2022 Barnet London Borough Council election

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2022 Barnet London Borough Council election
← 2018 5 May 2022 2026 →
All 63 council seats
 
Leader Daniel Thomas Barry Rawlings
Party Conservative Labour
Last election 38 seats, 44.5% 25 seats, 39.0%
Incumbent council control


Conservative



The 2022 Barnet London Borough Council election is due to take place on 5 May. All 63 members of Barnet London Borough Council will be elected. The elections will take place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.

In the previous election in 2018, the Conservative Party maintained its longstanding control of the council, winning 38 out of the 63 seats with the Labour Party forming the council opposition with the remaining 25 seats. The 2022 election will take place under new election boundaries, but the number of councillors will remain at 63.

Background[]

History[]

Result of the 2018 borough election

The thirty-two London boroughs were established in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. They are the principal authorities in Greater London and have responsibilities including education, housing, planning, highways, social services, libraries, recreation, waste, environmental health and revenue collection. Some of the powers are shared with the Greater London Authority, which also manages passenger transport, police, and fire.[1]

Barnet has generally been controlled by the Conservative Party since its establishment, with a period of no overall control between 1994 and 2002. The Labour Party has held seats in the borough consistently, and the Liberal Democrats have won seats in ten of the fifteen previous council elections. In the most recent election in 2018, the Conservatives won 38 seats and Labour won 25, with the Conservatives receiving 45.5% and Labour receiving 39.0% of the overall vote. Although neither won any seats, the Liberal Democrats won 9.2% of the vote and the Green Party won 6.2% of the vote across the borough. The council had been considered a target for Labour, but the party lost seats, with the defeated Labour councillor Adam Langleben citing antisemitism in the Labour Party.[2] His assessment was shared by Barry Rawlings, the leader of the Labour group on the council.[3] The incumbent leader of the council is the Conservative Daniel Thomas, who has held the role since 2019.

Council term[]

The Labour councillor for Underhill Jessica Brayne left the Labour Party in February 2019 over antisemitism in the Labour Party, the party's approach to Brexit and the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.[4] She later joined the Liberal Democrats.[5] The Conservative councillor for Garden Suburb, Gabriel Rozenberg, defected to the Liberal Democrats in September 2019 due to the party's support of Brexit and the election of Boris Johnson as the party's leader.[6] In September 2020, the Conservative councillor for Edgware, Brian Gordon, died.[7] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a by-election could not be held until May 2021. The seat was won the Conservative candidate, Nick Nearing-Smith.[8] In April 2021, the Labour councillor Jo Cooper resigned her East Barnet seat to focus on her work for the NHS.[9][10] Another by-election was held in May 2021 alongside that year's London mayoral election and London Assembly election.[9] The Conservative candidate, Nicole Richer, a project manager and school governor, won the seat, increasing the Conservative majority on the council.[11][12][13] Later in May 2021, the Conservative councillor for Childs Hill, Shimon Ryde, changed his affiliation to independent "to deal with a personal matter".[14] In July 2021, three Jewish Conservative councillors failed to be reselected by their party as candidates for the 2022 election.[15]

Along with most other London boroughs, Barnet was subject to a boundary review ahead of the 2022 election. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England concluded that the council should maintain sixty-three seats, but produced new election boundaries following a period of consultation.

Campaign[]

Barnet had been the top target council for Labour to win in London in 2014 and 2018; it neither time was the party successful. It was again mooted as a potential gain for the party in 2022, with the Conservative peer Robert Hayward saying that his party risked losing control of it in the wake of the partygate scandal.[16] Jewish News reported that Labour hoped to do well in the election, possibly winning control of the council, saying that the election "will give the community the chance to offer a clear sign of how impressed they are with Starmer’s efforts to kick the antisemites out".[17] Labour candidates in the election include two senior members of the Jewish Labour Movement Rebecca Filer and Izzy Lenga.[18]

Transport for London's plans to build housing on some station car parks were considered a potential issue in the election.[16]

Electoral process[]

Barnet, as with London borough councils, elects all of its councillors at once every four years, with the previous election having taken place in 2018. The election will take place by multi-member first-past-the-post voting, with each ward being represented by two or three councillors. Electors will have as many votes as there are councillors to be elected in their ward, with the top two or three being elected.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in London aged 18 or over will be entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities.[19] Voting in-person at polling stations will take place from 7:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters will be able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.[19]

Previous council composition[]

  • Council composition following the 2018 election
  • Council composition ahead of the 2022 election
After 2018 election Before 2022 election
Party Seats Party Seats
Conservative 38 Conservative 37
Labour 25 Labour 23
Liberal Democrats 2
Independent 1

Ward Results[]

Barnet Vale (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Brunswick Park (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Burnt Oak (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Childs Hill (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Colindale North (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Colindale South (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Cricklewood (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
East Barnet (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
East Finchley (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Edgware (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Edgwarebury (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Finchley Church End (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Friern Barnet (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Garden Suburb (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Golders Green (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Hendon (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
High Barnet (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Mill Hill (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Totteridge & Woodside (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Underhill (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
West Finchley (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
West Hendon (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whetstone (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Woodhouse (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%

References[]

  1. ^ "The essential guide to London local government | London Councils". www.londoncouncils.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Tories snatch key target Barnet Council from under Labour's noses". The Independent. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Labour antisemitism scandal blamed for Tory win in Barnet". the Guardian. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Councillor quits Labour over 'institutional anti-Semitism' and Brexit". Times Series. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Barnet's Labour leader welcomes Starmer's pledge to rid party of anti-Semitism". Times Series. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  6. ^ Volpe, Sam (20 September 2019). "Gabriel Rozenberg: Barnet Tory councillor defects to Liberal Democrats blaming Brexit, Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg". Hampstead Highgate Express. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Candidates revealed for Edgware by-election". Times Series. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  8. ^ Frazer, Jenni (10 May 2021). "Two rabbis out and a climate activist in: how the election went". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Candidates revealed for East Barnet by-election". Times Series. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  10. ^ "By-election to be held after councillor resigns". Times Series. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Conservatives hold Edgware and GAIN East Barnet in 2021 Barnet Council by-elections". Times Series. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Lewis Baston: Swings to Tories but comfort for Labour in 'Super Thursday' borough by-elections". OnLondon. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  13. ^ "The candidates vying for a seat in the East Barnet by-election". Times Series. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Councillor 'steps back from Tories to deal with personal matter'". Times Series. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  15. ^ Harpin, Lee. "Hendon Tories drop three Jewish councillors as candidates for local elections". jewishnews.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  16. ^ a b Hill, Dave (10 January 2022). "Borough elections 2022: Will London sink Boris Johnson in May?". OnLondon. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  17. ^ Harpin, Lee. "Rachel Reeves: I'm more optimistic than ever of Labour winning the next election". www.jewishnews.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  18. ^ Harpin, Lee. "Founder of London Jewish Forum selected as Labour candidate for Camden Council". www.jewishnews.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  19. ^ a b "How the elections work | London Councils". www.londoncouncils.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
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