It was a national election that no party won: the Conservatives misfired disastrously and Labour remains a long way from power. But in the capital, Labour has triumphed again. Before polling stations opened yesterday morning, the big question was about how resilient the party’s defences would be against a Tory advance. As many as nine Labour seats had looked vulnerable. In the end, Labour actually made gains at the expense of the Tories, who also lost out overall to the Liberal Democrats.
Before the election, Labour had 45 of London’s 73 constituencies, the Conservatives had 26 and the Lib Dems two. The score now is:
- Labour 49 (up 4)
- Conservatives 21 (down 5)
- Lib Dems 3 (up 1)
Seven seats have changed hands.
- Labour took Battersea, Croydon Central, Enfield Southgate and Kensington from the Tories while recording decisive victories in all the marginal seats that had seemed so susceptible before polling stations opened. Battersea had been a Labour target in 2015, yet seen Jane Ellison strengthen her position. Now, Labour’s Marsha De Cordova is its MP with a majority of 2,416. Sarah Jones removed Gavin Barwell, defending the smallest majority in the city, from Croydon Central at the second attempt. Enfield Southgate’s utterly unexpected switch from blue to red, recalls the famous downfall of Michael Portillo in the 1997 Tony Blair landslide. Emma Dent Coad, a tireless opposition Labour councillor in Royal Kensington and Chelsea, is the first ever Labour winner of Kensington. The margin was 20 votes, following three recounts. Meanwhile, Rupa Huq strolled home in Ealing Central and Acton by 13,807. She had a cushion of just 274. Astonishing.
- The Conservatives recorded a single gain, with Zac Goldsmith re-capturing Richmond Park from the Lib Dems’ Sarah Olney by a mere 45 votes. A truer story of the Tories’ night is the number of seemingly impregnable seats that have now been rendered marginal by Labour: arch Brexiter Theresa Villiers held seemingly rock solid Chipping Barnet by just 353.
- The Lib Dems added to Conservative woes with Sir Vince Cable re-taking Twickenham having lost it in 2015 and Sir Ed Davey doing the same in Kingston and Surbiton. Their third comeback knight, Sir Simon Hughes, was well and truly buried by Neil Coyle in Bermondsey and Old Southwark but Tom Brake will be delighted to have held Carhsalton and Wallington yet again against what he had described as probably his toughest defence yet.
- UKIP won no seats and neither did the Greens.
Below are all the London results in alphabetical order.
Barking
MP: Margaret Hodge
An easy hold for the veteran dame.
Battersea
MP: Marsha de Cordova
It had seemed safe for Jane Ellison. Not so.
Beckenham
MP: Bob Stewart
Comfortable for the Tory, but big rise in Labour share.
Bermondsey & Old Southwark
MP: Neil Coyle
Not even close to a comeback for Lib Dem Simon Hughes as Neil Coyle hoists his majority to 12,972.
Bethnal Green & Bow
MP: Rushanara Ali
No problem for the incumbent. Majority: 35,393.
Bexleyheath & Crayford
MP: David Evennett
Not much change here in strong Tory country, with UKIP vote collapsing to benefit of both principal parties.
Brent Central
MP: Dawn Butler
Swing of nearly 11% to Labour here as vote share of every other party dipped. Butler took a resounding 73.1%.
Brent North
MP: Barry Gardiner
He shone in the campaign and now has a majority of 17,061.
Brentford & Isleworth
MP: Ruth Cadbury
The incumbent’s share went up by 13.6% and her majority from a painfully slim 465 to a plump 12,182.
Bromley & Chislehurst
MP: Bob Neill
Tory majority dipped below 10,000.
Camberwell & Peckham
MP: Harriet Harman
A massive majority of 37,316 and a 77.8% vote share.
Carshalton & Wallington
MP: Tom Brake
The Tories have crept a little closer but Brake has won again, by 1,369 votes.
