Southwark Labour on course to lose control of council

Southwark Liberal Democrats have shared an internal projection showing that after May’s local elections, they will return their highest number of councillors in decades, potentially depriving Labour of a majority.

This comes after a series of housing scandals that toppled the previous Labour leader of the council and forced a housing cabinet member to resign.

The Labour Party is currently one of the most unpopular incumbent governments in recent history, polling at lows not even seen under disastrous Conservative Governments.

The Liberal Democrats, the only elected opposition group on Southwark Council, say their campaign is building significant momentum across the borough. The party has consistently been campaigning for residents on the core issues of housing, crime, the cost of living, and improving council services. 

The analysis is based on thousands of local conversations and uses the same advanced voter modelling software that saw Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau sweep to victory in 2012 and 2015.

The wards the Liberal Democrats are expecting to make gains in include Rotherhithe, defeating Labour’s current finance chief and former housing boss Stephanie Cryan and Labour Chief Whip Cllr Bethan Roberts.

The projection also shows that - on a good night for the party - Goose Green may also be on the cards for a gain, potentially toppling Labour housing boss Portia Mwangangye, and Cabinet Member James McAsh. McAsh, who is a self-proclaimed Marxist, was momentarily set to be leader of the council until alleged political interference from Neil Coyle MP forced a re-run.

The data shows Liberal Democrats winning every ward in Bermondsey and Old Southwark, suggesting that current Bermondsey MP Neil Coyle will be under threat at the next General Election.

Further analysis shows that the Green Party are consistently coming a distant third in the wards assessed, with the canvassing finding ten Liberal Democrat voters for every person intending to vote Green.

Commenting, Cllr Victor Chamberlain said:

“We’ve been standing up for residents against this failing Labour council for 16 years – and residents are seeing the value of a bold Liberal Democrat group with solutions to tackle the housing crisis, crime, and the cost of living.

We’re seeing the fruits of our hard work on the doorstep, and have been overwhelmed by the positive reception that we’re getting.

We’re confident that in May, we can kick out London’s worst landlord – but to make that a reality voters need to vote for that positive change by voting Liberal Democrat.”