Lorna Jane Russell, third from left, celebrates with her campaign team and the outgoing councillor Sian Berry

RESULT:
LORNA JANE RUSSELL (Greens) 1,513 ELECTED
Tricia Leman (Labour) 740
Wakkira Feyesa (Conservative) 240
Farrell Monk (Lib Dem) 84
Turnout: 33.2 per cent

THE Greens have scored a spectacular by-election win in the Highgate ward to save their stake in Camden’s council politics.

Lorna Jane Russell romped home with more than twice as many votes than her Labour rival,  successfully defending the seat previously held by Sian Berry. It is the party’s only seat in the Town Hall chamber but voters made it clear they did not want Labour, the dominant ruling party, to wipe out their voice.

The ward will now continue to be shared by two Labour councillors and Cllr Russell.

Her victory comes with an intriguing back story as she was once a Labour councillor herself and a deputy mayor of the council. She gave up the chance to be the mayor of Camden when she defected to the Greens in October 2021 – warning that Labour was not listening enough to residents before making decisions.

Cllr Russell will now represent her home ward as she lives on the Holly Lodge Estate, where residents have been locked in a row with the council over the locking of fire escape to the roof.

She said that she had won the election due to “hard work”, including her team, and that the result showed a “frustration with Labour”. The winner also paid tribute to Ms Berry, who stepped down from the council because she felt she could not be a councillor in Camden as well as a parliamentary candidate in Brighton at the same time.

Despite the heavy loss for Labour – organisers suspected the Greens might win this one but not by this scale – the party remains in complete control of the council with 46 of the 55 seats. Members said the scores should be viewed in the context of Labour not having held all three seats in the ward for more than 20 years, and therefore not a surprise wider trend against Sir Keir Starmer’s party.