The delay stands in contrast to other London councils that have already named new leaders since their predecessors became MPs

Enfield Civic Centre and (inset) Nesil Caliskan’s parliamentary portrait (credit parliament.uk)

A new leader of Enfield Council will not be appointed until September at the earliest.

Nesil Caliskan announced she would resign as leader shortly after the general election on 4^th July, when she was elected as the new Labour MP for Barking in East London.

It will be up to the Labour group to select Cllr Caliskan’s successor, via an internal vote between the party’s councillors, before a full council meeting of all councillors formally appoints them to lead the civic centre.

With the summer holidays now seeing a month-long shutdown of council meetings, however, the next full council meeting is scheduled to take place on 18^th September.

Cllr Caliskan has confirmed she will also be standing down as a councillor for Jubilee ward “in due course” and will not be claiming her councillor allowance in the meantime.

Among the names being mentioned as possible contenders for the top job at Enfield Civic Centre are deputy leader Ergin Erbil, cabinet member for planning and regulatory services Susan Erbil, Labour’s chief whip and former mayor Sabri Ozaydin, and cabinet member for finance and procurement Tim Leaver – who was unsuccessful in his own attempt to become an MP in Norfolk last month.

The amount of time taken to appoint Cllr Caliskan’s successor – at least two months – stands in contrast to other London boroughs where council leaders have also recently become MPs.

In Redbridge, formerly led by new Ilford South MP Jas Athwal, a new council leader was appointed on 25^th July. And in Camden, formerly led by new Queen’s Park and Maida Vale MP Georgia Gould, a new leader was appointed on 22^nd July.

The situation in Enfield is further complicated by deputy leader Ergin Erbil recently taking paternity leave.

Cllr Caliskan, who has represented Jubilee ward since 2015 and has led the council since May 2018, was elected as Barking MP after being parachuted into the seat just a few days before the close of nominations at the start of June. She won with a majority of 11,054.

Commenting on her decision to stand down, Cllr Caliskan said: “It has been an honour to lead Enfield Council for the last six years, and the privilege of my life to be elected as Barking’s member of parliament.

“Now I have taken on this new role, I will be looking to stand down as leader of Enfield as soon as Enfield Labour group establishes its process to elect my successor.

“I look forward to supporting whoever next leads Enfield Council and I know, under Labour leadership and working with a new Labour government, the council will continue to go from strength to strength.”

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