected on the council’s track record since his party took power in 2022.

He said: “Personally I feel it’s gone very well in the four years we introduced a lot of new things. We still can do more.

“We’ve done the first part of getting per-unit spending under control. We need to have proper financial stability, which includes lobbying for money as well as making some tough decisions.”

Noting Labour’s positive result in Barnet compared to elsewhere in London, he drew attention to the failure of Reform UK and the Greens to make inroad.

He said: “The parties that are more divisive haven’t won anything. So, it’s been a positive vote for community cohesion, for carrying on working as we are.”

He said that the borough’s diversity, including its Jewish and Iranian communities “make Barnet different from any other borough, and we should be proud of that, and we are proud of that”.

While he stressed that Labour was a democratic party and would vote on whether he continued as leader, he said he hoped to do so. He said: “Whether leading or in opposition, I’m looking forward to the next four years, because I think Barnet’s a tremendous place, and the more we can do to make it better, that’s what our job is as a council.”

Asked how it felt to be the borough’s first elected Green, new Woodhouse ward councillor Charli Thompson told the Post: “It’s really fantastic. We’re seeing across the country Greens gaining seats and that’s really, really exciting because it shows that politics isn’t how it used to be.”

Describing how the party achieved its success, she said: “I think, really, it was about working hard consistently for a long time. We’re part of a community. We want to represent residents, so we’ve been listening to residents for a long time.”

Asked about her priorities as a councillor, she said: “I’m going to be focused very much on what’s going on at Woodhouse. I am very concerned about the developments that have been proposed in North Finchley. And I want to work alongside residents to challenge those.

“But I will be scrutinising. I will be asking questions, if I’m given the opportunity to do so.”

In terms of her overall aims, Cllr Thompson said: “I just want to prove that Greens can serve really well. And I think if I can do that, then we can share that with the rest of Barnet and hopefully get more Greens voted in.”

Following the final announcement that borough had slipped into no overall control, the Post talked to Conservative deputy leader Lucy Wakeley to get her perspective on a day of high draw.

She said: “We’ve gained a lot of seats with a lot of fantastic candidates. It was a difficult set of elections everywhere but I think we’ve shown in Barnet we managed to hold our own and to get in some seats we didn’t have before.”

Cllr Wakeley said it was too soon to discuss possible deals with other parties but, when asked about whether the party had a plan to deal with the council’s massive debt, said: “We’ve absolutely got a plan to solve it. I think we’ve got the skills and the resources to solve it. I think we know we need to get the basics right and focus on that rather than what Labour have been doing and just spending money willy-nilly.

“But I also know that we have the expertise. We have people that have been in the council for a long time that have dealt with financial issues before, that are business owners, that have run successful businesses, that have been in local authorities. And I believe that they all have the skills and we all have the skills to be able to turn it around.”

She also reflected on Reform’s failure in the borough. She said: “I think actually that has been a really big positive for me. Reform are really targeting, for example, my seat in Edgware they were targeting a lot and despite that they haven’t really got anywhere near in the seats we were looking at.

“And they came in with a lot of confidence about what seats they would take and I think that’s really good.”

Local news needs your support

We are proud that we were at the forefront of reporting on the recent local elections. We can’t do this without the support of our readers.

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

ACT NOW!

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month's before anyone else.