In our sixth and final interview ahead of the local election, Enfield Lib Dems chair Tim Martin tell James Cracknell the party will not take people’s vote for granted

Enfield Lib Dem candidates campaigning in Enfield Town

Enfield Liberal Democrats are promising “not to take your vote for granted” and continue listening to the concerns of local residents regardless of the outcome of next month’s election.

While the Lib Dems do not currently have a presence at Enfield Civic Centre, they have enjoyed success nationally in recent years, seeing a record number of MPs elected to Westminster in 2024.

Speaking to the Dispatch ahead of May’s poll, local party chair Tim Martin accuses Enfield Labour of becoming “complacent” and not listening to the views of residents.

“The number one thing talking to people about Labour is a sense of complacency,” he says. “Even if they agree with Labour on many of the principle points, they don’t feel that Labour is responding to them and their vote is taken for granted.”

The Lib Dems currently control three London borough councils, all in the south-west of the capital, while they also have pockets of strong support in other places – including Crouch End and Muswell Hill in Haringey. So could the party make a breakthrough in Enfield?

“I’m not going to put any numbers on it, but we want to get some councillors to demonstrate the difference of having a Lib Dem councillor,” says Martin, who will be standing in Whitewebbs ward. “We are engaged locally, we do talk to people and understand their needs and respond to them – and we are not complacent.”

Interestingly, Martin’s route into politics came via Rory Stewart, the former Conservative minister now better known as a podcaster. Stewart fought a short-lived bid to become London mayor, as an independent, after quitting the Tories during the notorious Brexit wars of 2019. Martin campaigned for Stewart during his brief mayoral campaign.

“I have always been quite political and had opinions on how things should be done but it took me a while to find a party I was at home with,” admits Martin. “Since getting involved with the Lib Dems locally I have found people really working hard who care about this stuff, door-knocking every weekend – they are a good bunch of people to work with.”

The Enfield Lib Dem manifesto emphasises democratic engagement, talking of “fostering a democratic culture in our communities” through open meetings where residents can “put forward topics of concern”.

At Lib Dem-run Sutton Council, a committee system of governance aims to resolve differences amicably rather than forcing decisions through at the cabinet level. This is a system Martin wants to see in Enfield.

“I think it is an example of something that doesn’t need to cost much but will change people’s whole experience of the council,” he says. “The committee structure shows how it could be different, by giving more voice to all the parties that make up the council.

“It is more balanced for different opinions, rather than giving all the power to one party.”

In terms of policies, Enfield Lib Dems want to ensure the Crews Hill new town, if it does go ahead, is “not driven by profit but by people” and that local concerns around traffic, services and infrastructure are “balanced” with the need for more homes – but building on the Green Belt should be a “last resort”.

Martin, who used to work for Metaswitch in Enfield but now works in the City, adds: “There are big challenges and there are trade-offs and we believe in being honest about that. I personally don’t feel Labour has been clear about that and have not communicated to people.”

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