All eyes on Barnet: Key council vote tonight after election stalemate
In borough where one-seventh of residents are Jewish, Green councillor’s Israel position leaves both main parties at odds
Barnet will hold its first full council meeting on Tuesday night since local election results left no political group in overall control of the borough.
Jewish News reported live from a tense, marathon vote count earlier this month that left Barnet’s 63 council seats filled with 31 Conservative councillors, 31 Labour councillors, and one newly elected Green representative.
The result meant that in a borough where one-seventh of residents are estimated to be Jewish, the Green councillor Charli Thompson, a self-declared fan of Jeremy Corbyn, theoretically held the balance of power.
But it is understood that neither Barnet Labour nor Conservative Groups will now seek to work with her, leaving the question of which party will be in charge.
One of the issues preventing any coalition between the Greens and the two main parties is her hardline anti-Israel stance.
Thompson had previously left the Greens to back Corbyn as Labour leader in 2019, but subsequently quit Keir Starmer’s party and returned to Zack Polanski’s, in protest at the Prime Minister’s stance on the Gaza war.
The agenda for the first full council meeting, which takes place at Hendon Town Hall, lists the election for the appointment of the council leader as the third item on the agenda.
Following this item is the election of a civic mayor. With the current tie situation, the mayor’s role becomes critical as they chair the meetings.
Council insiders confirm that if all 62 Conservative and Labour councillors are present at the meeting, the Greens should decide the vote.
But in an interview with Barnet Society, Thompson said: “I realise I hold the balance of power, but I am not interested in forming a political alliance with either Labour or the Conservatives.
“My role as a councillor will be to listen to residents and their concerns, support their interests and align myself with Green Party policies.”
If she sticks by her pledge to abstain, this would leave the civic mayor with the casting vote. At present, the mayor is Labour’s Danny Rich, re-elected as a councillor in West Finchley earlier this month.
The agenda for Tuesday’s meeting sees the election of a council leader set to take place before any election of a Mayor of Barnet.
This would leave former Liberal Judaism chief Rich with the casting vote on the leader. It seems unlikely he would back the Conservative candidate.
But nothing is certain.
A report on the On London news blog adds: “Conclusion? The odds appear to be on Barnet Council continuing to be led by a Labour politician from 19 May – and, for the very same reasons, continuing to have a Labour councillor as civic mayor chairing full council meetings, bringing their casting vote into play as and when required.
“That’s not to say things will definitely turn out that way. One or more councillors might not turn up, thereby altering the delicate arithmetic. “Procedural issues previously unthought of could disrupt the scenario described above.”
The local election result saw the Tory Group make impressive gains on Labour, who won control of Barnet in 2022, but falling one seat short of regaining control.
In areas with high Jewish populations there was clear evidence of a high turn out for Conservative candidates. But Labour’s result was better in the borough than in other parts of London. The surge in support for Reform UK was not a large as some predicted.
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