By Kaye Wiggins and Zoe Jewell
The Labour Party swept up 15 new seats in the Lambeth local elections on Thursday, while the Liberal Democrats were wiped out, losing all of their seats on the council.
Labour won a staggering 59 out of 63 seats, with 54% of the vote.
But the biggest shock of the day was that the Liberal Democrats, who won 15 seats in the 2010 elections and ran the council in coalition with the Conservatives as recently as 2006, were decimated.
The Liberal Democrat losses were echoed elsewhere in the capital. The party lost control of Kingston upon Thames council to the Conservatives. It also lost 12 seats in Lambeth’s neighbouring council, Southwark, and 13 seats in Islington.
In Lambeth, Green Party enthusiasts will be pleased with their single seat in the St Leonard’s ward in Streatham, and with their increase in the vote share from 7% to 16%.
The Tories won three seats in Lambeth council, all representing the Clapham Common ward. In a pattern replicated in other parts of London, UKIP struggled to gain a foothold: the party did not win a single seat.
Turnout in the local election, which took place on Thursday, was just 32%. This was lower than the latest estimate of national turnout, of 36%.
Summary
Elections 2014: Labour 59, Conservative 3, Green 1
Elections 2010: Labour 44, Lib Dems 15, Conservatives 4
Breakdown by wards
The results mean all six Brixton wards – Brixton Hill, Tulse Hill, Coldharbour, Ferndale, Herne Hill and Vassall – have three councillors each, all of which are Labour.
More details on who represents which wards are here.
The breakdowns of the vote at ward level make even bleaker reading for the Liberal Democrats. In each of Brixton’s six wards, the party’s candidates were behind Labour, Green and Conservative candidates – and in Brixton Hill, the highest-placed Lib Dem candidate received fewer votes than UKIP.
Reaction
Some of the top tweets about the election result:
Apparently I am now the only Lib in #Lambeth #landslide
— Lib Peck (@cllrpeck) May 23, 2014
Thanks to all those sending good wishes. Have spoken today with all my @LambethLibDems colleagues – remarkable, resilient and determined.
— Alex Davies (@cllralexdavies) May 24, 2014
Do you think @ChukaUmunna carried @LambethLabour to victory in #Streatham? Coz I'm struggling to u'stand the election of 2 L in #StLeonards
— Scott Ainslie (@Scott4Streatham) May 23, 2014
@Scott4Streatham well done indeed! Labour gal but great to have a Green on council – & always like your tweets! #shakeupstreatham
— Helen Hayes (@StreathamBelle) May 23, 2014
Utterly delighted to have been chosen along with my two excellent colleagues to represent #clapham common as a local councillor
— Louise Nathanson (@louisenathanson) May 23, 2014
What might the Labour landslide in Lambeth mean for our members under threat of eviction? http://t.co/NUlvlNliCo
— Lambeth United (@LUHousingCoop) May 24, 2014
