The leader of Barnet’s Labour Group has welcomed the election of Sir Keir Starmer as leader of the national party.

Cllr Barry Rawlings said Sir Keir would help to unify the party and rid it of anti-Semitism – an issue that has attracted a great deal of attention in Barnet, with its large Jewish community.

Sir Keir, who is MP for Holborn and St Pancras, was elected Labour leader on Saturday (April 4) with 56 per cent of the vote, giving him a landslide victory over rivals Lisa Nandy and Rebecca Long-Bailey.

He apologised for anti-Semitism, which he called “a stain on our party”, and pledged to “tear out this poison by its roots and judge success by the return of Jewish members and those who felt that they could no longer support us”.

Cllr Rawlings said: “I welcome the election of Sir Keir Starmer, partly because it is an important step in unifying the party.

“He is committed to lancing the boil of anti-Semitism that has scarred the party nationally and locally.

“He said he would show success by the example of Jewish members returning to the party – he has set a target or test, which is important.”

In February last year, Labour councillor Jess Brayne cited the party’s failure to tackle anti-Semitism as one of the reasons for her decision to defect to the Liberal Democrats.

Conservative MPs held onto all three Barnet seats in December’s General Election and increased their majorities, as Labour suffered its worst result since 1935 at the national level.

Cllr Rawlings, who represents Coppetts ward on Barnet Council, also spoke highly of Sir Keir’s attitude towards local government.

He said: “Speaking from a council point of view, his determination to devolve power to a local level brings decisions closer to the people. I think that will create more democratic accountability.

“The shadow cabinet looks inclusive and talented.

“We have to support the Government in beating the coronavirus crisis, but it does need to be held to account for some of its mistakes and delays, and for the under-funding of public services.

“Sir Keir has a legal frame of mind and will go into detail. He is also quite forensic and thinks before he talks, which is not something that affects a lot of politicians.”