London’s 32 Boroughs went to the polls on 5 May as part of local elections also happening across Wales, Scotland and some (though not all) of England – the City of London Corporation held its own election in March. The results in the capital echo those in the rest of the UK: mostly, though not exclusively poor results for the Conservatives; a good result for Labour overall, if by no means a huge success; and broadly, if again modestly positive results for the Lib Dems, Green Party and in some areas smaller parties and Independents.
With votes now tallied across London – barring a handful of seats in Kingston, Redbridge and Croydon, which will not affect the overall result – the topline results per party are as follows. Bear in mind that boundary reviews, which in some boroughs increased the number of seats and in others reduced them, make a direct comparison between this and the last election somewhat difficult.
Labour controls 21 boroughs, the same as previously, winning Barnet, Wandsworth and Westminster from the Conservatives, but losing control of Croydon, Harrow and Tower Hamlets. Having won but also lost seats in some boroughs, Labour now hold 1,153 in total (a net +30 from 2018).
The Conservatives now control six boroughs (a net minus one), having lost the abovementioned three, but winning Harrow from Labour and narrowly winning Croydon’s first-ever election for a Mayor with executive powers, though elections for Croydon’s council left it under No Overall Control. The Tory party now holds 403 seats London-wide (a net -108).
The Liberal Democrats retained control of their three strongholds in South West London – Richmond, Kingston and Sutton – and won a scattering of seats overall across much of London, though they did lose seats in some areas. They now hold 177 seats (a net +23).
The Green Party again did not win control of any boroughs, but did win 18 seats in total across London, notably including a number of CAZ boroughs (accounting for some small losses, a net +7).
One of the big winners of this election was local party Aspire, who won 23 seats and the Mayoralty in Tower Hamlets. Havering, London’s eastern-most borough, is again under No Overall Control.
This summary was compiled by London Communications Agency as part of London Property Alliance’s Politics and Planning Newsletter.
