Conservatives lose council majority after deselected councillor quits group
Ahead of this May’s local elections in Barnet, three Conservative councillors, with a total of 52 years as councillors between them, have been deselected:
Councillors Joan Scannell, who represents the Edgware ward; Maureen Braun, who represents Hendon; and Mill Hill ward’s Sury Khatri all failed to make the cut at a selection interview by Hendon Conservative Association last weekend. [Hendon & Finchley Times]
The result?
Sury Khatri, who was Deputy Mayor 2016-17, has now resigned the Conservative whip, depriving his former party of its majority on Barnet Council.
UPDATE: He is now urging people to vote Lib Dem and Labour in the Barnet elections.
Sury Khatri, who represented Mill Hill as a Conservative Councillor from 2010 until he resigned the whip in response to his deselection this year, said… “It’s time for a change in Mill Hill,” adding, “Vote Liberal Democrat, you won’t get a better and more energetic team for Mill Hill ward than Richard Logue, Donna Pickup and Roger Tichborne.”
and
Speaking at his final meeting on Thursday evening, of the council’s audit committee, Khatri claimed he had been the victim of a “right wing and hard Brexit-based leadership coup” …
Khatri … told the chair of the meeting, Hugh Rayner, another Conservative, who chose not to stand again in the marginal ward of Hale, “this is your last meeting too, as you have stood down … all I can say is that the people of Hale will get a significant upgrade in the quality of their representation if they vote for the Labour candidates”. Khatri said: “I hope the residents deliver the right result on 3 May – Conservatives losing control.”
Sury is a very decent guy who despite his misgivings on Barnets outsourcing policies has always voted in line with the Conservative whip in Barnet Council. A great reward from his Conservative colleagues! The Conservatives believe they have Mill Hill in the bag and appear to be only pursuing a GOTV strategy here. Labour aren’t leafleting or canvassing in Mill Hill either. That leaves us, the Lib Dem campaigners. We’ve been putting out Focus leaflets and canvassing for some months now and find when we engage directly with the voters we are generally getting support. I am cautiously optimistic of our chances in May.