Labour wins Lambeth

Councillor Steve Reed, Leader of Lambeth council with Tessa Jowell MP and newly elected Labour councillors

Lambeth’s disastrous four-year Tory-Liberal experiment has come to an end. On Thursday 4 May, residents across Lambeth voted for a Labour council to tackle crime, build new schools, and stop the fraud and waste that marked the Tory-Liberal years. Labour won an unexpectedly large majority, with big gains right across the Borough. High profile casualties included Lib Dem Keith Fitchett who had presided over a massive fraud scandal in Lambeth’s housing department, Anthony Bottrall who was in charge of education while hundreds of children were left without a school place, and Tory Bernard Gentry who became notorious for his policy flip-flopping as he told residents he was against profiteering parking rules while voting in favour of them at the town hall.

Labour’s key election pledges include a commitment to keep council tax down by tackling waste and fraud, work more closely with the police to improve safety, and give every child the best start in life with more new schools and school places and more things for young people to do near to where they live. Improving the housing service will be a priority after the Tories and Liberals left it facing massive financial overspends. Labour’s also promising a greener Lambeth with more investment in roads and pavements, an expansion of household recycling, and a ‘Greener Lambeth Charter’ to promote fuel and energy efficiency.

Labour leader Cllr Steve Reed said: “Lambeth has voted for change. Labour campaigned on the slogan ‘we’re on your side’, and now residents can look forward to a council that’s on their side too.”

The number of councillors on Lambeth Council is as follows:

Labour: 39
Lib Dem: 17
Conservative: 6
Green: 1

Visit Lambeth.gov.uk for the full list of results

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