Key London borough results

12 April 2012
Hackney:

Islington: The Liberal Democrats dashed Labour's hopes of regaining their once solid north London stronghold, strengthening their two-seat majority by crushing Labour's tally of councillors from 38 to 10, after extensive boundary changes to most wards. Labour failed to make capital of the Liberal Democrats' contentious sell-offs of council property or their decision to transfer the payment of benefit payments to a private company, ITNet.

Enfield: Labour's eight-year affair with the traditional Tory stronghold of Enfield council ended last night. A 12 per cent swing made it a triumphant return to power for the local Conservative group. Enfield has long been in the political spotlight, since its constituents famously rejected the then Defence Secretary Michael Portillo in the 1997 general election. However, the falling standard of public services in the leafy north London borough is seen by many as the main reason why voters flocked back to the Tories.

Richmond: The Conservatives swept to victory in Richmond-upon-Thames, toppling 18 years of Liberal Democrat rule. Their landslide victory saw them win 39 seats out of a total of 54. The Liberal Democrats were left with only 15 seats compared with 34 previously. The result comes after a catalogue of financial disasters in Richmond where residents pay the highest council tax in London.

Blunders included a £4 million overspend in social services last year which saw the council named and shamed by Health Secretary Alan Milburn.

Croydon: Labour clung on to control of the Tory target but with a reduced majority and after a knife-edge second recount. Their supporters had to wait until after 3am before the recount confirmed that Labour councillors had taken all three seats in the key Waddon ward to maintain a slim overall majority. The Conservatives claimed one seat each from Labour and the Liberal Democrats, but it was still not enough to wrestle back control. The seat has symbolic importance for both parties - Tony Blair launched Labour's campaign in the borough and the Tories sent several frontbench spokesmen to campaign for their candidates in Croydon.

Southwark: Veteran Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes predicted at the 2001 general election that Southwark council would fall under the party's control this year but last night nothing so conclusive had emerged. Although Labour's 68-year grip on the borough was historically lost, with the Lib-Dems finally overtaking them to win 30 seats to their 28, they didn't win the 32 seats required for an overall majority. The Conservatives struggled to third place with five seats.

Reporting team: Chris Millar, John Oakes Steve Beech, Jessica Wood, Gary O'Keeffe Eve McGowan

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