Yes we Khan!
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LONDON ELECTION SPECIAL<br />
@sw_Londoner<br />
www.swlondoner.co.uk<br />
Saturday, May 7th 2016<br />
Labour maintain control of London Assembly<br />
page 20<br />
Zac sent back to<br />
‘Gorgeous George’<br />
Greens take<br />
Richmond after<br />
now wants <strong>Khan</strong>’s<br />
third in Mayoral<br />
campaign flop page 3<br />
Tooting seat<br />
race<br />
page 2<br />
page 10<br />
<strong>Yes</strong> <strong>we</strong> <strong>Khan</strong>!<br />
London elects its first Muslim mayor in landslide<br />
By Ross Lawson at City Hall<br />
SADIQ KHAN became the first Muslim<br />
Mayor of London in a landslide Labour<br />
victory over fellow south <strong>we</strong>st London<br />
MP Zac Goldsmith.<br />
Following eight years of Conservative<br />
London rule under Boris Johnson in City<br />
Hall, Labour’s Mr <strong>Khan</strong> will take on the<br />
largest personal mandate for any political<br />
office in the UK.<br />
The Tooting MP secured a majority following<br />
the second preference votes with<br />
a total of 1,310,143 votes.<br />
More than 45% of the electorate<br />
turned out to vote,the highest ever figure<br />
in the capital,with celebrations pouring in<br />
for Mr <strong>Khan</strong> long before the result was<br />
confirmed.<br />
The news coupled with Labour success<br />
in the London Assembly elections<br />
was a major boost for Jeremy Corbyn,<br />
who saw his party fail to make gains<br />
elsewhere in the UK and reduced to<br />
third party status in Scotland.<br />
Conservative mayoral candidate and<br />
Richmond Park MP Mr Goldsmith was<br />
runner up with a total of 994,614 votes.<br />
Green candidate Sian Berry surprised<br />
expectations to finish third ahead<br />
of Liberal Democrat Caroline Pidgeon.<br />
It was also a night to forget for controversial<br />
Respect candidate George<br />
Galloway, who finished in a distant seventh<br />
and will now reset his sights on<br />
succeeding Mr <strong>Khan</strong> as MP for Tooting.<br />
Mr <strong>Khan</strong> led the polls for the majority<br />
of the campaign, vowing to unite the<br />
capital after a sometimes brutal and<br />
bruising election campaign, which saw<br />
both Labour and Conservative sides<br />
accused of racism.<br />
He said:“I hope that <strong>we</strong> will never be<br />
offered such a stark choice again and I<br />
am so proud that London has chosen<br />
hope and unity over fear and division.<br />
“Politics of fear are not <strong>we</strong>lcome in<br />
our city.”<br />
The back-biting continued even<br />
during Mr <strong>Khan</strong>’s victory speech as<br />
Britain First candidate Paul Golding<br />
turned his back on the new Mayor.<br />
In the Assembly,Labour has retained<br />
their majority with 12 seats in total while<br />
Conservatives are down by one.
Saturday, May 7th 2016<br />
2 ELECTION SPECIAL<br />
wwww.swlondoner.co.uk<br />
Morgan uses cover of election day<br />
to announce u-turn on academies<br />
By SWL Reporters<br />
IN AN embarrassing u-turn the<br />
government abandoned plans<br />
to force all schools to become<br />
academies yesterday.<br />
Education secretary Nicky<br />
Morgan released the news in<br />
the midst of an array of national<br />
election results,just days<br />
after insisting the controversial<br />
plans would go ahead.<br />
The timing of the announcement<br />
was heavily criticised as<br />
an attempt to‘bury’the news.<br />
“I thought it always was a<br />
fundamental <strong>we</strong>akness in the<br />
policy,”said Conservative’s<br />
London Assembly member<br />
Andrew Boff.<br />
“The whole Conservative<br />
message is about letting<br />
people choose locally how<br />
they provide education.I’m<br />
delighted at the u-turn.”<br />
The policy would have<br />
meant that all schools would<br />
have to convert to academies<br />
by 2020 or be committed to<br />
converting by 2022.<br />
Under the new review good<br />
or outstanding schools will no<br />
longer be forced to change.<br />
Ms Morgan said:“Having listened<br />
to the feedback from<br />
parliamentary colleagues and<br />
the education sector,<strong>we</strong> will<br />
now change the path to reaching<br />
that goal.”<br />
The announcement is in<br />
stark contrast to the Tory insistance<br />
that the academy route<br />
was the gold standard for<br />
future education.<br />
Shadow education secretary<br />
Lucy Po<strong>we</strong>ll said:“It is<br />
frankly a humiliating climbdown<br />
for David Cameron and<br />
his education secretary,who<br />
just <strong>we</strong>eks ago <strong>we</strong>re insisting<br />
they would plough on with the<br />
policy regardless.”<br />
The backpedalling comes<br />
days after headteachers<br />
threatened industrial action<br />
after they voted overwhelmingly<br />
against the policy.<br />
Many Conservative MPs<br />
and councils also objected to<br />
the plans,criticising the government<br />
for forcing high<br />
performing schools to convert,<br />
arguing that it is a waste<br />
of money for establishments<br />
already doing <strong>we</strong>ll.<br />
There <strong>we</strong>re concerns that<br />
small rural schools would be<br />
forced to close but yesterday’s<br />
revision included measures to<br />
protect them.<br />
The government hopes that<br />
good and outstanding schools<br />
will still choose academisation<br />
and is convinced that would<br />
further raise standards.<br />
Under revised plans underperforming<br />
schools will still be<br />
forced to convert.<br />
Academies are independently<br />
run but state-funded<br />
schools overseen by academy<br />
trusts,not-for-profit businesses,<br />
rather than local councils.<br />
Ho<strong>we</strong>ver Mr Boff defended<br />
the decision to backtrack on<br />
the decision,saying that it was<br />
demonstrative of democracy at<br />
work in the party.<br />
DECISION: Tory<br />
Assembly<br />
member Andrew<br />
Boff <strong>we</strong>lcomes<br />
change on school<br />
academy plans<br />
“The great principle of parents’<br />
choice would’ve been<br />
eradiacted.The end is right,<br />
the means <strong>we</strong>re wrong.”<br />
- Conservative AM Education<br />
PanelTony Arbourn<br />
“It would have been a nightmare<br />
to implement,so it<br />
shows that they’re on the<br />
run on this.”<br />
- Outgoing Green AM<br />
member Darren Johnson<br />
“Now <strong>we</strong> have the po<strong>we</strong>r to<br />
do this <strong>we</strong> can remind them<br />
of who they work for.”<br />
- Chair, London Assembly<br />
Education Panel, Jenette<br />
Arnold, Labour AM<br />
“This is about being a listening<br />
government and I would<br />
consider myself to be a listening<br />
secretary of state.”<br />
- Education secretary<br />
Nicky Morgan MP<br />
No Respect: Just 37,007 votes but<br />
Galloway wants to be Tooting MP<br />
By Thomas Deacon<br />
LONDON’S utter rejection of George<br />
Galloway could be heard loudly across<br />
the capital with the Respect candidate<br />
receiving just 1% of the mayoral vote.<br />
Britain First’s Paul Golding was close<br />
on his heels with 31,372 votes and Lee<br />
Harris,who advocates the legalisation of<br />
cannabis,wasn’t far behind with 20,537.<br />
Newly-formedWomen’s Equality<br />
Party sounded thrashed the veteran<br />
campaigner with 53,005 and UKIP<br />
regained two seats they lost in 2008 to<br />
rejoin the London Assembly.<br />
Mr Galloway chose not to attend City<br />
Hall last night,instead choosing to t<strong>we</strong>et<br />
from the gym,drawing criticism from<br />
‘disappointed’party supporters.<br />
Mr Galloway’s manifesto promised<br />
free transport for students and key workers,<br />
and demanded that London<br />
received greater po<strong>we</strong>rs over the NHS<br />