Chelsea & Fulham
MP: Greg Hands
Labour vote share up 10%, Tory share down 10%.
Chingford & Woodford Green
MP: Iain Duncan Smith
A surge in the Labour vote reduces IDS majority to 2,438.
Chipping Barnet
MP: Theresa Villiers
The leading Brexiter got home by just 353 in strongly Remain-voting Barnet. There might be a lesson there.
Cities of London & Westminster
MP: Mark Fields
Not looking quite so impregnable suddenly: majority 3,148.
Croydon Central
MP: Sarah Jones
This didn’t seem in play seven weeks ago. But Gavin Barwell has gone.
Croydon North
MP: Steve Reed
A 32,365 majority.
Croydon South
MP: Chris Philp
Even an 11% swing to Labour didn’t worry the incumbent here.
Dagenham & Rainham
MP: Jon Cruddas
The UKIP vote swung behind the Tory as expected, but not enough of it. Cruddas’s majority is slightly down. Among Labour winners, that makes him stand out.
Dulwich & West Norwood
MP: Helen Hayes
Big consolidation in this safe Labour seat.
Ealing Central & Acton
MP: Rupa Huq
She started with a majority of 274, the capital’s second smallest. She’s won by 13,807. Staggering.
Ealing North
MP: Steve Pound
Majority up to 19,693.
Ealing Southall
MP: Virendra Sharma
A more modest swing to Labour here – 5.3%.
East Ham
MP: Stephen Timms
Majority? A trifling 39,883. Biggest in town.
Edmonton
MP: Kate Osamor
Labour vote up 10.1%.
Eltham
MP: Clive Efford
The Tories fancied their chances here, with UKIP standing down. Instead, Labour vote share up 11.8% and majority to 6,296.
Enfield North
MP: Joan Ryan
A resounding hold in a seat that was considered marginal. Ryan’s share rose by 14.3% and her majority was 10,247.
Enfield Southgate
MP: Bambos Charalambous
A sensational win. This wasn’t even on the radar for Labour.
Erith & Thamesmead
MP: Teresa Pearce
UKIP share down 13.4%, Labour’s up 7.8%, Tories’ by 7.6%.
Feltham & Heston
MP: Seema Malhotra
Interesting. UKIP vote down 9.7%, Labour’s up 8.9%, Tories’ up 2.7%.
Finchley & Golders Green
MP: Mike Freer
Labour crept closer but the swing was a relatively modest 4.1%, suggesting Jeremy Corbyn remains a big turn off for Jewish Londoners.
Greenwich & Woolwich
MP: Matthew Pennycook
Majority breaks the 20,000 barrier.
Hackney North & Stoke Newington
MP: Diane Abbott
Just the 35,139 majority for the shadow Home Secretary.
Hackney South & Shoreditch
MP Meg Hiller
A vast swing of 15.1% gives Hillier a 37,931 majority.
Hammersmith
MP: Andy Slaughter
A few weeks ago, Slaughter feared that boundary changes would make this semi-marginal impossible to defend. He now has an 18,651 majority.
Hampstead & Kilburn
MP: Tulip Siddiq
Siddiq’s seat was on a knife edge. She now has a majority of 15,560.
Harrow East
MP: Bob Blackman
He’s down to 1,757, but he’s survived.
Harrow West
MP: Gareth Thomas
He thought his fate would depend on how many “shy Tories” there were. There weren’t many.
Hayes & Harlington
MP: John McDonnell
Here, the UKIP share fell by 9.5% and Labour’s rose by 6.9%. The Tories’ only rose by 3.9%.
Hendon
MP: Matthew Offord
Mike Katz closed the gap for Labour, but Offord won by 1,072.
Holborn & St Pancras
MP: Kier Starmer
The swing to Labour here was a huge 17.2%. the biggest fall was in the Green share, down by 9.4%.
