Labour and the Conservatives held on to seats in two borough by-elections held yesterday, with Labour’s share of the vote in both cases increasing by 10% compared with the 2014 council elections in the capital.
In Labour-run Camden, Jenny Mulholland maintained Labour’s full complement of three Gospel Oak seats, taking 57.5% of the vote, up 10.5%, followed by the Liberal Democrat candidate with 25.7% of the vote, up 18.7%. The Conservative candidate came third, with a 15.2% share, a drop of 2.4%.
In Conservative Wandsworth, John Locker held the Thamesfield ward for the Tories,with 48.9% of the vote, which is a small reduction of 0.4% compared with 2014. The Labour candidate finished second with 28.2%, up 10%, and the Lib Dem third on 15.9% (up 5.3%). The Greens came fourth with 7% (down 9.1%). All three Thamesfield councillors are Tories. Turnout was 32%.
The result in Wandsworth is of particular interest because Labour has hopes of mounting a strong challenge in long-standing south London Tory flagship at next year’s full elections.
The Conservatives retained control in 2014 by 41 seats to Labour’s 19, but six changed hands and Labour’s good general election performance in the capital combined with the Conservatives’ difficulties nationally have created expectations of further advances.
However, one experienced London Tory has hailed Locker’s victory as a big one and Election Maps UK commented that the Tory winning margin was much larger than many had expected.