Potholes dominate council campaigning in Barnet

"Potholes... it is council tax, potholes and access to services."

David Longstaff, a Conservative party councillor standing in the local election in Barnet sums up what he sees as the main issues in this north London borough.

The Labour leader of the council agrees.

"We have filled in over 16,500 potholes, apparently, left by the Conservatives," Barry Rawlings told BBC London.

"Still, there's a lot of potholes left."

Barnet was one of Labour's big successes at the last council elections in 2022.

For the first time in its history, Barnet had a majority Labour-led council, having won it from the Conservatives.

It was here that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer came to celebrate.

This time round, prime minister Sir Keir has not been seen on the campaign trail in Barnet.

Times have changed too for the Tories.

Their leader in 2022, Dan Thomas, is now the Reform UK leader in Wales.

For those who stayed in the party, it is business as usual on the campaign trail in Whetstone High Street.

Longstaff said as well as the aforementioned council tax and potholes, residents in the borough wanted to see council services delivered "when they need them".

He added: "If they report someone sleeping in a tent on the side of Barnet Hill, they expect the council to actually do something in a timely way."

In this election, the rise of Reform UK makes winning back the council more complicated for the Tories than just beating Labour.

Four years ago Mark Shooter was sporting a Tory blue rosette. This time he is running for Reform.

He told BBC London: "Conservatives always promised to cut taxes and ended up raising them every single time. Locally I just felt that people were getting less value.

"They were getting poorer services and they were paying higher costs, not just the recent Labour administration, but it was going on before that as well."

Holding power for Labour would seemingly run against the polls and the pundits' predictions.

Rawlings, who has led Barnet Council since 2022, sees a way to victory, even if his opponents keep mentioning potholes.

He said: "We're proud of what we've done. We've invested heavily on that. And the pothole sounds minor, but it's important.

"It's not just about car use. It's about cyclists, motorcyclists.

"It's about making the place safer. It's a long battle."

Rawlings did not rule out an appearance by his party leader after the votes were counted, which will happen at one of Barnet's tourist attractions.

"There has been a shift in four years, but we still hope," he said.

"Once the count is done at the RAF Museum, he's welcome to come along and celebrate with us."

Also standing in Barnet are the Green Party, the Liberal Democrats, Rejoin EU and a number of independents.

A full list of candidates standing for election to Barnet Council can be found here.

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