Tag: Barnet F.C.

Labour’s latest bitter row over antisemitism could hardly have come at a worse time for the party’s army of activists in the north London Tory stronghold of Barnet. “Barnet has been moving towards Labour now for quite a while. We have been campaigning almost non-stop for eight, 10 years. If Labour could take those two seats, and the political makeup of the rest of the borough remained unchanged, it would seize control of the council, which has been in Tory hands since 2002. Adam Langleben, the Labour councillor for West Hendon, points to last year’s general election result in Chipping Barnet as a sign of the changing times. The difference between now and 40 years ago when my parents moved up here is that people are bringing their politics with them. But something has changed in the last 10 years. Langleben helped represent local residents at the two inquiries into the project. Labour says the project has failed to deliver promised savings, undermined accountability and allowed public services to deteriorate. You need something to bring things together.” As campaigning begins in earnest, Richard Cornelius, the leader of Barnet council, insists he and his colleagues will not be exploiting Labour’s discomfort in strongly Jewish wards.