Tories Manage to Hang on in Wandsworth
Labour gain seats but fall just short of taking control of Council
The votes are counted. Picture: Wandsworth Council
The Conservatives have managed to retain control of Wandsworth Council despite losing a number of seats in the local elections. The number of councillors the party have has been reduced from 41 to 33 with Labour taking 26 and one independent being elected. This is the closest they have come to defeat since 1978.
At the close of polling at 10pm the early indications were that turnout had increased compared with 2014. Results elsewhere were giving the Conservatives encouragement and Putney MP Justine Greening talked about last year's General Election representing 'peak-Corbyn.' London Mayor Sadiq Khan who was a Councillor in the borough for many years seemed to backtrack on previous predictions of a Labour victory and talked in terms of gaining seats in the borough rather than gaining control. He said that Labour had canvassed and delivered leaflets in areas they had never done so before.
Labour hopes were raised early on as the first ward results were declared just before 3am. They managed to gain all three seats in the previously split wards in Queenstown Road and Bedford. In the case of Queenstown Road the swing to Labour was large enough for them to believe a shock victory might be on the cards. They also gained some encouragement from the news that a recount was taking place in St Mary's Park ward which was a key target.
However, these hopes were quickly dashed just after 3am when the result from the key Southfields ward was announced with the Conservatives comfortably retaining all three seats. Labour needed to take at least two in this ward to have any chance of winning the Council. It was around this time that Sadiq Khan chose to leave the counting suggesting that he had recognised the loss in Southfields was decisive.
It wasn't, however, a comfortable night for the Conservatives and any complacency that a win was guaranteed disappeared with the result from the West Hill ward which saw independent candidate Malcolm Grimston gain over 4,000 votes with the Labour party taking the two other seats in the ward.
Cllr Grimston tweeted, "Seriously humbled to get 4002 votes as an Independent - biggest vote of the night. I will try to live up to my Ward's hopes for me and will hold both Parties to account when they deserve it (and support them similarly)". The other two seats were won by Labour's Angela Ireland and Peter Carpenter.
After 24 hours to reflect on his result Cllr Grimston told this website: ""I hope the two main parties will realise that residents are fed up of being ignored for three and a bit years and then being swamped with visits and literature when their votes are required. That the largest vote in Wandsworth Council's history did not go to Labour or Conservative ought to make them realise that there is more to serving the local community than a two month flashy campaign."
Although at this time Labour was notionally ahead of the Conservatives with 23 seats to 21 the remaining wards to declare were all Tory held and unlikely to be won by Labour given the swing they had achieved. A number of recounts were being held but the Conservatives told reporters they were confident about the outcome.
Council leader Ravi Govindia said he attributed the result to a focus on local not national issues.
As expected, the Conservatives lost seats elsewhere in London and the Lib Dems managed to gain control of Richmond on Thames. On the other hand Labour failed to take Westminster, another borough they had hoped to win.
| Party of Councillors in Wandsworth Borough | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward | Result in 2014 | Result in 2018 | |||||
| Balham | |||||||
| Bedford | |||||||
| Earlsfield | |||||||
| East Putney | |||||||
| Fairfield | |||||||
| Furzedown | |||||||
| Graveney | |||||||
| Latchmere | |||||||
| Nightingale | |||||||
| Northcote | |||||||
| Queenstown | |||||||
| Roehampton and Putney Heath | |||||||
| Shaftesbury | |||||||
| Southfields | |||||||
| St Mary's Park | |||||||
| Thamesfield | |||||||
| Tooting | |||||||
| Wandsworth Common | |||||||
| West Hill | |||||||
| West Putney | |||||||
| Blue = Conservative. Red = Labour. White = Independent | |||||||
