Euphoria felled by reality and scant ambition – I have seen what could be Labour’s future

Thatcher’s old heartland is now a microcosm of the nation. Labour ended years of Tory rule there, but it struggles with that legacy and new expectations

That leaves Thatcher’s former patch of Finchley and Golders Green, which pollsters believe will be among the most marginal blue-red constituencies in the country. A win for Labour here would probably mean Starmer gets a 1997-style supermajority. In Barnet, the Labour council has just passed two years in office and the jubilation of that May evening, with its promise of power, has turned into the deflation of governing with scarce resources. Among its big problems at the moment is industrial action by mental health social workers that has been running since last September.

The council disputes these numbers and says that it cannot comment on individual cases, although it adds that it does “not recognise version of events”. In any case, it has refused the social workers’ demands for a 10% retention payment. In a grim repeat of Tory days, it has brought in an outsourced agency to cover mental health work. The trade union Unison claims this is strike-breaking and says that, unless the council stops by a deadline of this Wednesday, it will start court action.

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