The only Green Party councillor on Barnet Council has accused the borough's two main parties of attempting to exclude her from decision-making roles after the local elections left Labour and the Conservatives level on seats.
Balance of power and the swing vote
Charli Thompson, elected in the Woodhouse ward during the 7th May elections, is the sole non-Labour or Conservative member on the council and thus holds the decisive vote should the two larger parties split along party lines. Labour and the Conservatives each secured 31 seats, with Thompson the only councillor from another party.
Thompson says she has been sidelined rather than engaged following her election. She told local reporters that attempts by the legacy parties to manage voting through party discipline have resulted in her being left out of committee places she sought.
"They basically just said that I don’t have any rights to be on a committee and they weren’t willing to relinquish any of their seats."
Claims and responses
Thompson described the approach as "undemocratic" and said being denied committee membership was a disservice not only to her as a councillor but also to Green voters and to Barnet residents who rely on council services, particularly older and disabled people.
A Barnet Conservatives spokesperson defended the use of party whips as a normal practice for "serious political parties" and dismissed suggestions that Conservatives and Labour were working together to silence the Green councillor as "as laughable as it is self-obsessed and ludicrous". The Tory group also said it had been reluctant to collaborate with the Green member because of the party's stance on Israel and concerns about the national Labour leader's response to the police handling of the Golders Green attack — issues the Conservatives say have complicated cross-party working.
Local context and stakes
The dispute has a local policy dimension. Thompson has campaigned on adult social care and disability issues — matters she highlights are personal to her because of her own health conditions: Chiari malformation and intracranial hypertension. Her sister also lives in supported living and has autism. Thompson argues that her lived experience makes her perspective particularly relevant to committees overseeing social care.
- Seats on council: Labour 31, Conservatives 31, Greens 1
- Barnet over-65 population: more than 55,000 residents
- Green vote share (election day): 16%
- Jewish population (Open Barnet 2021): 14.5% — the highest proportion among London boroughs
Numbers at a glance
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Council seats — Labour | 31 |
| Council seats — Conservative | 31 |
| Council seats — Green | 1 |
| Barnet residents aged 65+ | More than 55,000 |
| Green party vote share (election day) | 16% |
| Jewish residents (Open Barnet 2021) | 14.5% |
Thompson says being excluded from committees affects the council's ability to reflect the borough's demographics and needs, pointing to the sizeable elderly population and the council's responsibilities for social care services. She argues that Green representation in committees would allow the perspectives of disabled residents and carers to be better considered.
For now, the practical consequence is that the two main parties retain control over committee allocations and the routine business of the council unless they choose to share roles or invite cross-party cooperation.
How Labour and the Conservatives proceed will determine whether the single Green councillor's position as a swing vote leads to greater engagement across party lines, or whether committee seats and other positions remain divided along traditional party boundaries.
Residents interested in how committee membership is allocated and what it means for services can follow council meetings and committee appointments as they are announced by Barnet Council.
