Former deputy leader Ian Barnes will make his comeback at Enfield Civic Centre after two years away

Labour has retained its Jubilee ward seat on Enfield Council thanks to a by-election win from a former deputy leader.

Ian Barnes emerged victorious from the poll on Thursday (28th) with 39.4% of the vote in the Edmonton ward, ahead of Conservative candidate Mohammad Uddin on 31.9%.

It was a closer-than-usual contest in a traditionally Labour-dominated part of the borough.

The vote share for the Tories was their highest in Jubilee ward since 2006, when the party ran the council, with the Labour vote share down ten points from the previous local election in 2022.

Independent candidate Khalid Sadur finished third with 9.6% of the vote, likely helped by an endorsement from former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The Greens were fourth on 7.8%, Reform UK were fifth on 6.9%, and the Liberal Democrats finished sixth on 4.3% of the vote.

The Jubilee by-election was called after former leader Nesil Caliskan resigned as councillor in October to focus on her new role as the MP for Barking in East London, where she won election to the House of Commons in July. Caliskan had stood down from her role as council leader in August.

Barnes was previously a councillor for Winchmore Hill between 2018 and 2022. He served as Caliskan’s deputy for three years from 2019 and led on the introduction of two low-traffic neighbourhoods in Palmers Green and Bowes Park. Prior to this year’s general election, Barnes failed in an attempt to become a Labour candidate in Coventry.

Reacting to his victory, the newly-elected Jubilee ward councillor said: “I am delighted to be elected an Enfield councillor once again, and I want to thank the residents of Jubilee who have put their faith in me.

“On their behalf I will be fighting for fairer funding for Enfield and tackling the issues that matter to them. I am excited to be working alongside Jubilee’s fantastic ward councillors, Alev and Chinelo, and our new council leader Ergin Erbil. Our work is now supported by the new Labour government and the Labour mayor of London, so together we can begin to repair the damage of 14 years of Tory cuts and make a real difference to the residents of Jubilee.”

Alessandro Georgiou, the Conservative group leader at Enfield Civic Centre, wrote on X that the improved showing for the Tories suggested the party could be on course to regain control of the borough in 2026. He said: “This ward [Jubilee] was in the top five of Labour’s safest seats. Now it’s marginal. I couldn’t be prouder of the campaign run by @EWHConservative, especially Masud, @JamesHockneyLLB and @PeterFallart. Change is coming to Enfield and when it does we will heal our borough.”

Jubilee by-election full results:

1. Ian Barnes (Labour Party): 853 votes (39.4%)
2. Mohammad Uddin (Conservative Party): 691 votes (31.9%)
3. Khalid Sadur (independent): 208 votes (9.6%)
4. Katherine Knight (Green Party): 169 votes (7.8%)
5. Neville Watson (Reform UK): 149 votes (6.9%)
6. Timothy Martin (Liberal Democrats): 94 votes (4.3%)

Turnout: 21.12%

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