May 2022 Councillor Report

IT’S OFFICIAL NOW!

On 11 May 2022, I signed my acceptance form with the CEO of Haringey Council, Andy Donald to be a Councillor for another four years. It is a privilege to be given an opportunity to serve the good people of Noel Park. Thank you to Noel Park residents for placing their trust in me. I join an excellent team of 50 Labour Councillors across Haringey. We have gained an extra eight Labour Councillors since the 2018 election. We have a progressive manifesto with ambitious plans to transform Haringey. The work begins now!

NOEL PARK TURNOUT

The turnout figures in Noel Park in the last four local elections are set out below.

Year	Turnout
2010	55.5%
2014	33.60%
2018	32.62%
2022	27.34%

2010 was the last time that there was a general election on the same day as the local election, which is why the turnout was high. Although the turnout figures in 2014 and 2018 remained fairly steady, there was a five percent drop this year. A key factor could be that we were just emerging from the worst pandemic for 100 years. Despite the lower turnout, vote share for Labour candidates went up by at least 5%. This means that Labour voters did turn out to vote. Other voters did not turn out. It is notable that the Green Party did not field any candidates in Noel Park this time.

Whatever the case may be, turnout of 27.34% is still quite low and is not good for a healthy democracy. We would like to derive our mandate from a larger number of the electorate turning out to elect their representatives. As a branch Labour Party, it is incumbent upon us to engage with residents and deal with any voter apathy.

THANK YOU!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank members of the Noel Park Labour Party for selecting me and helping with the election campaign. My fellow ward Councillors and I could not have delivered all those election addresses, eve of poll cards and leaflets without your assistance. The election result with an improved vote share for Labour was down to the team work of everyone in the Noel Park Labour Party family.

While we hang up our boots for another four years as far as the local election is concerned, we will have the London Mayoral election and the general election in only two years’ time. We will have to keep Noel Park members motivated to ensure that Labour holds onto the London mayoralty and elects a Labour government. While Labour has shown in local government how it is protecting the most vulnerable residents from the effects of Tory austerity and the worst cost of living crisis in living memory, we also need a Labour government nationally to transform the country.

MEMORIAL TREE FOR NARENDRA MAKANJI

On 11 May 2022, the Labour Party and Councillors are unveiling a memorial tree for former Noel Park Councillor and anti-racist campaigner, Narendra Makanji. The location is outside Lucia’s Cafe on Wood Green High Rd, Corner of Gladstone Avenue

CASEWORK

I continue to receive a considerable number of casework enquiries via my Council email and telephone which I always deal with promptly. As I reported previously, I did not see a reduction in my casework volume even when we were not doing face to face surgeries during the pandemic. People were able to reach me via email and telephone. This trend has continued as we are now emerging from the pandemic. This means that there is greater access for our residents to their elected representatives.