Yes, we now have our first Green councillor in Haringey!
On 10 April, voters went to the polls in St Ann’s ward in a by-election to elect a new representative, following the resignation of one of the incumbent Labour concillors. Having mounted an intensive campaign, with support from Greens from all over London, our candidate Ruairidh Paton knew that there was a chance of winning the seat. All indications were that we were running neck-and-neck with the new Labour candidate, possibly even enjoying a slight lead.
On election day itself, over 100 volunteers went out door-knocking, leafleting and counting off voters outside polling stations in a final push to get Ruairidh over the line. By the time the polls closed at 10:00 that evening, the campaign team had done everything possible to give Ruairidh a fighting chance of taking the seat. Now we had to wait for the votes to be counted at Haringey council offices the following morning.
In the event, it wasn’t even close. Out of a relatively high turn-out for a by-election of 28.8%, more than half of the 1,920 voters had chosen Ruairidh to be their new councillor. The Labour councillor was in a distant second place, 470 votes behind Ruairidh’s total of 1,059.
The final tallies were as follows:
- Ruiaridh Paton (Green Party) – 1,069 votes
- Stephen Tawiah (Labour) – 589 votes
- Calum McGillivray (Conservative and Unionist) – 83 votes
- David Beacham (Liberal Democrat) – 70 votes
- David Stratford (Reform) – 69 votes
- David Kaplan (Trade Union and Socialist) – 34 votes
- Tony Hunt (Communist League) – 8 votes
Now that the celebrations have died down, looking at this result, one thing has now become abundantly clear – Greens can win in Haringey. Ruairidh has a lot of work ahead of him as the sole Green on a large council, but he is determined to fulfill his election promise of making a difference in St Ann’s, and is already dealing with residents‘ concerns.
As for the Haringey Green Party, we have a big year ahead, and we will be calling on members to support us as we look to have more Greens elected in Haringey in the 2026 local council elections. We are looking forward to seeing members engaging directly with residents, listening to their concerns and sharing the positive energy that Greens bring to campaigning.
If we can take a leaf out of the book that was so effectively used by Ruairidh and his dynamic campaign team, you will soon be reading about more Green Party success at the polls.
Please consider getting involved!