under his slogan‘A London for all not<br />
just those dripping in gold’.<br />
Despite Mr Galloway receiving a<br />
resounding no from London,he has<br />
already promised to stand in the Tooting<br />
by-election triggered after Labour MP<br />
Sadiq <strong>Khan</strong> was elected mayor and is<br />
expected to step down from his seat.<br />
Mr Galloway has even set up a provisional<br />
agreement to establish his<br />
election HQ in the borough,clearly convinced<br />
that it’ll all be different this time<br />
around.<br />
Mr Galloway actually performed<br />
better than expected,with a recent<br />
YouGov poll putting him on 0% support.<br />
Despite the appalling prediction the<br />
veteran politician was adamant he<br />
would finish at least third in the race.<br />
He said:“My name wasn’t put to<br />
YouGov poll respondents so it’s invalid.<br />
“Polls are fairly busted flush in elections,<br />
otherwise <strong>we</strong>’d be going into the<br />
second year of Prime Minister Ed<br />
Miliband’s reign.”<br />
During his long political career Mr<br />
Galloway has received criticism for his<br />
views on Israel and believes the anti-<br />
QUICK RESULTS IN SOUTH WEST LONDON & BEYOND<br />
semitism row engulfing Labour is part of<br />
a wider plot from disgruntled Blairites.<br />
“It’s a complete fabrication.A synthetic<br />
attempt to create a firestorm,to create<br />
a smokescreen for a slow motion coup<br />
against Corbyn to speed up,”he said.<br />
“Since the day and hour Corbyn was<br />
elected they have been planning not<br />
whether,but how,to get rid of him and<br />
this has been their <strong>we</strong>apon of choice.”<br />
Mr Galloway also doesn’t believe Ken<br />
Livingstone should apologise for his<br />
comments on Zionism.<br />
He said:“You can’t really force someone<br />
to withdraw the truth.”<br />
SOUTH WEST, WEST CENTRAL<br />
CROYDON & SUTTON<br />
HOW THE NEW LONDON<br />
ASSEMBLY WILL LOOK<br />
MERTON & WANDSWORTH,<br />
LAMBETH & SOUTHWARK<br />
12 +0 8 -1 1 -1 2 +0<br />
2 +2
Saturday, May 7th 2016<br />
MOVE over Boris, London has a<br />
new mayor, who s<strong>we</strong>pt to po<strong>we</strong>r<br />
with a landslide win last night and<br />
promised to unite a city divided<br />
by a bruising and brutal campaign<br />
from which few emerged<br />
with credibility.<br />
Sadiq <strong>Khan</strong> became the most<br />
po<strong>we</strong>rful Muslim politician in<br />
Europe after beating Conservative<br />
rival Zac Goldsmith into<br />
second place.<br />
Labour candidate Mr <strong>Khan</strong>, 45,<br />
ran on a campaign stressing how<br />
London is now at a crossroads in its<br />
history stating that inequality is<br />
continually rising.<br />
The Tooting MP – who is no<strong>we</strong>xpected<br />
to resign his seat in<br />
parliament – will be sworn into<br />
office in City Hall to begin his<br />
four-year term after receiving<br />
44% of the vote against Goldsmith’s<br />
35% share.<br />
After a difficult day for Labour<br />
the win was a much-needed boost<br />
for leader Jeremy Corbyn (pictured<br />
below), who has been<br />
conspicious by his absence on Mr<br />
<strong>Khan</strong>’s campaign trial.<br />
In his winning speech Mr <strong>Khan</strong><br />
said:“I am so proud of our city.I am<br />
deeply humbled by the hope and<br />
trust you have placed in me today.<br />
“I never dreamed that someone<br />
like me could be let in to be mayor<br />
of London.<br />
“I want every single Londoner<br />
to have the same opportunities<br />
that this city has given me,not just<br />
to survive but to thrive with a<br />
decent and affordable home and a<br />
comfortable commute.”<br />
The election of Mr <strong>Khan</strong> was<br />
seen as a key test for the Labour<br />
party as many of its former councils<br />
changed hands, its previous<br />
po<strong>we</strong>r base in Scotland was decimated,<br />
and it lost its majority in<br />
theWelsh Assembly.<br />
The victory of the son of a bus<br />
driver was the exception, suggesting<br />
it was the man who won<br />
rather than the party.<br />
Previously a human rights<br />
lawyer Mr <strong>Khan</strong> promised to<br />
freeze allTfL fares for the next four<br />
years, with his ‘fully funded plan’<br />
aiming to protect investment and<br />
improve services.<br />
Mr <strong>Khan</strong> has only appeared<br />
with Mr Corbyn twice throughout<br />
his campaign,despite the fact that<br />
he nominated his fellow London<br />
MP as party leader.<br />
Mr Corbyn said:“Can't wait to<br />
work with you to create a London<br />
that is fair for all!”<br />
He will assume his role<br />
with the largest mandate<br />
given to an individual in<br />
the UK and will become a<br />
key figure in the Labour<br />
party's increasingly<br />
uncertain future.<br />
Unease over Mr<br />
Corbyn’s potential to be<br />
elected to<br />
Number 10<br />
ELECTION SPECIAL<br />
Zac pays price for poor campaign<br />
WOE: Richmond MP Goldsmith never made running<br />
By Thomas Deacon<br />
By Anna MacSwan<br />
MAYORAL loser Zac Goldsmith<br />
blamed his defeat on<br />
the fact that ‘London is very<br />
much a Labour city’.<br />
The Richmond Park Conservative<br />
MP took 35% of the<br />
vote but lost out to Sadiq<br />
<strong>Khan</strong>’s 44.2%.<br />
Ho<strong>we</strong>ver he was gracious<br />
in defeat congratulating Mr<br />
<strong>Khan</strong> on his win, saying he<br />
wished him <strong>we</strong>ll as he sets<br />
out to build on the successes<br />
of his predecessor.<br />
He said: “I think it was<br />
Busdriver’s<br />
sontakes<br />
thewheel<br />
andvows<br />
tounite<br />
thecity<br />
going to be really very difficult<br />
for anybody other than<br />
the Labour candidate to win<br />
in London.<br />
“On the day David<br />
Cameron won a majority for<br />
the Conservatives, what was<br />
really significant was that<br />
Labour’s vote nationally was<br />
only 31%.<br />
“In London it was 44%.<br />
That was always going to be<br />
difficult.<br />
“We’re a year on into a<br />
Conservative government<br />
and no government is ever<br />
very popular mid-term.”<br />
has led sections of the party seek a<br />
successor, and Mr <strong>Khan</strong>’s name<br />
will now undoubtedly gain more<br />
credibility - just as rumours persist<br />
that Boris Johnson will use City<br />
Hall as a springboard to Downing<br />
Street.<br />
Many members of the shadow<br />
cabinet have privately highlighted<br />
the contrast bet<strong>we</strong>en Mr <strong>Khan</strong>’s<br />
inclusive approach to campaigning<br />
and Mr Corbyn’s more<br />
resolute stance that has put many<br />
moderates off.<br />
Mr <strong>Khan</strong> said:“This election has<br />
not been without controversy.<br />
“I hope that <strong>we</strong> will never<br />
be offered such a stark<br />
choice again and I am so<br />
proud that London has<br />
chosen hope and unity<br />
over fear and division.<br />
Politics of fear are not <strong>we</strong>lcome<br />
in our city.”<br />
Mr <strong>Khan</strong> faced an often<br />
vicious backlash against<br />
his alleged links to<br />
Mr Goldsmith’s campaign<br />
was criticised,even by some<br />
within his own party,for portraying<br />
Mr <strong>Khan</strong> who is<br />
Muslim, and of Pakistani<br />
descent, as having extremist<br />
links during the contest.<br />
His journalist sister Jemina<br />
<strong>Khan</strong> t<strong>we</strong>eted that she was<br />
‘sad that Zac's campaign did<br />
not reflect who I know him to<br />
be an eco friendly, independent,<br />
minded politician<br />
with integrity’.<br />
Andrew Boff, who stood<br />
against Mr Goldsmith in the<br />
Tory mayoral candidate contest<br />
and was re-elected to the<br />
GLA, said Mr Goldsmith’s<br />
‘outrageous’ campaign had<br />