West Hill Ward
All change - 1 Independent & 2 Labour
Name |
Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Malcolm Charles Grimston | Independent | 4,002 |
| Angela Mary Ireland | Labour | 1,850 |
| Peter Jon Carpenter | Labour | 1,687 |
| All the above elected as Councillors | ||
| Alison Dawne Rodwell | Conservative | 1,626 |
| Nobuco Hara | Labour | 1,606 |
| Salvatore Murtas | Conservative | 1,363 |
| Robert Daniel Hughes | Conservative | 1,265 |
| Terence Gibbin Brown | Green |
448 |
| Penny Bianca Staniaszek | Green | 364 |
| Eleanor Mary Doody | Liberal Democrats | 264 |
| Andrew Charles Hinton | Liberal Democrats | 250 |
| Linda Maria Joy | Liberal Democrats | 249 |
| Electorate: 11,192 | Ballot Papers Issued: 6,000 | Turnout: 51.1% |
Thamesfield Ward
Conservative Hold
| Candidate | Party | Votes |
| Rosemary Clare Torrington | Conservative | 2697 |
| Michael John Ryder |
Conservative | 2618 |
| John Locker | Conservative | 2492 |
| All the above elected as Councillors | ||
| Warren Sally Anne | Labour | 1,103 |
| GIBBONS, Stephen | Labour | 1,019 |
| LOCKE, Christopher Edwin | Labour | 1,011 |
| BENTON Paul Hans | Liberal Democrats | 975 |
| MERCER Ryan Jonathan | Liberal Democrats | 929 |
| KEEP John James | Liberal Democrats | 877 |
| McCANN Diana Mary | Green Party | 739 |
| CARTER, Richard Francis | Green Party | 468 |
| PASOLA Anna | Green Party | 430 |
| Electorate: 12,178 | Ballot Papers Issued: 5,228 | Turnout: 43.1% |
Southfields Ward
Conservative Hold
Name |
Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Kim Caddy | Conservative | 2,981 |
| Guy Derek Ralph Humphries | Conservative | 2,912 |
| Terence Michael Walsh | Conservative | 2,888 |
| Sheila Mary Boswell | Labour | 2,338 |
| Guy David Price Griffith | Labour | 2,155 |
| Sam Alex Nicholas | Labour | 2,137 |
| Susan Jane Wixley | Liberal Democrats | 716 |
| Pappathi Durai-Bates | Liberal Democrats | 696 |
| Duncan James Anton Lyons | Liberal Democrats | 643 |
| Benjamin Joseph Fletcher | Green | 462 |
| Lauren Jayne Harris | Green | 402 |
| Nicola Joanna Blair | Renew | 94 |
| Patricia Mary Ward | UKIP | 80 |
| Electorate: 12,950 | Ballot Papers Issued: 6,315 | Turnout: 48.9% |
Roehampton and Putney Heath Ward
Labour Hold
| Candidate | Party | Votes |
| Jeremy Noel Ambache | Labour | 1806 |
| Susan Elizabeth McKinney | Labour | 1787 |
| Marianne Claire Halliday Gilbert | Labour | 1723 |
| All the above elected as Councillors | ||
| Mohammad Masood | Conservative | 1,249 |
| Kyle Knight | Conservative | 1,231 |
| Dan Francis Lynch | Conservative | 1,197 |
| Fergal Joseph McEntee | Green Party | 319 |
| Helen Margaret Speedy | Liberal Democrats | 250 |
| Hugh Palmer Brown | Liberal Democrats | 226 |
| Benjamin Gresham Speedy | Liberal Democrats | 208 |
| Electorate: 9,749 | Ballot Papers Issued: 3,515 | Turnout: 36.1 % |
East Putney Ward
Conservative Hold
| Candidate | Party | Votes |
| Sarah Jane Louise Binder | Conservative | 2,627 |
| Luigi George Crivelli | Conservative | 2,503 |
| Ravindra Pragji [Ravi] Govindia | Conservative | 2,418 |
| All the above elected as Councillors | ||
| Finna Jane Ayres | Labour | 1,296 |
| Eileen Ann Flanagan | Labour | 1,232 |
| Hugh Rhys Samuel | Labour | 1,098 |
| Jose Ignacio Rodriguez Andres | Liberal Democrats | 795 |
| John Morris Williams | Liberal Democrats | 743 |
| Timothy Guyse Williams | Liberal Democrats | 633 |
| Anita Claire Gray | Green Party | 389 |
| Jonathan Stuart Croall | Green Party | 324 |
| Richard John Morris | Green Party | 240 |
| Electorate: 11,907 | Ballot Papers Issued: 4,897 | Turnout: 41.1% |
West Putney
Conservative Hold
| Candidate | Party | Votes |
| Jane COOPER | Conservative | 2684 |
| Ian Peter LEWER | Conservative | 2604 |
| Stephanie (Steffi) Jayne SUTTERS | Conservative | 2584 |
| All the above elected as Councillors | ||
| Yasin Inan | Labour | 1,419 |
| James Alexander [Jim] McKinney | Labour | 1,405 |
| Susan Olech | Labour | 1,304 |
| Helen Maria Compson | Liberal Democrats | 580 |
| Charles Edward Gillbe | Liberal Democrats | 458 |
| Sharon Ruth Davis | Liberal Democrats | 419 |
| Emma Josephine Killick | Green Party | 369 |
| Jennifer Pang | Green Party | 342 |
| Christopher Edward Poole | Green Party | 266 |
| Electorate: 11,237 | Ballot Papers Issued: 4,931 | Turnout: 43.97% |
May 5, 2018