Khalid Sadur ran as an independent in the Jubilee ward council by-election in Enfield on 28 November, with the endorsement of Jeremy Corbyn. And his community campaign, lacking the resources of a big party, became the main opposition to the Labour-Tory domination in the area.
As Sadur told the Canary:
Prior to last Thursday, no third party had ever achieved a 10% share of the vote over that period. The Enfield Community Independents polled 9.6% of the vote and finished third ahead of more established parties such as the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Reform.
He added:
For years, Enfield has flipped between Labour and Conservative, both at a Parliamentary and Council level. There has never been a true alternative.
Khalid Sadur: “voters are fed up” – particularly in Enfield
During the campaign, Sadur discovered that local people are clearly dissatisfied with the way things are:
Our campaign reached out to people all across Jubilee ward, either by volunteers knocking on doors or holding our public assembly for residents. The message we received was loud and clear; voters are fed up with politics and the mainstream parties. An eventual 21% turnout for the by-election would reinforce this case.
But his focus on doing things differently seemed to resonate. As he said:
In the midst of this political darkness, however, residents became enlightened to a new way of doing politics in Enfield. An approach based on the community and where concerns and issues were listened to. With the current Labour government moving increasingly to the right and ever nearer to the Conservatives, there is now a clear home for people in Enfield who believe in equality and social justice.
Without the mass volunteers and resources of the mainstream parties, the final result on Thursday was a testament to the message and hope we conveyed.
Proof that a united left can meaningfully oppose the duopoly
Sadur had already built from his general election run earlier in the year. Now, he’s looking at the next chance to challenge the Labour-Tory duopoly. And that’s 2026. He said:
As well as being endorsed by Jeremy Corbyn, we obtained the support of a number of organisations such as Collective, Transform and TUSC.
As we head into the next local elections in May 2026, we will endeavour to further these collaborations to provide a genuine alternative for the people of Enfield.
The new opposition, he insisted, is “here to stay”:
Having surpassed other third parties at this by-election, we have already become the main opposition to the mainstream parties in the Borough.
Our next goal will be to go even further and have Independent candidates elected to the Council.
As I said on results night at the General Election in July, our movement is growing and we are definitely here to stay.
