by Nick Auvache, Camden and Haringey Socialist Party
This year’s local elections were a disaster for the capitalist establishment parties. The London borough of Haringey was no exception. This year’s local elections were a disaster for the capitalist establishment parties. The London borough of Haringey was no exception. Labour has controlled Haringey council since 1971. Prior to the recent local elections Labour held 50 council seats out of a total of 57. At this year’s election they lost a staggering 29 seats, with the Greens gaining 27. The Greens now stand to win a few more seats in two by-elections due to take place in June.
Labour in power have presided over £143 million in cuts since 2010, an overall reduction in funding by 55%! In March of this year, the Labour council voted through a further raft of cuts totalling £23 million for the year 2026/27, with more to come in future years.
It is no surprise that working-class people in Haringey have completely lost patience with Labour. It remains to be seen what steps the Greens, who have now taken over control of the council, take to resist austerity.
Clearly some Greens are desperate to put an end to the yearly diet of cuts implemented by Labour. Some have agreed with the demand for the council to set a ‘needs-based, no-cuts budget’. Some have endorsed the call for no-cuts budgets outside the council chamber at a lobby of the budget-setting meeting in March. We also know that there have been discussions around this issue amongst Green Party activists.
Now Green councillors have been propelled into power in Haringey. People need homes, young people need services and safe streets to play in, council workers need inflation-based pay increases, education needs to be adequately funded.
We are fighting for the trade union movement in the borough to pressure the Green councillors to use their full powers, to set a no-cuts budget using the reserves and borrowing, and to help to mobilise a mass campaign to demand the money from the government.
A major test will be the dispute at Highgate Wood School, where teachers are currently striking against an attempt to reduce non-contact time and increase class sizes. The school bosses claim this attack on teachers’ working conditions has been forced upon them by a £1 million deficit. This is an opportunity for the new Green administration to show how it is different to the previous Labour one, it could intervene and cancel the deficit. It is an opportunity to translate words into deeds.
Some new Green councillors attended the teachers’ picket line and supported the strike. They now potentially have the chance to help resolve the dispute.
The new Haringey Green council leader, Mark Blake, has said: “I look forward to working with the other parties in the spirit of cooperation where possible, for the benefit of the people of Haringey. The circumstances demand nothing less.” If this is code for continuing to do what the previous Labour administration did then workers will be bitterly disappointed.
Socialists in Haringey and other boroughs must continue the fight against austerity, including by demanding the new Green councils act to defend services, fight for workers and resist austerity.