Mike Freer

My Experience

Tel: 020 8445 4292 / 212 Ballards Lane, Finchley, London, N3 2LX Email: Mike@finchleyconservatives.com / Web: www.finchleyconservatives.com

Mike lives in Finchley and is currently leader of the Council, London Borough of Barnet and represents Finchley Church End as a local Councillor and is widely respected as someone who 'gets things done' with a keen eye for improving service and value for money in our public services. He serves as a non-executive director of the London Development Agency and is Lead Member for Health & Adult Services on London Councils.

Outside of politics Mike is a self employed consultant and has previously held several positions within the banking and finance sectors. This has included working for major high street banks in their estate agency; retail; wealth and corporate divisions. In addition Mike has experience of running his own financial service business. Prior to banking and financial services Mike worked in retail catering and retail gaming.

Mike is a keen cyclist and a general keep fit enthusiast who also enjoys travelling and reading. He is a member of Friends of Windsor Open Space, Conservative Friends of Israel, Conservative Friends of Cyprus and is also a Friend of British Asian Conservative link.

Mike also has a good history of voluntary and community work which includes being treasurer of the Barnet Tsunami Appeal, Chairman of Barnet Multi-faith forum, former hospice and meals on wheels volunteer.

Mike Freer's Experience

Mike is currently leader of the Council, London Borough of Barnet and represents Finchley Church End as a local Councillor.

Mike Freer has been a long and active campaigner in Conservative politics since joining the party in the early 1980s. First elected to Barnet Council in 1990, his vigorous campaigning enabled him to gain the St. Paul's seat from Labour. Though he lost his position in the Conservative rout of 1994, he came back to win the Finchley ward by election in 2001, exceeding all expectations by achieving a whopping 6 per cent swing in his favour, even though the Conservatives trailed badly in the opinion polls.

Mike was selected as a Parliamentary Candidate in nearby Harrow West for the 2005 General Election where he slashed Labour's 2001 majority by 66%, and Labour HQ as a threat identified Mike Freer, even though the seat was only 116th on the Conservative Target List.

Mike is widely respected as someone who 'gets things done' with a keen eye for improving service and value for money in our public services.

Tireless work by Cllr. Freer and others on a winning manifesto in 2002 led to the Conservatives being swept back to power in Barnet Council after a gap of eight years. His reward for this unstinting show of energy was the Value and Effectiveness Portfolio, which gave him the chance to tackle the colossal waste and mismanagement seen under the Labour/Liberal administrations of 1994-2002. The task was a challenging one: a black hole of £11 million was revealed in the Council Budget, and Reserves were just £3 million. Some Council departments were even at risk of Government takeover.