Labour takes control of eight more London town halls

12 April 2012

Labour has seized control of more than half of London's town halls, in a series of shock results that defied national expectations.

The party now controls 17 boroughs - adding eight to its total - with the Tories on 11, the Liberal Democrats on two and a further two under no overall control.

The outcome gives Labour some relief from the poor national picture. It had been preparing for heavy council losses, but the first surprise came as it took control of Tory-run Enfield, with 36 seats to their opponents' 27.

It then hung onto Haringey, despite predictions it could be lost to the Liberal Democrats after the Baby P affair. Labour went on to take Harrow and Ealing from the Tories, Islington from the Lib-Dems, and Brent, Hounslow, Southwark, Waltham Forest and Camden from no overall control.

The party also retained control of Greenwich, Lewisham, Hackney, Newham and Lambeth. And in Barking and Dagenham, which many Labour insiders feared could be lost to the British National Party, it completely wiped out the far-Right party.

Experts pointed to a high turnout, caused by the local poll being held on the same day as the general election as the key to Labour's victory. It was the first time the two votes had been held at the same time in the capital.

But senior Labour figures claimed the results showed London was a "progressive" city and voters had reacted to the threat to public services from the Tories, especially to policing and Crossrail.

Tessa Jowell, Minister for London, said: "The people who came out and voted Labour are the people who use public services and know their importance and their value to their lives."

Across London there was a swing of only 2.5 per cent from Labour to the Tories, compared with five per cent nationally. Labour had fared particularly badly in the last borough elections in 2006. This time, the Iraq war was less of an issue and there is some evidence the Labour vote held almost steady in areas with a high ethnic minority population.

The Tories retained 11 councils and won Richmond from the Lib-Dems, mirroring Zac Goldsmith's defeat of Susan Kramer in the Commons seat. Merrick Cockell, leader of the capital's Tory authorities, said: "With a higher turnout, some areas that voted Conservative at local elections last time had a lot of people coming out for Labour, especially in places like Ealing.

"There are always lessons to be learned. The authorities that ran good administrations and lost clearly may have to look at why that may be."

The Lib-Dems retained Sutton and Kingston while Redbridge and Merton remain under no overall control.

London councils

Council Result Seats
Barking & Dagenham Lab - No change Lab 51
Barnet Con - No change Con 39, Lab 21, LibDem 3
Bexley Con - No change Con 52, Lab 11
Brent: Lab gain from NOC Lab 40, LibDem 17, Con 6
Bromley Con - No change Con 53, LibDem 4, Lab 3
Camden Lab gain from NOC Lab 30, Con 10, LibDem 10, Vacant 3, Green 1
Croydon Con - No change Con 37, Lab 3
Ealing Lab gain from Con Lab 40, Con 24, LibDem 5
Enfield Lab gain from Con Lab 36, Con 27
Greenwich Lab - No change Lab - No change Lab 40, Con 11
Hackney Lab - No change Lab 50, Con 4, LibDem 3
Hammersmith & Fulham Con - No change Con 29, Lab 15, LibDem 2
Haringey Lab - No change Lab 34, LibDem 23
Harrow Lab gain from Con Lab 34, Con 27, LibDem 1, Ind 1
Hillingdon Con - No change Con 46, Lab 19
Redbridge NOC - No change Con 30, Lab 26, LibDem 7
Richmond-upon-Thames Con gain from LibDem Con 30, LibDem 24
Southwark Lab gain from NOC Lab 35, LibDem 25, Con 3
Sutton LibDem - No change LibDem 43, Con 11
Tower Hamlets Lab - No change Lab 41, Con 8, Respect 1, LibDem 1
Waltham Forest Lab gain from NOC Lab 37, Con 18, LibDem 5
Wandsworth Con - No change Con 47, Lab 13
Westminster Con - No change Con 48, Lab 12

District councils

Council Result Seats
Adur Con - No change Con 25, Ind 2, LibDem 2
Basildon Con - No change Con 29, Lab 10, LibDem 3
Basingstoke & Dean Con - No change Con 34, LibDem 14, Lab 9, Ind 3
Brentwood Con - No change Con 26, LibDem 9, Lab 1, Ind 1
Broxbourne Con - No change Con 35, Lab 3
Cambridge LibDem - No change LibDem 29, Lab 9, Green 2, Ind 1, Con 1
Castle Point Con - No change Con 25, Ind 16
Colchester NOC - No change LibDem 26, Con 24, Lab 7, Ind 3
Crawley Con - No change Con 26, Lab 11
Eastleigh LibDem - No change LibDem 39, Con 4, Lab 1
Elmbridge Con - No change Con 33, R 18, LibDem 7, Ind 2
Epping Forest Con - No change Con 35, R 11, LibDem 8, Ind 2, BNP 1, Lab 1
Fareham Con - No change Con 22, LibDem 9
Hastings Lab gain from NOC Lab 16, Con 14, LibDem 1, Vacant 1
Havant Con - No change Con 34, LibDem 3, Lab 1
Hertsmere Con - No change Con 34, Lab 3, LibDem 2
Ipswich NOC - No change Lab 23, Con 18, LibDem 7
Maidstone Con - No change Con 28, LibDem 23, Ind 4
North Hertfordshire Con - No change Con 33, LibDem 9, Lab 7
Reigate & Banstead Con - No change Con 39, R 6, LibDem 3, Lab 1, Ind 1, Green 1
Runnymede Con - No change Con 36, R 6
Rushmoor Con - No change Con 30, Lab 6, LibDem 6
South Cambridgeshire Con - No change Con 29, LibDem 20, Ind 7, Lab 1
St Albans LibDem - No change LibDem 29, Con 24, Lab 3, Vacant 1, Ind 1
Swale Con - No change Con 33, Lab 10, LibDem 3, Ind 1
Tandridge Con - No change Con 33, LibDem 8, Ind 1
Three Rivers LibDem - No change LibDem 30, Con 14, Lab 3, BNP 1
Tunbridge Wells Con - No change Con 42, LibDem 6
Watford LibDem - No change LibDem 25, Con 4, Lab 4, Green 3
Welwyn Hatfield Con - No change Con 40, Lab 5, LibDem 3
Woking: NOC - No change Con 18, LibDem 17, Ind 1

Unitary authorities

Council Result Seats
Milton Keynes NOC - No change LibDem 24, Con 17, Lab 9, Ind 1
Reading NOC - No change Lab 19, Con 17, LibDem 9, Green 1
Slough Lab - No change Lab 24, Con 8, Ind 4, LibDem 3, Lib 2
Swindon Con - No change Con 41, Lab 13, LibDem 4, Ind 1
Thurrock NOC - No change Con 23, Lab 22, Ind 3, BNP 1
Wokingham Con - No change Con 43, LibDem 11

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