The four candidates for the West End ward by-election

Four candidates will contest a single seat for Westminster City Council’s West End ward in a by-election to be held on Thursday 19 September 2024. The West End ward includes the Fitzrovia West neighbourhood area. There are three seats in the ward with two of them occupied by Labour’s Paul Fisher and Patrick Lilley who were both elected in 2022.

The following four candidates are standing for the election:

Conservative Party – Tim Barnes

Tim Barnes lives in the West End ward and is the Chief Executive of a small charity. He is also a previous Westminster City councillor and Cabinet Member for Young People and Learning, and ran in the recent General Election for the Two Cities, a seat won by the Labour candidate Rachel Blake.

Barnes said he is standing because of issues he sees in the area on a daily basis, such as knife crime, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. He accused the current Labour administration of failing to manage e-bike numbers, growing numbers of rough sleepers in tents and services such as rubbish collection.

Barnes told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “Having been a councillor during the pandemic, I was able to help residents and businesses when things were at their hardest and many were unsure of where to go to get help. It was an immensely rewarding experience in a troubled time. Now I see all sorts of things getting worse for local people and I want to represent them and fight to see these new problems resolved, from crime to pedicabs, housing repairs to forests of e-bikes.”

Green Party – Rajiv Sinha

Rajiv Sinha is the director of a human rights non-profit, and has worked on projects countering Islamophobia in the Indian diaspora. He has previously run as a candidate in the London Assembly elections, for West Central, and for the Two Cities in the General Election.

He told the LDRS: “I am running in the local council by-election to represent the beautiful West End ward in my home, the City of Westminster. The West End has been a special part of my lifetime in the borough from work to entertainment to campaigning.

“I’m standing because I want to work for the area and its residents with my values and those of the Green Party. I believe my ethos and experience would be strong additions to Westminster Council, and I would love to contribute towards improving the quality of life, public health, environmental performance, and safety of the West End.”

Labour Party – Fiona Parker

A Westminster resident of more than 25 years, Fiona Parker was a Daily Mirror writer and editor for almost three decades. Before that, she was a publicist at Peter Gabriel’s world music and arts festival Womad. Since accepting voluntary redundancy in March, she has been a dedicated Labour activist and a key member of Labour’s Two Cities MP Rachel Blake’s general election campaign team.

Parker said she will “champion” a Late Night Levy on bars and clubs open beyond normal hours to increase police and CCTV numbers. Short-term letting is also on her agenda, which she said is “sucking the heart right out of the West End”, as is pressing for action on pedicabs.

She said: “I am passionate about the Labour values of fairness and social justice. People think of the West End as a place people go to work, shop or party but more than 7,000 people live there, many in social housing. These people need to have a voice against the big landlords and corporate interests. It’s my mission to speak up for them on the issues that matter most.”

Liberal Democrats – Phillip Kerle

Phillip Kerle is the current chair of the local Liberal Democrat party and has lived in the City for more than 20 years. He said he is standing to “protect the West End’s cultural and historical character”, and that he is aware that policing, especially late at night, is lacking.

He added the arts is a particular area of focus, and that the impact of the closing of music and club venues is a concern. Kerle said he would also like to see smaller electric vehicles introduced for garbage collection, describing the current trucks as “large and very noisy”.

“Westminster Council has been run by the two major parties for years,” he said. “It is now time for a new Liberal Democrat voice on the council.”

Westminster City Council: West End Ward by-elections 19 September 2024.