‘blown up bridges’.<br />
Others <strong>we</strong>re quick to<br />
defend Mr Goldsmith including<br />
former Epping Forest MP<br />
Steve Norris.<br />
He said:“We’ve had Brexit<br />
hanging over us and that has<br />
made things doubly difficult.<br />
“It would’ve been an<br />
almost impossible task for<br />
any Conservative to win.<br />
“We can criticise Zac’s<br />
campaign but I think this<br />
result was pretty inevitable.”<br />
PROMISE: Sadiq <strong>Khan</strong> and<br />
wife Saadiya are London’s<br />
new first couple and he’s the<br />
first Labour mayor in eight<br />
years<br />
extremism, with his opponents<br />
questioning his judgement after<br />
sharing a panel with Islamic<br />
extremists.<br />
Conservative rival Mr Goldsmith<br />
was attacked for exploiting<br />
the issue,culminating in a Mail on<br />
Sunday article days before the<br />
election that drew heavy criticism<br />
after using an image of the 7/7<br />
London bombing.<br />
Mr <strong>Khan</strong> said: “I have been<br />
thinking a lot about my late father<br />
today.He was a wonderful man.<br />
“He would have been so proud<br />
that the city he chose to call his<br />
home has now chosen one of his<br />
children to be Mayor.<br />
Mr <strong>Khan</strong>’s manifesto put housing<br />
as his top priority,setting a target<br />
ensuring that 50% of all new<br />
homes are‘affordable.’<br />
The housing crisis has dominated<br />
much of the mayoral<br />
campaign with the prospect of<br />
home-ownership becoming an<br />
distant dream for many people.<br />
www.swlondoner.co.uk<br />
3<br />
Britain<br />
First loser<br />
turns back<br />
on Sadiq<br />
speech<br />
By Morgan Condon<br />
BRITAIN First’s Paul Golding<br />
turned his back on new<br />
London Mayor Sadiq<br />
<strong>Khan</strong>’s inaugural speech in<br />
a calculated show of disrespect<br />
towards the man he<br />
labelled‘dangerous’.<br />
TheWomen’s Equality<br />
Party indicted they will<br />
make a formal complaint to<br />
the returning officer about<br />
the display.<br />
Mr Golding denied<br />
being a sore loser and<br />
claimed he had never<br />
entertained hopes of<br />
becoming London’s premier<br />
as his party had only<br />
used the election to court<br />
media attention.<br />
“I think the fact that<br />
Sadiq <strong>Khan</strong>’s a Muslim, he<br />
got all the Muslim votes,<br />
blew him out of the water<br />
completely,”he said.<br />
“All this pandering to<br />
Islam and minorities has<br />
got to stop because the way<br />
politics is going, everyone’s<br />
pandering to<br />
minorities.”<br />
He claimed Labour’s<br />
‘hardline left wing bigots’<br />
had taken over and chosen<br />
Mr <strong>Khan</strong> as mayor.<br />
Hesaid his only regret of<br />
the evening was‘coward’<br />
George Galloway’s no show<br />
at City Hall.<br />
Someone<br />
needs a<br />
spelling<br />
lesson<br />
By Joe Sheppard<br />
ORGANISERS at London<br />
mayoral counts <strong>we</strong>re left<br />
red-faced after spelling<br />
‘assembly’incorrectly on<br />
press wristbands.<br />
The mistake was noticed<br />
across the city as the bands<br />
contained an extra‘e’to the<br />
word, making it‘assembley’.<br />
SamTobin at Olympia<br />
t<strong>we</strong>eted a picture of the<br />
blunder with the caption:<br />
“They've spelt "Assembly"<br />
wrong...oh dear #London-<br />
Elections”
Saturday, May 7th 2016<br />
www.swlondoner.co.uk<br />
4 SOUTH WEST<br />
CONSERVATIVE HOLD<br />
Defeated<br />
TONY ARBOUR<br />
MARTIN WHELTON<br />
ROSINA ROBSON<br />
south <strong>we</strong>st 84,381 0.3% 62,937 0.7% 30,654<br />
candidates<br />
Tony Arbour (Conservative Party), Martin Whelton (Labour Party), Rosina Robson (Liberal Democrats), Andree<br />
gracious in Frieze (Green Party) 19,745, Alexander Craig (UK Independence Party) 14,983<br />
their loss<br />
TURNOUT<br />
2012 Result: Conservative Party: 69,151 (39.8%), Labour: 49,889<br />
(28.7%), Liberal Democrats: 28,947 (16.7%), Green Party: 17,070<br />
By SWL reporters<br />
213,765 (9.8%), UK Independence Party: 8,505 (4.9%)<br />
LOSING candidates for the<br />
South West London GLA seat<br />
met defeat with positivity<br />
yesterday afternoon.<br />
Runner-up, Labour’s<br />
Martin Whelton, lost out on<br />
the top spot to Conservative’s<br />
Tony Arbour with<br />
62,937 votes to winner Mr<br />
Arbour’s 84,381.<br />
Despite the defeat Mr<br />
Whelton stood tall, congratulating<br />
his team on securing<br />
a clear second place.<br />
“My team fought a fantastic<br />
election across all three<br />
boroughs Hounslow, Richmond<br />
and Kingston and I am<br />
incredibly proud of all of our<br />
achievements here today,”<br />
said the gracious runner-up.<br />
“Sad and disappointed<br />
that I lost but <strong>we</strong> move on<br />
now to the next chapter and I<br />
live to fight another day.”<br />
The Merton councillor<br />
also criticised the<br />
Conservatives tactics in the<br />
campaign for the London<br />
mayoral election.<br />
He said: “I think it has<br />
been absolutely disgraceful<br />
that a Conservative campaign<br />
for the mayoral team<br />
has been a dog-whistle campaign<br />
which has played on<br />
people’s fears.<br />
“Using words like ‘radical’<br />
and ‘extremist’, I am<br />
glad that London has seen<br />
through that.”<br />
Coming in third with<br />
30,654 votes Rosina Robson<br />
was pleased to retain the<br />
Liberal Democrats third<br />
place position from the<br />
previous elections.<br />
The Lib Dems have faced<br />
a difficult election season<br />
following the damaging<br />
coalition government but<br />
Ms Robson still has faith in<br />
the party.<br />
She said: “I think there are<br />
so many fighters and so<br />
many people within the<br />
party who are really positive<br />
and they just want to get out<br />
there and do things and<br />
work in the local<br />
community.”<br />
The results also show an<br />
increase in votes for the<br />
UKIP candidate, Alan Craig,<br />
who achieved 14,983 up 76%<br />
on the last election’s 8,505.<br />
The Green Party’s candidate,<br />
Andree Frieze gained a<br />
respectable 19,745 votes.<br />
Despite this Ms Frieze<br />
took to Twitter to vocalise<br />
her critism of the Conservatives<br />
winning candidate.<br />
He said: “Seems Tony<br />
Arbour will keep his seat at<br />
City Hall.<br />
The man who said 'Zac is<br />
the light & Sadiq the dark' at<br />
a hustings. Shameful.”<br />
Tory winner says Londoners<br />
made mistake not voting Zac<br />
By SWL Reporter<br />
THE five-time winning GLA<br />
member for the SouthWest constituency<br />
thinks the public made<br />
a mistake voting Sadiq <strong>Khan</strong> as<br />
mayor.<br />
Councillor Tony Arbour held<br />
off competition from Labour’s<br />
Councillor MartinWhelton to<br />
hold the GLA seat that he has<br />
occupied ever since the first<br />
election in 2000.<br />
Ho<strong>we</strong>ver he challenged the<br />
public’s choice of voting for Mr<br />
<strong>Khan</strong> as Mayor of London,<br />
believing people disagreed with<br />
the Tory plan for the capital.<br />
He said:“What was important<br />
as far as Londoners <strong>we</strong>re concerned<br />
is that the capital should<br />
continue to remain the most<br />
attractive place for businesses<br />
and to live.<br />
“In that context one had to<br />
consider what it is that makes it<br />
such a marvellous place and I<br />
and the policies of Zac Goldsmith<br />
sho<strong>we</strong>d a way which<br />
<strong>we</strong> thought that London<br />
could be made better.<br />
“The people of London<br />
have possibly disagreed<br />
with us and if they have<br />
then they have made a<br />
mistake.”<br />
Although Mr <strong>Khan</strong> won<br />
the mayoral election,Mr<br />
Arbour is not concerned<br />
