Labour continues to dominate Lambeth council, but has a new Green opposition

A Brixton ward contributed one of the successful Green Party candidates who now make up an opposition group of five councillors on Lambeth council after the Thursday local election.

While mainstream media questioned the effectiveness of the Labour party’s national campaign, in Lambeth the party went into the election with 59 seats and came out with only two fewer. The make-up if the new council will be Labour 57; Green 5; and Conservative 1.

Independent candidate, former Labour councillor Rachel Heywood, whose campaign in Coldharbour ward included warnings about threats to the very nature of central Brixton, failed to make a major impact as all three Labour candidates for the ward won easily.

Green candidate Becca Thackray topped the poll in a very tight contest in Herne Hill ward. She might not have been the only successful Green candidate in the ward if the 705 votes for independent library campaign candidate Nick Edwards had gone to her two party colleagues.

Other Green party successes were the election of all three of its candidates in Streatham’s St Leonard’s ward and of Pete Elliott, the co-convenor of Lambeth Green Party, in Gipsy Hill.

One of the three successful Green candidates in St Leonard’s ward, Jonathan Bartley, is national co-leader of the party.

Dr Mahamed Hashi, a well known figure in Brixton for his work with the Brixton Soup Kitchen and the Dominoes Club on Coldharbour Lane, won a seat for Labour in the Stockwell ward.

Turnout in the election was a very disappointing 34% – meaning little more than a third of eligible voters bothered to express a preference – but was very slightly up on the 32% turnout in the last Lambeth council elections in 2014. Labour’s share of the vote was 55%, the Greens’ 19%, The Conservatives’ 13% and the Liberal Democrats’ 12%.

Full results for the six wards covering Brixton follow

BRIXTON HILL WARD VOTING

COLDHARBOUR WARD VOTING IN MAY 2018

FERNDALE WARD VOTING

HERNE HILL WARD VOTING

TULSE HILL WARD VOTING

VASSALL WARD VOTING