An election pact has been formed by the Green Party and Independent Socialist Group in Hackney to try and oust the Conservatives as the council’s opposition if they win two by-elections this Thursday.
A by-election was triggered in London Fields after former Labour councillor Lee Laudat-Scott was charged with sexual offences in July and tendered his resignation.
In another by-election in Stoke Newington, Liam Davis will stand for the Greens and there will be no independent representative and Sarah Byrne stands as an independent, aligned to the Independent Socialist Group in London Fields.
The Green Party currently have two seats which they won in 2022, while there are already 3 Independents on the council, who defected from Labour.
If they sit as one group on the council after the election, assuming both Davis and Byrne win, they will become the second largest group with four seats on the council, compared to the Conservative’s five, allowing them to better challenge the ruling Labour party.
“We’re both people-powered, very grassroot parties,” said Davis.
“We’re purely powered by volunteers, we don’t have the big party machine or have donors behind us like Labour or the Conservatives, so we really wanted to focus our efforts.”
Both Davis and Byrne are both former Labour members who left in recent years after differences with the party.
Byrne was previously selected by Labour to be a councillor in the run-up to the 2022 local elections in London Fields but had the selection removed at the last moment after months of campaigning over her stance on Gaza.
She said: “Two weeks before the selection went into the town hall I was called to a meeting and deselected, over my position on Gaza.”
However, she stayed on for some time, but ultimately left this year, over the treatment of Dianne Abbot and the party’s line on Gaza.
Both candidates already knew each other, having met at a Labour Party conference, and part of the reason the election pact came into existence is that many in both groups were previously acquainted.
Byrne said: “It’s really good that they’re supporting us here, and we’re supporting them in Stoke.
“They know me personally, there’s an element of trust, and an element of support there.”
Davis said: “The Conservatives don’t take up a lot of the positions on scrutiny committees in Hackney council which they are entitled to.
“We would take these positions.”
There is also a lot of overlap on policy positions, with housing, Gaza – the untwining of Haifa and Hackney and ethical divestment – and education.
Both candidates say their experience of housing in the borough is a reason they are politically active.
Byrne said: “I live in social housing, over the last 21 years I’ve experienced the level of disrepair of the housing stock.
“I think you’d get a more productive outcome locally if there’s more collaboration.”
Davis said: “I would love to see small coalitions between different groups of people, and that might be party members, that might not be party members.
“I’ve been taken aback by the strength of feeling against Labour. We have every reason now to think it could be incredibly close.”
Stoke Newington ward was also one of the Greens’ strongest performances in a seat they didn’t win in 2022 and saw their vote share increase.
Byrne echoed the anti-Labour sentiment she has heard from local residents.
She said: “The response has been brilliant, people are really fed up with Labour.
“People feel angry about the winter fuel payments.”
Last week also saw a similar by-election take place in Camden, in the Kentish Town South ward, where the Greens and Independent candidates received 22.7% and 20% of the vote each.
While this combined vote share would have just put them under Labour, at 46.8%, it could be argued that by combining resources the two campaigns may have got one of the candidates over the line.
In this year’s general election, it was remarked that if the Green vote in Ilford North had gone to Independent Leanne Mohammad, then she would have won, and ousted Labour grandee Wes Streeting.
Hackney Labour and Conservative parties were contacted for a response.
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