Labour retains control of Barnet Council in minority administration

Barnet Labour Group have retained control of the council as a minority administration, with Cllr Barry Rawlings confirmed once again as leader.

Labour were returned to Barnet Council’s administration following a close vote by councillors at Tuesday’s Annual Meeting at Hendon Town Hall.

Mayor Danny Rich began the meeting reflecting on the recent series of antisemitic attacks in the borough – and praising the impact of King Charles visit to Golders Green following the stabbings there.

As the meeting progressed, the Conservative nomination for Council Leader fell by 32 votes to 31.

In the nomination for a Labour Council Leader, the Conservatives abstained to allow the appointment of Cllr Rawlings by 31 votes to one.

Under the minority Labour administration, the Leader of Barnet Conservatives, Cllr Peter Zinkin, will attend the Leader’s Cabinet meetings as a non-executive member to allow Opposition input into discussions.

With advice from the council’s chief executive Cath Shaw  councillor Rawlings and the Conservative leader reached a co-operation agreement.

Outgoing Labour mayor and West Finchley councillor Danny Rich holding a casting vote, but it was agreed the first vote should be whether to appoint Conservative councillor Zinkin as leader.

Green councillor Charli Thompson voted against Zikin becoming leader and then also voted against Labour.

She later accused Rawlings and Zinkin of a deal which appeared “to have been agreed by the major parties behind closed doors”.

But councillor Rawlings then said that he and councillor Zinkin had accepted they had to work together to ensure council business continued, and with the Greens holding the council to ransom.

Both Labour and Conservative Groups had said they could not go into coaltion with the Greens, with one reason being their openly anti-Israel stance.

At the local elections held on 7 May, Labour and Conservatives tied on winning 31 seats each, with one seat won by the Green Party.

Jewish News understands that any decision involving issues around the Jewish community and security will be taken with consent from both main parties.

Councillors also approved enhanced arrangements to allow the Opposition more meaningful opportunities to scrutinise decisions before they are taken.

The new arrangements include Conservative chairs for most Overview & Scrutiny sub-committees, with the addition of two new sub-committees to scrutinise Finance & Growth and Environment matters. The Conservatives will also chair the Governance, Audit, Risk Management and Standards Committee (GARMS) and the Pension Fund Committee.

Thirty-two seats are required for a majority, meaning no overall control of the council was achieved by either party. In line with the council’s constitution, the 63 newly elected councillors are then required to vote for a party to take control of the council.

Rawlings, said:“I am honoured to be reappointed to serve as Leader of the Council, and to take forward our ambitious agenda for Barnet.

“We will continue to care for people, our places and the planet, work to drive down poverty and towards our Net Zero targets, invest in community safety and prevention to ensure everyone can live their best lives, deliver the public realm improvements residents want to see, and bear down on costs to get us to financial sustainability.

“We will work constructively with the Opposition to govern in the best interests of residents and deliver the improvements Barnet residents need and deserve.”