Hornchurch & Upminster
MP: Julia Dockerill
No change in the winning party, but the MP is new. UKIP share down 19.1%, Tories’ up 11.2%.
Hornsey & Wood Green
MP: Catherine West
The Lib Dems had hoped to win this back, but their vote share fell by 15.7%.
Ilford North
MP: Wes Streeting
Another seat Labour seemed in danger of losing. They won it by 9,639 votes.
Ilford South
MP: Mike Gapes
Just the regulation pro-Labour swing of 11.8%.
Islington North
MP: Jeremy Corbyn
The leader won by 33,215.
Islington South & Finsbury
MP: Emily Thornberry
Shadow foreign secretary just through the 30,000 mark.
Kensington
LABOUR GAIN
MP: Emma Dent Coad
A complete shock, except perhaps to YouGov. The Labour councillor has taken the seat by just 20 votes after a third recount.
Kingston & Surbiton
MP: Ed Davey
Dumped in 2015, the former coalition minister is back with a majority of 4,124.
Lewisham Deptford
MP: Vicky Foxcroft
Massive swing to Labour of 16.8%.
Lewisham East
MP: Heidi Alexander
A comfortable 32,072.
Lewisham West & Penge
MP: Ellie Reeves
Big swing of 16% towards newcomer MP, mostly from Greens and from UKIP it appears.
Leyton & Wanstead
MP: John Cryer
Higher turnout seems to account for the 11.2% swing here.
Mitcham & Morden
MP: Siobhain McDonagh
UKIP down 7.3%, Labour up 8%.
Old Bexley & Sidcup
MP: James Brokenshire
Tory vote went up 8.7% here.
Orpington
MP: Jo Johnson
Not much of a dent in the Tory armour in these parts.
Poplar & Limehouse
MP: Jim Fitzpatrick
Not so long ago the Tories thought they had a chance here.
Putney
MP: Justine Greening
Labour won this in 1997 in the first Tony Blair landslide. They weren’t far off emulating that – just 1,554 votes short.
Richmond Park
MP: Zac Goldsmith
Zac is back – but by just 45 votes.
Romford
MP: Andrew Rosindell
Labour closed the gap a little, but here’s another seat where the UKIP vote may have swung behind both biggest parties roughly equally.
Ruislip, Northwood & Pinner
MP: Nick Hurd
Labour picked up by 10.9%, but the incumbent was never in danger.
Streatham
MP: Chuka Umunna
A 15.5% swing to Labour, everyone else down.
Sutton & Cheam
MP: Paul Scully
The Tory incumbent pulled further ahead of the Lib Dem runner-up, which is a bit of a novelty.
Tooting
MP: Rosena Allin-Khan
Tories have targeting this without success for three general elections and one by-election in a row. They will have overturn a 15,458 majority next time.
Tottenham
MP: David Lammy
A 14.2% swing to Labour produces a 34,584 majority.
Twickenham
MP: Vince Cable.
A vast swing of 14.7% has restored the Lib Dem knight to his riverside throne.
Uxbridge & South Ruislip
MP: Boris Johnson
The majority of just over 5,000 isn’t all that big, you know.
Vauxhall
MP: Kate Hoey
Lib Dem George Turner took a much improved 20% of the vote, but the Labour Brexiter’s scalp was not in danger.
Walthamstow
MP: Stella Creasy
Regulation large surge takes Creasy to 32,017 majority.
West Ham
MP: Lyn Brown
Newham is Labour’s mightiest stronghold, and this is one of it’s two seats. Majority: 36,754.
Westminster North
MP: Karen Buck
On Saturday she couldn’t call it, but said doorstep response was warmer than for some time. Her majority has soared from less than 2,000 to 11,512.
Wimbledon
MP: Stephen Hammond
Tory majority: 5,622.
Useful article. You have Jo Johnson here twice. Once in Bromley and aChislehurst and again in Orpington.
Thank you! It’s been a long 24 hours!