,  By  T-VINE

Allen ‘Arkın’ Windsor propels Lib Dems to second place in Haringey Council by-election

Allen Windsor, a British Turkish Cypriot businessman and community activist, has exceeded all expectations in his first local elections by coming second in Thursday’s by-election in Haringey.

Standing for the Liberal Democrats, Windsor leapfrogged the Conservative and Green Party councillor candidates in the contest for Tottenham Hale, which took place on Thursday, 9 March.

The Labour candidate, Sean O’Donovan, comfortably held the safe Labour seat with 818 votes, although the party’s share of the vote was down by nearly 10%.

The Liberal Democrats, which had polled fourth in the last year’s local elections, secured 203 votes, or 14.6% of the vote, with their new candidate Windsor helping to create a swing of 6.6% in their favour.

He pipped his nearest rival, Dr Emma Chan of the Greens, for second place by 11 votes. The Greens saw their vote dip by nearly 2% from last year’s election.

The Conservative’s Angelos Kyriacos Tsangarides polled just 81 votes, coming fourth.

Miraf Negusse Ghebreawariat, who ran as an independent, came fifth, and Amelia Allao of the Christian Peoples Alliance, was last in the six-way contest.

“A steep learning curve”

Windsor, a former policeman who is better known in the Turkish Cypriot community by his birth name Arkın Öksüzoğlu, has lived in Tottenham since 1979. He has been involved in a variety of key campaigns within the community.

The father of five joined the Liberal Democrats in 2021, but has only recently decided to turn his attention to local politics.

Allen Windsor, who is better known in the Turkish Cypriot community by his birth name Arkin Öksüzoğlu

 

Speaking to T-VINE after the election results were announced on Thursday night, Windsor said he was “surprised” and feeling “great” with the outcome given his limited political experience, and that he wants to “keep learning and building” Lib Dem support in Haringey.

“I’m a political novice and so this campaign was a steep learning curve for me, but I was supported by a fantastic team and we achieved much in a limited amount of time. I was surprised to come second — beating both the Conservatives and Greens was great!

“I am eager to keep learning and building on what we have achieved. The Liberal Democrats offer a strong alternative to Labour in Haringey, and it’s important for local democracy that all power is not concentrated in one party’s hands,” Windsor said.

“Although we didn’t have long to campaign, we received a really positive response on the doorstep and at the ballot box. Lots of local people are turned off by the two main parties, and I feel with a concerted push, the Lib Dems can attract far more support in the east of the borough,” he added.

Full results

The full results for the Tottenham Hale by-election are as follows:

Labour: 818 (58.7%, -9.4)

Lib Dem: 203 (14.6%, +6.6)

Green: 192 (13.8%, -1.8)

Con: 81 (5.8%, -2.5)

IND: 64 (4.6%, +4.6)

CPA: 35 (2.5%, +2.5)

Turnout: 1,400 (20%)

Ballots rejected: 7

Haringey Labour

The by-election was called after a Labour councillor for Tottenham Hale, Yannis Gourtsoyannism, stepped down for personal reasons in February, nine months into his term following the May 2022 Local Elections.

O’Donovan’s victory mean Labour continue to have 50 seats on Haringey Council, which is headed by Peray Ahmet (seen below with the candidate), who is also of Turkish Cypriot heritage. The Liberal Democrats have the remaining seven seats.