Upcoming Enfield council election is a ‘referendum on Labour’s first few months in power’

In this year’s general election, Enfield’s Khalid Sadur took on Labour’s Kate Osamor, who was one of the Labour Party MPs who abstained in the winter fuel payments vote this week. Osamor also voted to keep the two-child benefit cap. As Sadur insisted before the election:

Labour should be the home of the oppressed… They should be the home of people who are vulnerable… And unfortunately, Labour have left those people and deserted those people.

Sadur got 1,700 votes in the election – impressive for a campaign just months’ old – and the movement behind him is now preparing to face Labour in council elections locally. The Canary reached out to Sadur to find out more.

The general election showed what collaboration could achieve in a short amount of time

Sadur and others formed the Enfield Community Action Group (ECAG) in February 2024 after Labour temporarily suspended Osamor for criticising the ongoing genocide in Gaza. As Sadur told the Canary:

There was a feeling within the community that LAB and Keir Starmer were not going to provide an adequate alternative to the Conservatives on a range of policy issues from the 2 child benefit cap to Gaza.

Keir Starmer’s government has already proven the community right about this, unfortunately. But as Sadur stressed:

One of the fundamental reasons for the creation of ECAG was to provide a real choice to voters in the Enfield constituencies who had previously never had a genuine alternative (both the Lib Dems and Greens had failed to make a major mark in the area).

Collaboration between groups on the left was key to the relatively strong performance in the election, as was the on-the-ground commitment of the “100% volunteer-led grassroots movement”. Despite the government surprising them by calling a snap election:

Working with organisations such as Collective, Transform, The Muslim Vote, Assemble, and TUSC, ECAG still managed to stand 3 candidates in each of the Enfield seats.

With less than 6 weeks of campaigning and starting from effectively ground zero from an awareness perspective, the ECAG independent candidates managed to receive:

4.1% of the vote in Edmonton

3.3% of the vote in Enfield North

1.7% of the vote in Southgate and Wood Green

Overall, ECAG received nearly 4,000 votes across the Borough for an organisation barely 4 months old.

A potential council by-election for Labour

Sadur explained that:

the General Election saw the Labour leader of Enfield Council, Nesil Caliskan, being elected as the Labour MP for Barking so there was the potential for a by-election in the ward where she was a councillor.

Local press reported that she intended to step down as council leader and would not claim her councillor remuneration but that she would remain as a councillor in Jubilee ward.

It is understood that the election of the new Labour leader would take place on 18 September and that she wanted to take part in this process. It is envisioned that she will resign soon after and a by-election would be called some time in October.

In preparation for the by-election, ECAG have done the following over the summer months:

– Initiated a selection process aimed at finding candidates from the community who would be interested in becoming a councillor

– Began leafleting Jubilee ward with flyers asking people to come forward as candidates as well as reminding people to register to vote

– Campaigns on social media (Facebook, Twitter) calling out Nesil for having two jobs but zero interest in representing constituents in her ward going forward

– Engaging with other local community groups to build awareness for the upcoming by-election

– Building and deepening relationships within the Muslim community (both home and abroad)

– Analysing electoral roll data post-general election for Jubilee ward

Why is this challenge so necessary nationally?

Outlining why people need to challenge Labour as much as they can now it’s in government, Sadur said:

It was clear from the general election campaign that there was no real difference between Labour and the Tories on a number of issues.

Starmer’s insistence on sticking to the “fiscal rules” and not raising tax on the super rich and major multinationals making windfall profits, meant no real change in terms of social issues such as housing and the NHS.

We desperately need a government that will fix our country after 14 years of austerity but Labour seem more intent on proving their economic credentials to the City rather than effecting real social change.

Labour in 1945 brought in the NHS and nationalised major industries. In 1997, Labour introduced the National Minimum Wage, a windfall tax on privatised utilities and made the Bank of England independent. The class of 2024, however, are going backwards to austerity 2.0 by maintaining the two-child benefit cap, removing the universal winter fuel allowance and allowing social housing rents to rise. All of these measures within the first few months of a Starmer government does not bode well for the years to come.

Why is this challenge so necessary locally?

Sadur continued:

Locally, the Labour run council is equally despised by most in the borough. Seen very much as a clique group of Labour councillors from a particular family/community, there is widespread dissatisfaction in a number of areas including:

– Cuts to budgets and ongoing deficits in recent years

– Huge problems with temporary accommodation leading to some residents being asked to relocate in the North of England

– Youth disengagement and growing knife crime

– Ongoing issues with rubbish and fly tipping.

All of the above, coupled with the fact that councillors never attend surgeries or engage with residents has provided the grounds to launch a grassroots, resident-led independent challenge.

Live locally? Get involved. Live elsewhere? Help to spread the word.

The action plan, Sadur said, is as follows:

We have our first public meeting next week, after the summer break. We will be looking back at the general election with TMV as well as looking forward by launching our mission and objectives for the next two years prior to the 2026 elections.

Once a candidate has been selected we will be canvassing and leafleting the local ward and targeting voters to not only register and come out to vote but also engaging with those who voted Labour at the general election.

We will try and bring in support from neighbouring boroughs like Haringey, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Camden and Islington and make the by-election a real referendum on Labour’s first few months in power.

Detailed plans are still being drawn up but the message is clear; the people in Enfield have a real choice and electing an independent candidate to Enfield council would send a huge message to the mainstream parties.

Featured image via the Canary