Southwark election: Labour tightens grip on council
Labour has swept to election victory in Southwark, picking up three seats from the Lib Dems.
The party gained three councillors in the London Bridge and West Bermondsey ward, tightening its grip on the council.
Labour councillors won 52 of the 63 seats up for grabs across the borough – a better result than at the last local election in 2018 when it picked up 49.
The Lib Dems saw their number of councillors cut from 14 to 11, but the party held on to closely-fought seats in Surrey Docks and St George’s wards
Emily Hickson, one of the newly-elected Labour councillors for London Bridge and West Bermondsey, said the victory was the result of hard work by Southwark Labour.
In a statement posted on Twitter, she said: “We did it! A result which is testament to all of @SouthwarkLabour.
“Here is to the next four years working hard for the people of London Bridge and West Bermondsey. Now heading home for some sleep.”
Victor Chamberlain, who was re-elected as Lib Dem councillor for Borough and Bankside, thanked residents for picking him at the ballot box.
In a post shared with his Twitter followers, he said: “Huge thanks to residents in #Borough & #Bankside for electing @DavidWatsonLD @IrinavonWiese and me!
“Such an honour to represent the wonderful community I call home. Look forward to the next four years!!”
In Dulwich wards, where residents have been divided over a controversial £5m low traffic zone, Labour held on to seats against challenges from the Lib Dems and Conservatives.
Scandal-hit Labour councillor Leo Pollak was re-elected to his seat in South Bermondsey.
The former Southwark housing chief was forced to resign from his role in 2021 after trolling local housing activists through an anonymous Twitter account.
Covid conspiracy theorist Piers Corbyn finished fourth last in the Faraday war.
He picked up 200 votes – more than two Lib Dem candidates and one Tory candidate standing in the same seat.
The Conservatives once again failed to elect a single councillor in the borough. Southwark has now been without Tory representation on the council since 2018.
The Greens haven’t managed to get a councillor elected for more than a decade.
Despite this, their candidates put in a strong showing in some wards.
In Nunhead & Queen’s Road two Green candidates came within just over 500 votes of taking Labour councillors’ seats.
Top of Labour’s to-do list now the party has been re-elected will be solving Southwark’s ballooning housing crisis.
More than 16,000 people are waiting for a council home in the borough.
The local authority built 166 council homes between 2018 and 2022.
It is aiming to create 11,000 extra council homes by 2043.
Pictured top: City Hall (Picture: Wikimedia Commons/Carlos Delgado)