12 May 2006
Local government in London is set for dramatic changes after Labour's huge losses in last week's local elections.
Control of the hitherto Labour-dominated Association of London Government is likely to change hands following the Tories' sweeping gains across the capital on May 4, where they won control of six more boroughs.
They toppled Labour administrations in Hammersmith & Fulham, Bexley, Croydon and Ealing. They also gained Harrow, Havering and Hillingdon from 'no overall control'. The Conservatives now control 14 of London's 32 boroughs.
ALG chief executive Martin Pilgrim said: 'The impact of these changes on the ALG's leadership structure will be considered at the annual general meeting in June.'
Although Labour's Sir Robin Wales, who was re-elected as mayor of Newham, remains chair until the AGM on June 13, a source at the association told Public Finance that he would be surprised if a Tory politician didn't take over.
'The Conservatives have the largest number of members, but because of the number of councils in 'no overall control' we won't know anything until we know who they're going to send across to the ALG.'
Change is likely to be less dramatic at the national level. As PF went to press, political group leaders at the Local Government Association were due to meet to determine how the results would affect the balance of power within the organisation. But insiders predicted that any changes would be negligible.
Conservative success in London was replicated elsewhere in the country and other gains included Crawley and Shrewsbury & Atcham. But the party failed to make any inroads in the big northern cities and are still unrepresented on Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle councils.
Party leader David Cameron said: 'This is a very important step forward. I think that we have shown right across the board that where Labour are collapsing, we are building.'
Labour lost 319 seats and was pushed into third place in terms of the vote share, winning just 26% – its worst performance since the early 1980s.
There were mixed fortunes for the Liberal Democrats. They won Richmond, South Lakeland and St Albans but lost Islington and Milton Keynes.
PFmay2006
