ENFIELD LOCAL ELECTION 2018 

Quick Facts:

·         * Voter turnout at 38.15%%, a slight increase from 2014

·         *  First councillor announced was Turkey Street Ward

·         * Labours gains seats in Chase, Southgate and Winchmore Hill areas

·         * Labour increases majority by 5 to 46 seats to the Conservatives 17

On 3^rd May 2018 the area of Enfield went to the ballot box in order to elect their new council. The incumbent party was Labour who had been in charge since 2010 and it was vying for its chances to continue its time in power. 63 Councillors across 21 Wards were being selected to represent the people of Enfield. Labour had competition from the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, UKIP and 4 independent candidates.  The winners would be able to dictate the quality of life for the people of the Enfield area for the next 4 years.

Many areas in England voted on the same day as Enfield. Alot political pundits predicted that the elections might be influenced by Brexit, Corbyn's Labour ressurgence or the problems facing the Conservative Party. Overall though the most shocking thing was that there were no big shocks. the status quo continued. The “Brexit” effect did not seem to kick in as voters tended to stick to local traditional party lines. Labour and the Conservatives both held most of their seats with only a few swinging between them. The Liberal Democrats arguably had the best night whilst UKIP had the worst losing nearly all of their seats.

Across England elections were held in all 32 London Boroughs, 24 Metropolitan boroughs, 67 district and borough councils, 17 unitary authroities and there were also elections for mayoralities in ackney, Lewisham, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Watford. 

In Enfield voting began at 7am on the morning of May 3^rd and the last votes were cast at 10pm when voting booths closed. The sealed ballot boxes were then sent to the Lee Valley indoor athletic centre to be counted. Verification and counting began almost as soon as the 10pm deadline hit. The staff at the Lee Valley complex worked hard late into the night with the first result coming at 2am from the Turkey Street Ward. The results trickled in from the other Wards from then on with the last Ward, Southgate, being announced at 8am. The last Ward of Southgate was so tight it needed a second recount to make sure the results were all correct with Labour, Conservative and Labour candidates winning in that order.

The counting area calm before ballot boxes were brought in after 10pm

The counting hall became very busy once boxes had arrived with peoples votes. 

Each Ward of Enfield had its own dedicated counting area. Many staff were on hand to make sure counting was done as quickly as possibly but also ensuring total fairness. 

In Enfield the night was a success for the Labour Party who worked hard to stay in power for another 4 years. This means by the next election they will have overseen control of Enfield for 12 years. Labour increased their number of seats by 5 and has seen their majority increase over the Conservatives. No other party apart from the Conservatives or Labour managed to gain a seat on the Enfield Council. They will now have to make good on their promises as dictated in their pledges to the electorate.  Their leaflet “Promises to You” explained their commitments to Enfield as:

1.      The first promise of their manifesto is to “keep Council Tax as low as possible... whilst protecting our communities essential services”.

2.      They wish to “fight crime and anti-social behaviour” through neighbourhood policing schemes and trying to acquire more police officers.

3.      The council has committed itself to “build upon the success” of their education improvements.

4.      Fly tipping will be combated with a “clean up squad and installing more CCTV in fly tipping hotspots”, this will also be complimented by a “brand new fleet of vehicles to boost street cleaning”. They also promise to be tough on people caught dumping rubbish.

5.      Councillors will try and secure better health and social care services through the aforementioned campaign “More GPs for Enfield Town”, trying to fund more nurses and investing in new care homes.

6.      A commitment to building new affordable homes and “cracking down on rogue landlords”

Labour leader Doug Taylor, as quoted in the Enfield Independent, explains his belief for why his party won. Taylor said the result was due to "good work done over the past eight years... It is also an indication that the public value public services, and a forceful statement to the government that the people of Enfield want good public services and will not support a party that fails to deliver that".  Speaking of the future the Enfield Labour Leader disclosed that his party "has an array of new, enthusiastic, community-based councillors who will do a good job for their residents...  we will continue to plan for the future of the borough, defend front-line services and meet the needs and aspirations of all our residents".

A measure of their success in 4 years will be if they can keep to their promises. Overall though the impression of the people of Enfield must be a positive one to not only re-elect the Labour Party but to increase their majority. The full election results below show it is a night for congratulations for Labour and a collective hope for a better future for Enfield.

You can find the names of your new local councillors on the Enfield website. You can also search if they have social media accounts to easily contact them. They also have their contact details on the link below. Due to their small electorate size councillors are easily contactable and can listen to causes you want discussed quite easily. They are truly your personal representative.

Ward Results and Candidates: https://tinyurl.com/y7dfjmbc

One sticking point is low voter turnout. I am sure all political party’s can agree that voter turnout, although slightly increased from 2014, is still disappointingly low. It’s a sad indictment of the fact that the negative stigma surrounding local elections still continues. More needs to be done to make people realise the importance of their vote to changing the area around them.  

Election Results Enfield 2018
Party	Seats	% vote share
Labour Party	46	54.9%
The Conservative Party	17	32.5%
Green Party	0	4.5%
Liberal Democrats	0	4.0%
UKIP	0	<1%
Others	0	<1%
Turnout Average		38.15%

Now that the election process is over all the ballot papers will be deposited with the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery. These are kept so that if any problems arise, such as accusations of electoral fraud, they will remain sealed and checked only if an order is given by the High Court or Parliament itself.