about working with him.<br />
“I think that <strong>we</strong> will all<br />
have a jolly good working<br />
relationship,<br />
in the days<br />
of Ken Livingstone the Conservative<br />
party got on extremely <strong>we</strong>ll<br />
with him,”he said.<br />
“In Boris’time,the Labour<br />
party worked<br />
extremely <strong>we</strong>ll<br />
with Boris so I<br />
have no<br />
reason to<br />
believe that<br />
our everyday<br />
working<br />
relationship<br />
will be anything<br />
but<br />
pleasant.”<br />
The South<br />
West<br />
constituency,<br />
which is made<br />
up of the<br />
London boroughs of Hounslow,<br />
Richmond-Upon-Thames and<br />
Kingston-Upon-Thames,has<br />
been a Conservative stronghold<br />
for 16 years,with Labour again<br />
failing to gain ground.<br />
Reflecting on the changes he<br />
has seen over his 16 years in the<br />
London Assembly,he said:<br />
“When I first became a member<br />
the budget was £3 billion and<br />
now the budget is £17 billion.<br />
“The po<strong>we</strong>rs of the mayor in<br />
particular have increased out of<br />
all proportion.”<br />
Ho<strong>we</strong>ver he acknowledged<br />
public perception to the London<br />
elections has changed over the<br />
years.<br />
“It is quite clear that the<br />
mayoralty is now an established<br />
part of London life.<br />
BLUE IS THE<br />
COLOUR:Tony Arbour<br />
celebrating his win with<br />
supporter Jason Hughes<br />
PICTURE: @Jason_Hughes via<br />
Twitter<br />
2.4%<br />
“The turn out in this election,<br />
which is truly astonishing as it is a<br />
local election after all,demonstrates<br />
that the people of London<br />
think that the GLA and the<br />
mayoralty have improved.”<br />
Cllr Arbour is a Richmond<br />
councillor for the HamptonWick<br />
ward and former leader of<br />
Richmond Council.<br />
He was first elected as<br />
councillor in 1971 and is<br />
currently the cabinet member<br />
for community safety.<br />
He is keen to improve the<br />
safety and environment of the<br />
borough along with improving<br />
access to the river.<br />
Conservatives received a total<br />
of 39.5% of the votes in the<br />
constituency,0.3% less than in<br />
the 2012 election.<br />
FOR THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE LONDON ELECTIONS VISIT WWW.SWLONDONER.CO.UK
www.swlondoner.co.uk Saturday, May 7th 2016<br />
WEST CENTRAL CONSERVATIVE HOLD<br />
5<br />
Tories hold West Central seat<br />
but Labour puts on pressure<br />
Conservative<br />
surge denies<br />
SNP absolute<br />
majority in<br />
Holyrood<br />
By Oliver Trebilcock<br />
By SWL reporters<br />
CONSERVATIVE candidate<br />
Tony Devenish won the West<br />
Central GLA seat maintaining<br />
his party’s 16-year streak in<br />
the constituency.<br />
He received 44.2% of the<br />
vote beating Labour’s Mandy<br />
Richards on 34.7%.<br />
Mr Devenish said that his<br />
victory yesterday was a great<br />
honour.<br />
He added:“This gives us<br />
the chance to thank all the<br />
TONY DEVENISH<br />
people who worked so hard<br />
to get us to this position.”<br />
Ms Richards remained positive<br />
despite the result –<br />
which saw her party make<br />
a 4.9% gain from the previous<br />
election.<br />
“We’ve certainly closed<br />
that gap and next time around<br />
<strong>we</strong> could look at this as a<br />
marginal seat and hope to<br />
take it from the Tories,” she<br />
said at the Olympia count.<br />
“It has been traditionally a<br />
Tory stronghold so it was an<br />
TURNOUT<br />
uphill climb in terms of getting<br />
that swing that <strong>we</strong><br />
needed.But I think the results<br />
speak for themselves.<br />
“We’ve made significant<br />
gains and I don’t think that is<br />
anything to sneer at in terms<br />
of the positive outcome<br />
for Labour supporters in<br />
Kensington and Chelsea,<br />
Fulham, Hammersmith and<br />
Westminster. I think <strong>we</strong> are<br />
seeing a turn around.”<br />
In third place was the<br />
Green Party’s Jennifer Nadel<br />
MANDY RICHARDS<br />
(9.1%) follo<strong>we</strong>d by London<br />
Lib Dem Annabel Mullin<br />
(6.8%) and UKIP’s Clive Egan<br />
(5%).The Conservatives have<br />
won every election in West<br />
Central since the GLA was set<br />
up in 2000.<br />
Mr Devenish denied that<br />
Tory votes in London suffered<br />
as a result of criticisms<br />
concerning the nature of Zac<br />
Goldsmith’s mayoral campaign<br />
against Sadiq <strong>Khan</strong>.<br />
“It wasn’t controversial,”he<br />
said. “Zac fought a great<br />
campaign and it was a<br />
pleasure to be involved in it.”<br />
Mr Devenish has represented<br />
Knightsbridge and Belgravia<br />
in Westminster City Council<br />
since May 2006.<br />
And he has previously<br />
been Cabinet Member for<br />
Public Health.<br />
His victory means he succeeds<br />
Kit Malthouse who<br />
served in the West Central<br />
seat for eight years.<br />
Mr Malthouse is stepping<br />
down from the post after<br />
becoming an MP for North<br />
West Hampshire last year.<br />
Jennifer Nadel<br />
67,775 4% 53,222 5% 14,050 1%<br />
Tony Devenish (Conservative Party), Mandy Richards (Labour Party), Jennifer Nadel (Green Party), Annabel Mullin<br />
(Liberal Democrats) 10,577, Clive Egan (UK Independence Party) 7,708<br />
153,332<br />
2012 result: Conservative: 70,870 (48.2%), Labour: 43,754 (29.8%),<br />
Green: 12,059 (8.2%), Liberal Democrats: 8,645 (5.9%), UKIP: 4,674<br />
(3.2%), CAP: 1,992 (1.4%), BNP: 1,774 (1.2%), Other: 3,242 (2.2%)<br />
FOR THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE LONDON ELECTIONS VISIT WWW.SWLONDONER.CO.UK<br />
THE SNP failed to get a<br />
second absolute majority<br />
in Holyrood as the resurgent<br />
Conservatives made<br />
large gains.<br />
Nicola Sturgeon’s party<br />
won 63 out of 129 seats in<br />
the Scottish Parliament as<br />
the Tories surged 8.1% to<br />
gain 31 MSPs, beating Scottish<br />
Labour who obtained<br />
24 MSPs.<br />
In a historic move, the<br />
Conservatives have<br />
become the second-largest<br />
party in the Scottish Parliament,<br />
gaining 16 seats as<br />
the SNP lost six and Scottish<br />
Labour lost 13.<br />
The Greens also beat the<br />
Liberal Democrats.<br />
It is the third successive<br />
victory for the SNP, but<br />
after just missing out on a<br />
majority by two seats, it is<br />
thought the party may aim<br />
to form a coalition with the<br />
Greens in order to have<br />
control at Holyrood.<br />
In a surprising surge,<br />
Scottish Conservatives<br />
leader Ruth Davidson<br />
wrested the Edinburgh<br />
Central constituency from<br />
the SNP.<br />
In further good news for<br />
the resurgent party, her<br />
deputy Jackson Carlaw<br />
defeated Labour’s Ken<br />
Macintosh — who has held<br />
the seat since the parliament’s<br />
foundation in 1999 –<br />
in Eastwood.<br />
In 2011 the SNP won 69<br />
seats out of 129 — a clear<br />
majority — showing signs<br />
that the party’s dominance<br />
had peaked.<br />
A terrible night for Scottish<br />
Labour saw them lose<br />
13 seats, plummeting their<br />
total to 24.<br />
The Scottish Greens won<br />
six seats, seeing them<br />
become the fourth largest<br />
party in Holyrood ahead of<br />
the Liberal Democrats<br />
on five.<br />
The Scottish voting<br />
system is designed to<br />
prevent one party winning<br />
a majority, so the fact that<br />
the SNP achieved this in<br />
2011 was a formidable<br />
achievement.<br />
Holyrood’s Additional<br />
Member System works<br />
through electing 73 MSPs<br />
through a first-past-thepost<br />
‘winner takes all’<br />
system and 56 regional<br />
MSPs from eight electoral<br />
regions through a proportional<br />
representation<br />
system – designed to prevent<br />
majorities by<br />
representing smaller<br />
parties.
