Fifth newly-elected Green Party councillor steps down as cost of by-elections set to total £100k
Newly-elected Green representatives in North Acton, Camden, Haringey, Lambeth and Hackney have all stood down
A fifth newly-elected Green Party councillor in London has stepped down, leaving taxpayers facing a bill of around £100,000 for fresh by-elections.
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Simon Anthony, who was elected in North Acton, Ealing, at the local elections on 7 May, became the latest to resign on Monday, citing health reasons.
Neil Reynolds, Chair of the Ealing Green Party, said: "Unfortunately, one of our five recently-elected councillors, Simon Anthony in North Acton, is unable to continue and has had to step down from his role.
"We have therefore immediately requested a by-election in North Acton and we will be running a full campaign to try and keep the seat."
Mr Anthony is the fifth Green councillor to resign since the local elections.
Newly-elected Green representatives in Camden, Haringey, Lambeth and Hackney have also stood down, triggering a series of by-elections.
Each poll is expected to cost cash-strapped councils between £20,000 and £25,000 to run, taking the total cost to the taxpayer to roughly £100,000.
In a closely fought contest on 7 May, voters in North Action elected three councillors from a field of 17 candidates dominated by Labour and the Greens.
Mr Anthony was the only Green candidate elected – securing the second highest number of votes with 1,298 votes – while Labour took the ward’s other two seats.
In Lambeth, Saiqa Ali was elected as one of 29 Green councillors despite being arrested before polling day over allegations she had posted antisemitic content on social media.
She was suspended by the party, and it emerged on Thursday night that she had decided not to take up her seat in Streatham St Leonard ward.
The Greens said before the election it was too late to remove her from the ballot paper under electoral law.
In Hackney, James Tilden was elected in Hackney Central with 1,681 votes, but was later forced to stand down after it emerged he was ineligible to serve.
As a primary school teacher employed by the local authority, he was barred under electoral law.
Muhammed Naser, elected in Regent’s Park ward in Camden, was also forced to resign for the same reason.
In Haringey, Jayon Henriques was elected in Northumberland Park but was also found to be ineligible to serve as a councillor, although the party is yet to disclose the reason.
A Haringey Greens spokesperson said: “As soon as we were made aware, we informed the Electoral Commission and Haringey Council’s returning officer, and followed their instructions. No local campaigning took place in the ward.
“We accept the candidate made an error in good faith regarding his eligibility. A by-election will be announced in due course and we look forward to campaigning with a new candidate.”
It was a bruising set of election results for Sir Keir Starmer, as the Labour Party lost control of more than half of its London boroughs.
Zack Polanski’s Greens were among the main beneficiaries of Labour’s collapse in support in the capital, taking control of Lewisham, Hackney and Waltham Forest in a series of historic gains.
The North Acton ward by-election is expected to be held next month, with Ealing Council set to confirm the date shortly.