A tug-of-war for Finchley and Golders Green is on the cards, after the leader of Barnet’s Labour group announced plans to challenge her Conservative rival Mike Freer at the next general election.

East Finchley councillor Alison Moore, leader of the opposition party, has been selected by her party as the prospective parliamentary candidate for the seat currently held by Labour MP Rudi Vis.

She will take on Barnet Council leader Mike Freer for one of the most marginal seats in the capital, which the Tories are confident of winning, having lost by a margin of just 741 votes in 2005.

And Dr Moore said she was “looking forward”

to the challenge of retaining the constituency once dominated by former Conservative Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher.

She said: “The people of Finchley and Golders Green proved the Conservatives wrong in 2005, and I hope they will do the same again.

“We have had an excellent MP in Rudy Vis for the last ten years and I intend to continue his good work, with a focus on issues the residents feel strongly about.”

To win the seat, Mr Freer would only have to swing the vote by 0.02 per cent.

He said: “Alison Moore is a nice lady and I am sure she will put up a good fight.”

Mr Vis announced earlier this year that he would stand down at the next general election because of personal commitments.

He won the seat in 1997 after serving as a ward councillor in Woodhouse and then East Finchley for 11 years. He retained the seat in two consecutive elections despite a slump in his majority.