Greenwich election: Labour increase majority on council as Tory leader loses seat

By Kiro Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

Labour have retained Greenwich council and almost wiped out the opposition in the process.

The Conservatives’ dismal results saw their leader, Nigel Fletcher, lose his seat as they fell from nine councillors at the last election to just three.

Labour increased their majority to 49, also helped by boundary changes.

Fifty-five council seats were being contested among 23 wards, with eight parties and one independent candidate all going for votes.

Victorious Labour claimed 52 seats and the Conservative Party won three. Despite a lot of hope and expectation, the Liberal Democrats and Greens did not win a single seat.

The result represents an overwhelming win for Greenwich Labour, who have been in charge of the borough since 1971.

It is also a big step forward from their 2018 result, where the party lost a seat to the Conservatives.

The stand-out result came in Eltham Town and Avery Hill, where the Conservative leader, Cllr Fletcher, lost his seat.

His ward colleague Pat Greenwell, who kept her seat, said: “I am absolutely devastated that my colleagues Nigel Fletcher and Malcolm Reid have not been selected.

“I want to thank the people of Eltham Town centre and Avery Hill for their continued support and realising that local politics, communities and local issues are all what being a local councillor is about, and I will try to serve them to the best of my ability, in the absence of my colleagues, who deserved a better result than this.”

Labour party leader Danny Thorpe said in his victory speech: “It’s been an honour to be the councillor for Shooter’s Hill since 2004.

“As the person who has led our Labour team across Greenwich, I want to thank every single one of our amazing candidates and every single person in Greenwich who voted Labour – for a council who stood by their side for the past two years of the most horrific times and sent a message to this appalling Conservative Government when they’ve been abandoned and left alone.”

Pictured top: Woolwich town hall