Enfield Borough Council elections: all you need to know

But do you know everything about the forthcoming election on May 22? Are you confused about how to vote or where to vote?

Never fear, the Enfield Independent has compiled a roundup of all the things you need to know before you make your decision later this month.

How does it work?

There will be 63 councillors selected from 202 candidates in 21 wards in Enfield, equating to three councillors for each ward. Each resident will vote for three council candidates.

The three with the most votes from each ward will become councillors for the next four years.

Complexion – East meets west:

The Labour Party regained control of Enfield Borough Council in 2010 for the first time in eight years by winning 36 seats in 12 wards.

The Conservatives currently hold 26 seats in nine wards and there is one Independent, Chris Joannides, who was ousted from the Conservative Party following controversial posts on social media site Facebook.

The map of Enfield indicates clearly that the eastern part of Enfield is currently Labour red and the western side is Conservative blue.

In the last local election four years ago, Labour took seats from Conservatives in Enfield Lock, Palmers Green, Southbury, and Turkey Street wards.

At the same time, the Conservatives gained two seats from the Save Chase Farm Group (SCF) in Chase ward and Town ward.

The borough has been predominantly a two-party area with the SCF the only party to buck that trend in the past 14 years.

Who said what:

The council's Labour leader, Councillor Doug Taylor, said: “We will continue to be led by values - fairness in Enfield, strong communities, growth and sustainability.

“We are proud of our record of achievement - keeping council tax low with zero tax increases, record customer satisfaction despite massive government cuts, meeting school places demand.

“We are confident in our promises for the future - achievable and realistic making a real difference.

“In 2010 Labour set out a bold vision for how we wanted to improve Enfield.  We have delivered on that promise.  We continue to look to further improve Enfield over the next four years.”

Michael Lavender, leader of the Conservative group, said: “Conservatives believe we need greater employment and more housing.

“Our policies, encouraging local businesses and developing areas such as Meridian Water in Edmonton, Ladderswood in Southgate and the Alma Estate in Ponders End will help.

“Employment and decent housing encourage better education and reduce resort to the taxpayer for health and social care.”

New kids on the block:

Maybe one of the biggest surprises of all is the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition, who are fielding 14 candidates in the elections with the maximum of three candidates in three wards.

Paul Kershaw, said: “We want to give people a third option which does not advocate continuous cuts like the other parties.

“We have a variety of candidates all across the borough and we want to give people another way that constant cuts and austerity in Enfield.”

Curiously, the Liberal Democrats have only fielded eight candidates, less than a third of the number they put out in the previous election (26).

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) has seen its number of candidates go up from six to 16 candidates this time around.

However, one member, William Henwood, has resigned from the party following tweets about black comedian Lenny Henry saying that he should “emigrate to a black country”.

Elsewhere the British National Party (BNP) has also increased its numbers to six from four in 2010 and the Green Party who had 23 in the last election, have 26 standing this time around.

Turnout:

In 2010, there was a 64.5 per cent turnout of the electorate which the highest turnout ward being Town 73 per cent, and the lowest being Edmonton Green with 57 per cent of the electorate voting.

All polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm on the night of the election.
To view polling stations click here.