Saturday, May 7th 2016<br />
6<br />
CROYDON & SUTTON<br />
Ahmad is<br />
unsure on<br />
plans for<br />
2020 GLA<br />
election<br />
By Tom Phillips and<br />
Sam Tobin<br />
LABOUR candidate Marina<br />
Ahmad is looking forward to<br />
a family birthday and admitted<br />
she is sceptical about<br />
running in the 2020 London<br />
Assembly Election.<br />
Ms Ahmad came second<br />
to Conservative incumbent<br />
Stephen O’Connell increasing<br />
the number of votes from<br />
50,734 in 2012 to 58,542.<br />
Yet despite the positive<br />
gains in her campaign, the<br />
former Crown Prosecution<br />
Service barrister said the<br />
first thing she is going to do<br />
is focus on her family.<br />
She said:“What is next for<br />
me is that I have a family<br />
birthday, it was my daughter’s<br />
birthday onThursday<br />
when it was polling day and<br />
still needs to be celebrated.<br />
“I haven’t seen her<br />
actually.<br />
“Let’s just have a bit of a<br />
rest, a rethink and then<br />
think about what lies in store<br />
for the future.”<br />
Despite seeing his lead<br />
increase, Mr O’Connell<br />
complimented Ms Ahmad<br />
on a hard fought campaign<br />
and the Labour candidate<br />
hopes this will have a<br />
positive effect for Croydon<br />
and Sutton.<br />
She said:“We put issues<br />
on the table that <strong>we</strong>re not<br />
basically considered before<br />
and I think that is something<br />
Steve O’Connell will take<br />
into consideration when he<br />
is making his decisions.<br />
“The other issue of course<br />
that really needs to be<br />
considered is that the Sutton<br />
Lib Dem vote has completely<br />
collapsed so that is<br />
something I think <strong>we</strong> need to<br />
be working on exploiting<br />
Sutton.”<br />
The London Mayoral Election<br />
has been marred with<br />
controversy from Zac Goldsmith’s<br />
campaign team for<br />
smearing Labour candidate<br />
Sadiq <strong>Khan</strong> and Ms Ahmad<br />
wanted Mr O’Connell to condemn<br />
their actions.<br />
She said:“Steve O’Connell<br />
is a decent bloke.<br />
“I would have liked it if he<br />
would distance himself from<br />
what <strong>we</strong> feel as a quite disgusting<br />
and quite<br />
disgraceful campaign run<br />
by Zac Goldsmith.”<br />
“We don’t want someone<br />
like Zac Goldsmith as<br />
Mayor of London and<br />
basically London does not<br />
want him clearly.<br />
“I wish he stood back and<br />
said‘No what Zac is doing is<br />
actually nasty, it’s not right<br />
and too divisive.’”<br />
STEVE O’CONNELL<br />
By Tom Phillips and Sam<br />
Tobin<br />
CONSERVATIVE Stephen<br />
O’Connell defended Zac<br />
Goldsmith after he was reelected<br />
for a third term as<br />
Croydon and Sutton’s<br />
Assembly Member.<br />
He came to the defence of<br />
Mr Goldsmith’s campaign<br />
team despite calls from<br />
Labour candidate Marina<br />
Ahmad to denounce the<br />
Conservative London Mayor<br />
candidate’s tactics against<br />
Labour’s Sadiq <strong>Khan</strong>.<br />
Mr Goldsmith was criticised<br />
by Labour’s candidate<br />
for Croydon and Sutton Ms<br />
Ahmad who described their<br />
campaign as ‘disgusting, disgraceful<br />
and divisive’.<br />
TURNOUT<br />
Mr O’Connell stated it was<br />
down to interpretation.<br />
He said:“It is a matter of<br />
opinion whether they are<br />
nasty tactics but there has<br />
been some controversy<br />
around that and I have said<br />
in truth Zac never really<br />
brought out some of his<br />
positive policies.<br />
“Knowing Zac as I<br />
have done over the last<br />
six months he has some<br />
very strong and positive<br />
attributes in the environment.<br />
“I just don’t think the<br />
campaign played on that.”<br />
Yet despite the calls to<br />
condemn the mayoral candidate,<br />
the<br />
Croydon<br />
MARINA AHMAD<br />
councillor spoke highly of<br />
his Labour counterpart and<br />
the campaign she led.<br />
Mr O’Connell said:“I knew<br />
it would be close.<br />
“My opponent, Marina<br />
Ahmad, had a brilliant campaign,<br />
she did a very<br />
good job but in<br />
truth I<br />
increased my<br />
majority and I<br />
am very<br />
happy with the<br />
result.”<br />
The Assembly<br />
Member<br />
hopes he will<br />
build a<br />
positive<br />
relationship with the new<br />
mayor equally encourage<br />
investment in Croydon and<br />
Sutton, similar to the ones he<br />
had with vacating Mayor<br />
Boris Johnson.<br />
“First of all, what <strong>we</strong> want<br />
to do is to see the new mayor.<br />
I need to get in front of the<br />
new mayor and point out the<br />
strategic importance of<br />
Croydon and Sutton,” he<br />
said.<br />
“We had a good record<br />
under the previous mayors<br />
under my eight years but<br />
there is still unfinished<br />
business.<br />
“I need the new mayor to<br />
make sure that he understands<br />
that Croydon and<br />
Sutton are the places to<br />
www.swlondoner.co.uk<br />
CONSERVATIVE HOLD<br />
AMNA AHMAD<br />
70,156 1% 58,542 1% 18,859 4%<br />
Steve O’Connell (Conservative Party) 70,156, Marina Ahmad (Labour Party) 58,542, Amna Ahmad (Liberal Democrats)<br />
18,859, Tracey Hague (Green Party) 13,513, Peter Staveley (UKIP) 18,338, Others 2,492<br />
181,900<br />
2012 result: Conservative Party 60,152 (39.1%), Labour Party 50,734<br />
(33%), Liberal Democrats 21,889 (14.2%), UKIP 10,757 (6.9%), Green<br />
Party 10,287 (6.6%)<br />
CASUAL: Campaigning at<br />
East Croydon station<br />
(left-right): Stephen<br />
O’Connell, Zac Goldsmith,<br />
Gavin Bar<strong>we</strong>ll and Chris<br />
Philp<br />
O’Connell increases majority<br />
and defends Zac Goldsmith<br />
invest and <strong>we</strong> go on this from<br />
day one.”<br />
Official figures saw Mr<br />
O’Connell’s majority rise<br />
from 9,418 to 11,614 despite<br />
early indications showing<br />
the results would be a lot<br />
closer.<br />
Mr O’Connell was first<br />
elected back in May 2008<br />
when he succeeded Andrew<br />
Pelling with a majority of<br />
42,665 and since then his<br />
majority reduced in 2012 to<br />
9,418.<br />
He was appointed Police<br />
and Crime advisor for Mr<br />
Johnson in 2010.<br />
Despite an increase in the<br />
turnout, only the Green Party<br />
and UKIP saw their vote<br />
share increase by 3.2%.<br />
FOR THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE LONDON ELECTIONS WWW.SWLONDONER.CO.UK
LAMBETH and Southwark<br />
winner Florence Eshalomi<br />
said it was being ‘tall for her<br />
age’ as a child that led her to<br />
forging a career in politics.<br />
She thrashed competition<br />
by securing 96,946 votes<br />
compared to Conservative<br />
Robert Flint, who received<br />
only 34,703.<br />
The long-standng Labour<br />
member sho<strong>we</strong>d up to ExCeL<br />
with a brand new hairstyle to<br />
celebrate her victory over six<br />
rival parties.<br />
“Getting into politics for<br />
me was really to do with<br />
seeing what was going on on<br />
the estate,” she said.<br />
“I was tall for my age when<br />
I was younger so I started<br />
standing up to some of the<br />
bullies and the gangs.”<br />
The Lambeth Councillor<br />
has come a long way since<br />
starting her working life at 16<br />
with a job in Sainsbury’s<br />
before becoming the first<br />
member of her family to<br />
attend university, studying<br />
politics and law.<br />
In 2006 she was elected to<br />
represent Brixton Hill ward on<br />
Lambeth Council, a position<br />
she has maintained.<br />
Ms Eshalomi said: “I feel<br />
excited and very,very grateful<br />
to the wonderful residents<br />
across Lambeth and Southwark<br />
for giving me this<br />
opportunity.<br />
“This election has been<br />
very positive and I’m very<br />
proud of being part of Team<br />
Labour across London.<br />
She t<strong>we</strong>eted:“Now let’s turn<br />
City Hall red!”<br />
Thursday’s voting saw 43%<br />
of Lambeth and Southwark<br />
turn out to vote.<br />
Her victory means that<br />
Labour will maintain their<br />
Lambeth and Southwark seat<br />
after Valerie Shawcross won<br />
52.8% of the vote four years<br />
ago in the last election.<br />
The road to success was not<br />
always easy for Ms Eshalomi<br />
as she received opposition<br />
from Momentum — a Labour<br />
group who labelled her policies<br />
as ‘Blairite’.<br />
www.swlondoner.co.uk Saturday, May 7th 2016<br />
LAMBETH & SOUTHWARK LABOUR HOLD 7<br />
‘I thought 5<strong>we</strong><br />
could take<br />
the Tories’<br />
say Greens<br />
Height of success! Labour<br />
win for Florence Eshalomi<br />
By SWL Reporters<br />
