The thirty-two London boroughs were established in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. They are the principal authorities in Greater London and have responsibilities including education, housing, planning, highways, social services, libraries, recreation, waste, environmental health and revenue collection. Some of the powers are shared with the Greater London Authority, which also manages passenger transport, police, and fire.[4]
Barnet has been controlled by the Conservative Party for most of the council's existence, with Labour Party leading during a period of no overall control between 1994 and 2002, and Labour having an outright majority on the council since 2022. In the most recent prior election in 2022, Labour won 41 seats and the Conservatives won 22, with Labour receiving 43.0% and the Conservatives receiving 35.1% of the overall vote. Although neither won any seats, the Green Party won 9.9% of the vote across the borough and the Liberal Democrats won 9.4%. The incumbent leader of the council is Labour's Barry Rawlings, who has held the role since 2022.
Council term
Four councillors have switched allegiance during the council term, with Labour's Linda Lusingu leaving the party in January 2023 and the Conservative Laithe Jajeh leaving in March 2024.[5][6] Conservative councillor Mark Shooter defected to Reform UK in November 2024, and was joined in Reform by the former Conservative council leader Dan Thomas in June 2025.[7] Thomas later resigned from the council, leaving a vacant seat heading into the 2026 election.[8]
Electoral process
Barnet, as is the case all other London borough councils, elects all of its councillors at once every four years, with the previous election having taken place in 2022. The election takes place by multi-member first-past-the-post voting, with each ward being represented by two or three councillors. Electors will have as many votes as there are councillors to be elected in their ward, with the top two or three being elected.
All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in London aged 18 or over are entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities.[9] Voting in-person at polling stations takes place from 7:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters are able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.[9]
