Tories complete clean sweep with Chipping Barnet and Hendon wins
Theresa Villiers and Matthew Offord hold onto their seats in north London as Tories celebrate election win
Two Conservative candidates were re elected in Chipping Barnet and Hendon – with former Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers Defying polls to claim a narrow victory of 25745 over her Labour opponent’s 24,533.
Mrs Villiers, who had been widely expected to lose her seat, paid tribute to her campaign team and used her victory speech to pledge to continue the fight against Antisemitism and racism.
“The polls said It was neck and neck and that’s how it felt,” she said. “I’m Hugely grateful to have another chance to serve Chipping Barnet.” The protection of green spaces and fighting climate change would be among her priorities, said the MP, who served as environment minister under Boris Johnson before the election.
She added: “I’ll continue to do all I can to fight antisemitism. I call on Labour during this period of reflection to root out antisemitism. They haven’t done so.” She said the issue had been raised with her on the campaign trail by Jews and non-Jews – and said that the resurgence of hate in politics must be considered alongside radical policies and Brexit in Labour’s heavy defeat.
In neighbouring Hendon her colleague Matthew Offord had a more convincing victory of 26878 over Labour’s David Pinto-Duschinsky who won 22648 votes. Mr Offord complained of “disgraceful” though unspecified behaviour during the campaign, and said that it was “probably the worst election” he had ever fought. People had focused on personalities rather than policies, he said, adding that opponents had to “address concerns rather than manufacture them and declaring them to be facts”.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