ROBERT FLINT<br />
The group planned to<br />
picket her ‘pizza and politics’<br />
event causing Streatham MP<br />
Chuka Umunna to t<strong>we</strong>et his<br />
outrage in her defence.<br />
As a cabinet member she<br />
has previously spent time<br />
campaigning to save Lambeth<br />
libraries and worked for<br />
the UK’s leading race equality<br />
think-tank.<br />
“Out of 63 councillors,not a<br />
lot of them looked like me<br />
and their policies affect<br />
people like me,” she said.<br />
TURNOUT<br />
“I wanted to find out what<br />
was going on in that town hall<br />
that I walked past every day.”<br />
During her campaign she<br />
supported providing more<br />
affordable houses, giving<br />
Londoners ‘first dibs’ and<br />
taking action on high rent.<br />
“The top priority has to be<br />
housing and how to fix the<br />
housing crisis across Lambeth<br />
and Southwark.”<br />
She said the Mayor needed<br />
to work with councillors who<br />
make decisions on planning<br />
FLORENCE ESHALOMI<br />
applications and that he<br />
could not do it by himself.<br />
“Some issues I campaign<br />
on can only be<br />
achieved by a Labour<br />
Mayor,” she said.<br />
Ms Eshalomi beat off<br />
competition from the<br />
Green Party’s Rashid Nix<br />
who claimed 25,793<br />
votes along with Liberal<br />
Democrats candidate<br />
Michael Buloka, UK<br />
Independence<br />
Party candidate<br />
Idham Ramadi, Socialist<br />
Party’s Kevin Parkin and<br />
All People’s Party and<br />
Amadu Kanumansa<br />
who slowly trailed<br />
behind with just<br />
906 votes.<br />
She lives in<br />
Brixton with her<br />
husband Matthew<br />
and baby Mia and<br />
also cares for her<br />
mother who suffers<br />
from sickle cell<br />
anaemia.<br />
RASHID NIX<br />
96,946 21,489<br />
34,703 0.9% 1.2% 1.2%<br />
Florence Eshalomi (Labour Party), Robert Flint (Conservative Party), Rashid Nix (Green Party), Michael Adewale<br />
Bukola (Caroline Pidgeon’s London Liberal Democrats) 21,489, Idham Ramadi (UK Independence Party) 6,591<br />
187,761<br />
2012 result: Labour Party: 83,239 (52.8%), Conservative Party: 30,537<br />
(19.4%), Liberal Democrats: 18,359 (11.6%), Green Party: 18,144 (11.5%)<br />
FOR THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE LONDON ELECTIONS VISIT WWW.SWLONDONER.CO.UK<br />
By SWL Reporters<br />
GREEN party loser Rashid<br />
Nix apologised to his team<br />
yesterday after admitting<br />
he thought they could‘take<br />
theTories easily.’<br />
The former filmmaker<br />
received just 25,793 votes,<br />
placing him in third place<br />
behind Conservative’s<br />
Robert Flint who gained<br />
34,703.<br />
Ho<strong>we</strong>ver, neither candidate<br />
was in with a chance<br />
of winning as Labour<br />
party’s Florence Eshalomi<br />
stormed to first place with<br />
96,946 votes.<br />
“I apologise to my team,<br />
Lambeth and Southwark,<br />
my agent because when it<br />
came down to it, in my<br />
mind I was playing for<br />
second,”Mr Nix said.<br />
“I was like, <strong>we</strong> could<br />
take theTories easy and at<br />
the hustings <strong>we</strong>’d wipe the<br />
floor with them so when<br />
polls show you lost to<br />
people you defeated you<br />
think urgh.”<br />
Despite his disappointment,<br />
he agreed that the<br />
Green Party was at tipping<br />
point, saying that they are<br />
the only party that doesn’t<br />
‘serve up the same thing or<br />
politics of fear.’<br />
He said:“Everyone else<br />
is in suits but I came down<br />
in my fly boy glasses.<br />
Check the shoes.”<br />
Ho<strong>we</strong>ver,Tory loser Mr<br />
Flint was pleased with<br />
second place, saying that<br />
he did not think it was an<br />
unfortunate result.<br />
“I am proud to get the<br />
most votes a Conservative<br />
has ever got in Lambeth<br />
and Southwark,”he said.<br />
It was the first time the<br />
London lawyer had been to<br />
the ExCel centre since<br />
completing his law exams<br />
through a night school<br />
while working as a<br />
researcher in Parliament.<br />
“In the ExCeL Centre for<br />
the first time since BPP<br />
Law School exams.This<br />
feels more like watching<br />
someone mark your homework<br />
though,”he t<strong>we</strong>eted.<br />
He compared his defeat<br />
to Labour’s unexpectedslide<br />
into third place in<br />
Scotland, saying that it<br />
shows there is‘no such<br />
thing as a safe seat.’<br />
“It’s strange, everyone<br />
has been talking about the<br />
same problems but <strong>we</strong> just<br />
have slightly different solutions.<br />
I’ve been saying<br />
again and again, it’s a war<br />
on all fronts,”he said.<br />
“Labour have a lot of<br />
ideas to bring to the table<br />
but I do worry that they will<br />
use their 50% of the count<br />
to put development costs<br />
up and if that happens it<br />
will be a great shame.”
Saturday, May 7th 2016<br />
8<br />
MERTON & WANDSWORTH<br />
www.swlondoner.co.uk<br />
LAB WIN<br />
Labour falls<br />
short of<br />
majority in<br />
Wales as<br />
UKIP surge<br />
By Lauren Windle<br />
LABOUR fell short of a<br />
Welsh Assembly majority<br />
while UKIP celebrated<br />
unprecedented success as<br />
the final regional seats<br />
<strong>we</strong>re announced today.<br />
Despite a 7.5% drop in<br />
the constituency vote share<br />
since 2011, Welsh Labour<br />
secured 29 seats, two less<br />
than the 31 required for a<br />
majority.<br />
Nigel Farage’s UKIP<br />
gained a foothold in the<br />
assembly, with seven<br />
regional seats and a 12.5%<br />
increase in the constituency<br />
vote share since 2011,<br />
despite opposing its<br />
existence until 2013.<br />
They are the first new<br />
party to gain assembly<br />
members since it was<br />
formed in 1998.<br />
The second largest party<br />
has been hotly contested<br />
with Plaid Cymru just beating<br />
the Conservatives with<br />
12 seats challenging the<br />
Tories’ 11.<br />
There was shock success<br />
for the Plaid Cymru leader<br />
Leanne Wood as she defeated<br />
the Labour cabinet<br />
member Leighton Andrews<br />
to claim the Rhondda seat<br />
with a swing of 24%.<br />
The Liberal Democrats<br />
have faced disappointment<br />
as they retained just one of<br />
the five seats they<br />
previously held.<br />
Of Wales’ 40 constituencies<br />
Labour secured 27,<br />
with the Conservatives and<br />
Plaid Cymru each winning<br />
six and the Liberal Democrats<br />
holding on to one seat.<br />
Unlike Westminster,<br />
Wales’ constituencies are<br />
grouped into five regions,<br />
each with an additional<br />
four elected assembly<br />
members.<br />
In a surprising regional<br />
result, seven seats have<br />
gone to UKIP, six to Plaid<br />
Cymru, five to the Conservatives<br />
and just two for<br />
Labour.<br />
In the absence of a<br />
majority the Welsh Assembly<br />
have 28 days to<br />
nominate a First Minister.<br />
Speculation has already<br />
started as to whether<br />
Labour will form a minority<br />
government as in 2007<br />
when Rhodri Morgan led<br />
the party into po<strong>we</strong>r with<br />
just 26 seats, later forming<br />
a Coalition with Plaid<br />
Cymru.<br />
The party has already<br />
rejected the prospect of<br />
making a similair deal<br />
with Plaid Cymru this<br />
time.<br />
New GLA member slams<br />
Tories for ‘dangerous politics’<br />
By SWL Reporters<br />
DAVID DEAN<br />
LABOUR’S new GLA member for<br />
Merton and Wandsworth blasted<br />
the Conservatives for their ‘dangerous<br />
poilitics’ at the Olympia<br />
vote count.<br />
Leonie Cooper, who serves as<br />
deputy leader of Wandsworth<br />
Council, accosted Oonagh Moulton<br />
(right), leader of the<br />
Conservatives for Merton Council,<br />
to criticise Zac Goldsmith’s<br />
negative mayoral campaign.<br />
The MP for Richmond Park has<br />
been criticised for attempting to<br />
link Sadiq <strong>Khan</strong> to Muslim<br />
‘extremists’ by saying he had<br />
shared platforms with people<br />
who had extremist views.<br />
Councillor Cooper said: “It has<br />
been racist and dangerous<br />
TURNOUT<br />
politics. I was just appalled by<br />
Zac’s campaign.<br />
“I’m happy Zac lost because I<br />
think his campaign’s approach<br />
has been imported from America<br />
really and I don’t want to see my<br />
politics become that.<br />
“He was a candidate that I<br />
have always had respect for, I<br />
thought he had green credentials<br />
but his campaign has been<br />
awful.”<br />
She said she had to delete<br />
many offensive posts from her<br />
Facebook page directed at Mr<br />
<strong>Khan</strong> and his Muslim<br />
