Tories win back ‘jewels in the crown’

The Conservatives have won back their “jewels in the crown” London boroughs of Wandsworth and Westminster.

The councils, dubbed the jewels in the Tory crown because of decades of Conservative control and notably low council tax, were lost to Labour in 2022 at the height of the Boris Johnson partygate scandal.

The Tories regained control of Wandsworth, known as Margaret Thatcher’s favourite council, finishing with 29 seats, one more than Labour. The Tories may be able to rely on the vote of Malcolm Grimston, an ex-Conservative councillor who is now sitting as an independent.

The party also secured the seven additional Westminster wards needed to become the largest party in the borough.

Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, posted on X: “Wandsworth and Westminster results are marquee ‘wins’ for Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives.

“Aspirational families are well and truly ‘done’ with Labour and want a credible and honest alternative.”

However, it was still a difficult night for the Conservatives, which lost Newcastle-under-Lyme to Reform UK as well as hundreds of other seats across the country.

Westminster, which includes the affluent West End of London, has been Tory-run since its creation in 1965, but Labour took control for the first time in 2022 with 31 seats against 22 for the Conservatives.

The Conservatives controlled Wandsworth from 1978, helped by low levels of council tax, until 2022 when Labour won 35 seats to the Tories’ 22.

Mr Grimston, an independent who sat as a Conservative councillor until 2014, posted on X: “So I was re-elected with 4,081 votes and now hold the balance of power at Wandsworth council. Funny old world.”

Sir John Redwood, a former Cabinet minister, said: “Conservative Wandsworth council for many years delivered good core services with lower council tax by offering value for money and stopping waste.

“Good the council is back under Conservative control.”

Elsewhere in London, the Liberal Democrats took every seat in Richmond upon Thames. At the last election they had 49 of the 54 seats.

In Sutton, the Tories lost all 20 of their councillors, helping the Lib Dems to take 51 of 55 seats.

Labour held Ealing, Merton and Hammersmith and Fulham.

A Conservative spokesman said: “We are delighted the Conservatives have taken control of Westminster council. Labour are set to have a terrible night in London, an area they swept in the last general election.

“Under Kemi Badenoch the Conservatives are coming back in London. This victory is a clear sign of the progress the Conservatives are making under new leadership.

“This is also testament to the hard work of Conservative councillors and activists in Westminster. We are confident they will show that only the Conservatives are serious about delivering better services for lower taxes.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]