The Greens have formally taken control of Haringey Council with a new minority administration – marking a historic shift away from Labour.
Green Party councillor Mark Blake is the new leader of the council after Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors abstained on the key vote for his appointment at Tottenham Town Hall and put no alternative name forward themselves.
The decision was made at a full council meeting on Wednesday as councillors met for the first time since the local election, and sees Labour officially lose control of the council for the first time since 1971.
The Labour group were significantly reduced in size at the election, losing 23 of 44 councillors – including incumbent council leader Peray Ahmet, who lost her seat representing Noel Park ward to the Greens.
Cllr Blake is among the most experienced members of the 27-strong Green minority administration, having previously served as a Labour councillor for nearly a decade until leaving the party in 2023 to become an independent, before officially joining the Greens only last year.
Experienced though he is, even Cllr Blake did not appear to predict a few of the evening’s events. This included an apparent deal between Labour and Lib Dem councillors to vote against Andrew Reid as the Green Party’s candidate for mayor.
Working together the two opposition groups narrowly voted in Liberal Democrat councillor Dawn Barnes to the ceremonial post instead, with 28 votes in favour and 27 against.
Cllr Barnes replaces Labour’s Ahmed Mahbu, who lost his White Hart Lane ward seat to the Greens at the election on May 7.
In Haringey the mayor is a civic position with no decision-making powers but, with the balance of power so finely poised, it could be far more consequential this year.
Right now Labour have 20 seats and the Lib Dems hold eight. In the event the council is tied on a decision, the mayor has the power to cast the deciding vote.
Nevertheless, the precarious balance could change again in the near future, with two by-elections scheduled.
One will be for Northumberland Park. It was announced last week that one of the ward’s winning Green candidates, Jayon Henriques, was ineligible to take his seat, although no specific reason has been given.
The other by-election will be in Woodside ward, after Haringey Labour revealed this week that their own winning candidate, Hasret Bozdogan, would not be taking her post due to personal reasons “that transpired after 7th May”.
Neither by-election has been scheduled yet, but when the Woodside poll does come around the Greens will be hopeful of winning it, since Bozdogan only beat her nearest Green competitor by three votes.
The new Green minority adminstration could become a majority one should they win both by-elections. This would give the party 29 councillors – the minimum needed to have overall control of the local authority.
But such an outcome won’t reverse another surprise vote on Wednesday evening, with Labour and the Lib Dems again teaming up to vote through an amendment granting them key positions on the council’s committees.
It was a move that will significantly undermine the Green administration’s powers, at least until the next annual council meeting in 2027.
The Liberal Democrats, who gained one seat at the election and now have eight councillors in total, will have significantly more sway as a result of the amendment being passed.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Ali has taken over as leader of the Labour opposition group. He complimented Cllr Blake on his success, before accusing the Greens of being “naive” in their approach to finances.
The outgoing Labour administration had asked for more than £130 million of ‘exceptional financial support’ from the government over the past two financial years to help the council avoid going bust.