heritage.<br />
The spat was a sour note on<br />
what was otherwise a spectacular<br />
day for the<br />
councillor, who helped<br />
Labour win the Merton<br />
LEONIE COOPER<br />
and Wandsworth GLA seat for the<br />
first time in a tight election.<br />
The Tooting resident secured<br />
the win with 77,340 votes, follo<strong>we</strong>d<br />
closely by Conservative<br />
David Dean on 73,039.<br />
Her victory brings an end to<br />
16 years of Conservative control<br />
of the seat, which was<br />
first won by Elizabeth<br />
Howlett in<br />
2000.<br />
Richard<br />
Tracey had<br />
held the seat<br />
since 2008<br />
but stepped<br />
down and<br />
retired earlier<br />
this<br />
year<br />
after more than 25 years in<br />
frontline politics.<br />
Councillor Cooper said: “I feel<br />
fantastic. It has been a long campaign<br />
but <strong>we</strong> have finally won<br />
and <strong>we</strong> are absolutely<br />
delighted.”<br />
The environmental campaigner<br />
said her priority would be<br />
tackling London’s worsening air<br />
quality after what she described<br />
as eight wasted years under<br />
former mayor Boris Johnson.<br />
She said: “We haven’t moved<br />
forward on any of the environmental<br />
issues.<br />
“I’m an environmentalist and<br />
that is my passion so I am really<br />
hoping that <strong>we</strong> are going to be<br />
able to move forward on the<br />
environment after so many<br />
wasted years.”<br />
ESTHER DARKO<br />
73,039 4% 77,340 5% 14,682 0.3%<br />
Leonie Cooper (Labour Party), David Dean (Conservative Party), Esther Obiri-Darko (Green Party),<br />
Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett (Liberal Democrats) 10,732, Thamilini Kulendran (Independent) 1,142<br />
187,455<br />
2012 result: Conservative Party: 65,197 (43.1%), Labour Party: 55,216<br />
(36.5%), Green Party: 11,307 (7.5%), Liberal Democrats: 11,904<br />
(7.9%), The Socialist Party: 1,343 (0.9%), Others: 6,141 (4.1%)<br />
THE ANGRY SMILE:<br />
New GLA member<br />
Leonie Cooper<br />
Imposing rent controls on the<br />
private sector and reversing<br />
budget cuts to local police will<br />
also be at the top of her to-do list<br />
when she takes up her seat in<br />
City Hall.<br />
She has also pledged to work<br />
with Mr <strong>Khan</strong> and Merton<br />
Council to stop Crossrail 2<br />
destroying Wimbledon town<br />
centre.<br />
Shadow Chancellor John<br />
McDonnell, who was at the count<br />
at Olympia, said Councillor<br />
Cooper’s win was part of a spectacular<br />
day for Labour in London.<br />
He said: “Leonie is a great<br />
example of someone who has<br />
worked really hard in the community,<br />
has got a great track<br />
record of campaigning and has<br />
never given up.”<br />
FOR THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE LONDON ELECTION VISIT WWW.SWLONDONER.CO.UK
Saturday May 7th 2016<br />
ELECTION SPECIAL<br />
Victorious<br />
Dismore<br />
condemns<br />
Barnet’s<br />
voting error<br />
By SWL Reporters<br />
Onkar Sahota (centre) celebrates with Labour supporters<br />
www.swlondoner.co.uk<br />
9<br />
ANDREW DISMORE has<br />
criticised Barnet Council’s<br />
voting‘cock-up’after he reclaimed<br />
his seat in the<br />
Barnet and Camden London<br />
Assembly elections.<br />
Mr Dismore was closely<br />
fought by Conservative<br />
DanielThomas after fears<br />
Ken Livingstone’s anti-<br />
Semitic comments would<br />
negatively affect Labour’s<br />
polling in the largely Jewish<br />
north London area.<br />
The elections <strong>we</strong>re<br />
marred by controversy after<br />
a registration error saw<br />
large numbers of voters in<br />
Barnet turned away.<br />
Mr Dismore said:“This<br />
cock-up shows they are<br />
simply not in control.”<br />
The Labour candidate<br />
held on despite the mistakes,<br />
winning with 81,482<br />
votes over Mr Thomas who<br />
received 65,242 votes.<br />
Barnet Council <strong>we</strong>re<br />
forced to apologise and<br />
launch an investigation after<br />
the error affected all the 155<br />
polling stations in the city’s<br />
most populous borough.<br />
Britain’s Chief Rabbi<br />
Ephraim Mirvis and his wife<br />
<strong>we</strong>re among those turned<br />
away at the polling station.<br />
Mr Dismore has previously<br />
courted controversy after<br />
the DailyTelegraph reported<br />
that he had claimed<br />
expenses equivalent to 487<br />
journeys bet<strong>we</strong>en<br />
Parliament and his<br />
constituency home despite<br />
sitting 145 days.<br />
The BBC revealed that he<br />
also failed to declare annual<br />
trips to Cyprus on a number<br />
of Parliamentary Questions<br />
and Early Day Motions<br />
which <strong>we</strong>re funded by the<br />
Cypriot Parliament.<br />
Previously Hendon MP,<br />
Mr Dismore holds the 21st<br />
century record for a House<br />
of Commons filibuster,<br />
talking for more than three<br />
hours on a Criminal Law<br />
Bill.<br />
Mr Dismore won the<br />
constituency for the first<br />
time in 2012 with a +14.7%<br />
increase to a 44.7% share<br />
after Conservative’s Brian<br />
Coleman won in 2000, 2004<br />
and 2008.<br />
Green candidate Stephen<br />
Taylor finished in third with<br />
16,996 votes ahead of Lib<br />
Dem’s Zack Polanski in<br />
fourth and UKIP’s Joseph<br />
Langton who came fifth.<br />
Barnet was one of the only<br />
London boroughs to back<br />
Conservative London Mayor<br />
candidate and Richmond<br />
Park MP Zac Goldsmith<br />
over Sadiq <strong>Khan</strong>.<br />
Labour re-elected in ‘divisive’<br />
Ealing and Hillingdon vote<br />
By SWL Reporters<br />
LABOUR’S Onkar Sahota won the<br />
Ealing and Hillingdon GLA seat<br />
with 86,088 votes – pushing milkman-turned-Tory-councillor<br />
Dominic Gilham into second.<br />
In his victory speech Dr Sahota<br />
thanked supporters and he is<br />
now expected to deliver on his<br />
health focussed election platform,<br />
promising to fight hospital<br />
closures and health inequality.<br />
He ended his speech though<br />
by slamming the London<br />
campaign<br />
He said:“This campaign has<br />
been very nasty,personal and<br />
divisive,and has happened on<br />
my patch also.”<br />
LABOUR’S Navin Shah is looking<br />
forward to working with Sadiq <strong>Khan</strong><br />
after winning the Brent and Harrow<br />
London Assembly elections with<br />
more than 79,000 votes.<br />
Mr Shah re-claimed his seat<br />
beating Conservative candidate Joel<br />
Davidson with a 20,000 majority<br />
although the Conservatives did<br />
increase their 2012 share by 50%.<br />
Mr Shah promised that, combined<br />
with Mr <strong>Khan</strong>’s election, these<br />
results represented a tremendous<br />
moment for Londoners.<br />
Mr Shah said:“To all the pundits<br />
who predicted a complete wipe-out<br />
for Labour, I am pleased it hasn’t<br />
happened.I knew it wasn’t going to.<br />
He also set out his secondterm<br />
priorities,saying:“Sadiq<br />
<strong>Khan</strong> and I fought the election to<br />
unite and progress the issues that<br />
effect Londoners:housing,<br />
transport,being pro-business<br />
and also looking after our NHS.”<br />
Mr Sohata called for political<br />
reconcilliation across the capital.<br />
“Now is the time to heal<br />
London,”he said.Before shaking<br />
hands with the defeated<br />
Conservative Councillor Gilham<br />
– who picked up 70,155 votes.<br />
UKIP candidate Alex Nieora<br />
follo<strong>we</strong>d in a distant third,almost<br />
tying with Green Party candidate<br />
Meena Hans in fourth.<br />
Lib Dem Francesco Rossano<br />
Fruzza came a disappointing last.<br />
SHAH WINS BRENT<br />
“I think gradually everything is<br />
coming into shape, <strong>we</strong> have a situation<br />
now where the London Mayoral<br />
elections will give a big, strong message<br />
that Labour means business.”<br />
Architect Mr Shah increased his<br />
2008 majority by 11.3% in 2012.<br />
In the full 2016 election results, the<br />
youngest candidate, Lib Dem Anton<br />
Georgiou, t<strong>we</strong>eted:“So pleased to<br />
have placed third in Brent and<br />
Harrow with 11,534.I’m so grateful to<br />
all who supported me.”<br />
Mr Georgiou came ahead of<br />
UKIP’s Rathy Alagaratnam, Green’s<br />
Jafar Hassan and Respect’s Akib<br />
Mahmood who finished fourth, fifth<br />
and sixth respectively in the Brent.<br />
Ealing Council confirmed an<br />
increased turnout compared with<br />
the 2012 election.<br />
The overall provisional voter<br />
turnout was 47% in Ealing and<br />
44% in Hillingdon.<br />
Mr Gilham said the turnout<br />
