... but Maggie’s London citadels fall after decades of Tory control
LABOUR is now almost in complete control of London after it snatched three flagship boroughs from the Conservatives.
In a seismic shift, it took Barnet, Wandsworth and Westminster – which had even withstood Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide victory.
But Tory sources last night attempted to play down the losses by suggesting they would ‘reinforce’ the belief outside London that Labour is a ‘metropolitan party’ focused on the capital.
Electoral expert Professor Sir John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said doing well in London would not be ‘sufficient’ for Labour to win a General Election, and that its target was not to ‘paint London even more red than it is already’.
The Conservatives now hold just five of the 32 boroughs. They were boosted last night by gaining Harrow from Labour. The loss of Wandsworth, dubbed Margaret Thatcher’s council, is a significant blow due to its symbolic status.
Wandsworth was an early proponent of Thatcherite policies, including Right to Buy and privatising local services. It had been held by the Tories since 1978 and had one of the lowest average levels of council tax in the country. A Labour party source described the loss as ‘monumental’. ‘This was the Tories’ jewel in the crown,’ they added.
Barnet council has only ever been in Conservative control since it was created in 1964. It is also linked to Mrs Thatcher as it was home to her Finchley constituency.
Labour’s success in the borough, which has a large Jewish population, will be seen as a sign the party has turned the corner on the antiSemitism rows which dogged Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
Westminster City Council had been Conservative since it was created in 1964, even returning a landslide in 1990 following the ‘homes for votes’ scandal involving thencouncil leader and Thatcher ally Dame Shirley Porter, who was found guilty of wilful misconduct and made to repay £12.3million.
The party also lost several seats in Hillingdon, the borough covering Boris Johnson’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency, though it kept control of the council.
In Barnet, the Conservative group leader Daniel Thomas said the loss was a ‘warning shot’ from his party’s supporters. ‘Clearly if Labour are to get a majority in Parliament they need to win Barnet,’ he said. ‘If they win our parliamentary constituencies as well, then it doesn’t bode well for us to form a government in future general elections.’
Ravi Govindia, leader of the Wandsworth Tories, said: ‘Let’s not be coy about it, of course national issues were part of the dilemma people were facing.’ Theresa May’s ex-chief of staff Lord Barwell called the London results ‘catastrophic’.
He posted on Twitter: ‘Wandsworth and Westminster were flagship councils. We held them during the Blair honeymoon. We held them during austerity. We held them under Theresa May.
‘Losing them should be a wakeup call for the Conservative Party.’
A No10 source said they were ‘very sorry and sad for good Conservatives who lost their seats’ and that it was ‘tragic to think the good people of Westminster and Wandsworth are now destined to pay higher taxes’.