Barry Rawlings on his plans for the borough following his re-election
Following May’s local elections, I am incredibly proud to be re-elected as leader of Barnet Council. The past four years of service as Council Leader to our community have been an absolute honour.
The election was the most closely contested in Barnet’s history with Labour and the Conservatives securing the same number of seats – 31 each. This means Labour and Conservative councillors make up nearly 99% of the council, with only one Green Party member.
To reflect the parity in council seats between the two main parties, the council will adopt new ways of working. Cllr Peter Zinkin, the leader of the Barnet Conservatives and the opposition, will attend our cabinet meetings as a non-voting observer, and most scrutiny committees will be chaired by the opposition, providing a greater role in scrutinising the work of the administration.
The single ungrouped councillor will be also able to participate in the democratic process through the rights that all councillors have in the constitution, including the right to ask questions during members question time at cabinet, and the right to request to speak at committee on specific agenda items and ward issues.
While Labour and Conservatives hold different views on how to do things, we both want the very best for our community. We agree that greater engagement between administration and opposition will provide us with the political stability we need to face up to the many challenges the council faces over the coming years.
Most importantly, we share the aim of getting the council’s finances on a sound footing. Before the local elections, the council set a very challenging target of reaching financial sustainability within the next three years – and to achieve that we must work constructively together.
The council’s budget has been squeezed between two pressures – a decade of reduced government funding and a recent surge in need within our community for costly services, such as temporary accommodation for families made homeless and children’s and adults’ social care. We have been diligent, already finding tens of millions of pounds in annual cost savings. However, we have twice needed to apply to government for exceptional financial support to close our budget gap.
By cross-party working with the opposition, we will put in place a sustainable way of running Barnet’s finances, as well as lobbying central government for a fairer way of funding local authorities faced with rising statutory costs.
An effective approach is to invest in the short term to make cost savings in the long term. Providing temporary accommodation is now one of Barnet’s biggest costs, and the knock-on effects on the health and wellbeing of residents placed in such housing also come at a high cost. That’s why we have secured 1,000 more council homes in the past four years and we are committed to providing 1,000 more social rent homes by 2030.
We want to support the wellbeing of our residents to lead healthy and independent lives. We will campaign for greater powers to tackle the damaging increase in gambling arcades and fast-food outlets on our 30 high streets.
We will keep Barnet moving. We aim to cut roadworks times by 20% by charging extra penalties to dawdling utility companies for working too slowly. In the past four years, we have fixed 16,500 potholes. In 2024, we announced a £97m five-year investment programme to upgrade our roads and pavements. We will continue to install more street-level EV charge points.
Keeping the public realm clean and tidy is a priority. We will maintain the free community skips service to continue to increase recycling and help tackle fly-tipping. Last year, £100,000 in fines were issued against fly-tippers in the borough. We will continue to crack down on fly-tipping and litter to keep Barnet clean by using our revamped CCTV system and fines.
The recent spate of antisemitic attacks perpetrated against our Jewish communities and Islamophobic attacks against our Iranian community have appalled us all. Those who hate our diversity shall not divide us.
We will work with the Metropolitan Police and local communities to increase awareness, helping those targeted to report hate crimes and access justice. A £500,000 government grant will be invested in a long-term programme to foster stronger relations between our communities.
Delivering effectively for Barnet requires us to continue to listen to and engage with all voices of the community. Having a say in the big decisions that affect day-to-day life in the borough was a pledge we made four years ago. Continuing to work collaboratively with members of the community will ensure that we can develop and shape our services that meet the needs of all residents.
Barry Rawlings is leader of Barnet Council
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