was a good result for the people<br />
of the Assembly constituency.<br />
He has also vo<strong>we</strong>d to continue<br />
to oppose a third runway,calling<br />
for a better Heathrow Airport<br />
rather than a bigger one.<br />
Dr Sahota was born in India<br />
and moved to Hillingdon in 1961,<br />
working as a <strong>we</strong>st London GP<br />
since 1989.<br />
In March Dr Sahota’s medical<br />
practice dragged him into a dispute<br />
with parents at St Mark’s<br />
Primary School,Han<strong>we</strong>ll.He<br />
refused an offer from Ealing<br />
Council to purchase land he<br />
owns next to the school to allow it<br />
to expand its number of pupils.<br />
Dr Sahota declined,claiming<br />
that the council failed to offer a<br />
fair market price for the land he<br />
bought in 2006 for £730,000 to<br />
open a new surgery.<br />
His refusal to sell the land led<br />
to anger and accusations of<br />
profiteering from parents.<br />
A petition set up said:“The site<br />
is effectively land-banked awaiting<br />
accrual of maximum profit<br />
associated with its proximity to<br />
Han<strong>we</strong>ll’s Crossrail station.”<br />
Ho<strong>we</strong>ver the dispute did not<br />
stop Dr Sahota holding off a<br />
Conservative attempt to retake<br />
Ealing and Hillingdon.<br />
Former Deputy Mayor Richard<br />
Barnes lost the Ealing and<br />
Hillingdon constituency by 2% in<br />
2012’s Assembly vote.<br />
Two years later he defected to<br />
UKIP,leavingWest Drayton’s<br />
Councillor Gilham as<br />
Conservative Party candidate.<br />
Mr Gilham vo<strong>we</strong>d to fight<br />
Heathrow’s third runway and<br />
provide more affordable homes.<br />
But the milkman’s platform<br />
failed to deliver enough voters to<br />
take him to City Hall,losing by<br />
nearly 16,000 votes.<br />
Ealing and Hillingdon also<br />
backed Mr <strong>Khan</strong> for Mayor.<br />
CORBYN POPS IN<br />
LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn<br />
Barrister Joanne McCartney also<br />
dropped into the Alexandra Palace secured a comfortable re-election in<br />
count to congratulate his dear friend Enfield and Haringey over herTory<br />
Jeannette Arnold.<br />
rival Linda Kelly.<br />
Cheers rang out as Ms Arnold, the Ms McCartney won 91,000 votes<br />
popular incumbent for the North East against Ms Kelly’s 39,092.<br />
constituency, stormed to a strong She attacked the negativity of the<br />
victory with 134,307 votes.<br />
Conservative campaign before<br />
She claimed 100,000 votes more praising her supporters.<br />
than Conservative rival Sam Malik. “I am very grateful that the voters<br />
After thanking her supporters, Ms of Enfield and Haringey have rejected<br />
Arnold’s victory speech hinted at her this divisive campaign.”<br />
priorities for the next four years.<br />
The Greens made a strong showing<br />
taking third place in both north<br />
She said:“We <strong>we</strong>re standing up for<br />
Londoners so that they could have the London constituencies.<br />
houses they deserve, so that they North East Green candidate Samir<br />
could have the police and fire<br />
Jeraj remains optimistic.He t<strong>we</strong>eted:<br />
services that they deserve.”<br />
“Nearly beat theTories.Next time!”
Saturday, May 7th 2016<br />
www.swlondoner.co.uk<br />
ELECTION SPECIAL<br />
Brake upbeat about Lib Dem recovery<br />
UPBEAT: Tom Brake and Lib Dem mayoral candidate<br />
Caroline Pidgeon. He’s upbeat about his party’s future<br />
By Stuart Ballard<br />
CARSHALTON and Wallington<br />
Liberal Democrat MP<br />
Tom Brake has said the ‘support<br />
machine is off’ as his<br />
party looks to make steps<br />
towards recovery.<br />
But he insisted there won’t<br />
be any champagne popping<br />
in party offices just yet<br />
The party have been<br />
losing council seats ever<br />
since the failure of the coalition<br />
with the Conservatives<br />
and have slipped behind<br />
UKIP in the English elections.<br />
They have seen a small<br />
rise this time around and Mr<br />
Brake is confident they will<br />
recover in time for the next<br />
local elections - despite Caroline<br />
Pidgeon finishing<br />
fourth in the mayor’s race<br />
behind the Green Party.<br />
“It may still take time,<br />
anyone in the Lib Dem coalition.<br />
It’s still fresh in people’s<br />
minds and did us some<br />
damage,”he said.<br />
“This time around <strong>we</strong> may<br />
be making a few gains. The<br />
support machine is off.<br />
“T<strong>we</strong>lve months ago it was<br />
the worst result since the<br />
party was formed.<br />
“We’re not going to be<br />
cracking open any bottles of<br />
champagne but I do think<br />
this is a good sign for Tim<br />
Farron and our party.”<br />
One-time Richmond Park<br />
MP Lady Kramer, a former<br />
Liberal Democrat candidate<br />
for mayor,added her voice to<br />
Brake’s comments and called<br />
for London to ‘come together’<br />
after a divisive campaign.<br />
“We <strong>we</strong>re decimated at<br />
the last election and <strong>we</strong>’ve<br />
still got to recover from that,”<br />
she said.<br />
“It was very hard to come<br />
through the noise caused by<br />
the very hostile battle that<br />
Sadiq and Zac <strong>we</strong>re waging.<br />
“I hope Sadiq will now<br />
look seriously at Caroline’s<br />
housing plan.There is a solution<br />
on offer for him that is<br />
costed and credible.<br />
“When Ken Livingstone<br />
was mayor,he claimed to be a<br />
magpie for good ideas and I<br />
hope Sadiq will follow him.<br />
“I hope there is an opportunity<br />
now for London to<br />
come together after what has<br />
been quite an unpleasant<br />
election campaign but I’m<br />
pleased there is a decisive<br />
choice of mayor.”<br />
10<br />
Labour’s<br />
Dismore<br />
says Ken<br />
should get<br />
straight red<br />
By SWL reporters<br />
CONTROVERSIAL: Former<br />
mayor Ken Livingstone<br />
London likes its Greens<br />
as Lib Dems finish fourth<br />
By Anna MacSwan<br />
THE Greens claim to have shaken<br />
off their ‘protest vote’ image and<br />
consolidated their position as the<br />
capital’s third political party, finishing<br />
behind Labour and<br />
Conservative in both the London<br />
Mayor and Assembly contest.<br />
Sian Berry, the Green Party’s<br />
Mayoral candidate,received 5.8%<br />
of first preference votes — a small<br />
increase on the 4.48% Jenny Jones<br />
received in 2012.<br />
Ms Berry and fellow candidate<br />
Caroline Russell will now replace<br />
Jenny Jones and Darren Johnson<br />
on the London Wide Assembly<br />
where the party have retained<br />
their two seats.<br />
Ms Berry said: “We’re 100%<br />
the third party in London now.<br />
“We’ve got a good reputation,<br />
people believe in our policies and<br />
<strong>we</strong> ran a positive campaign which<br />
I’m really proud of.<br />
“No regrets,I’ve enjoyed every<br />
minute of it and I’m really pleased<br />
with the result.”<br />
Ms Berry said she would be<br />
getting straight back to work on<br />
Monday to oppose plans for estate<br />
demolitions and road building in<br />
the capital that are likely go ahead<br />
with the election of Labour’s Sadiq<br />
<strong>Khan</strong> as Mayor.<br />
The Green Party made gains<br />
despite the Conservative Party’s<br />
Zac Goldsmith widely being seen<br />
as having strong environmental<br />
credentials.<br />
He vehemently opposed the<br />
Heathrow Airport expansion but<br />
lost credibility when he failed to<br />
deliver on his threat to step down if<br />
plans for the third runway <strong>we</strong>ren’t<br />
dropped.<br />
His campaign was also criticised<br />
for its negative spin<br />
targetting Mr <strong>Khan</strong>’s hertitage.<br />
Ms Berry said:“London voters<br />
don’t want those kind of policies<br />
and I think they reacted really <strong>we</strong>ll<br />
in rejecting the negative campaign<br />
that the Conservatives ran.<br />
“I’m really proud of London.”<br />
Darren Johnson, outgoing<br />
Green party London Assembly<br />
member, said this year’s London<br />
election was a reflection of how far<br />
the Green appeal has broadened<br />
to attract new voters.<br />
"There was a time when people<br />
said ‘oh the Greens have got a<br />
protest vote on the back of the Iraq<br />
war and tube privatisation or<br />
whatever,”he said.<br />
HAPPY: Green Party<br />
mayoral candidate Sian<br />
Berry secured third<br />
place - nudging the<br />
Liberal Democrats into<br />
fourth place<br />
“No one is saying that this time.<br />
People are clearly accepting,<br />
whether they like it or not,that the<br />
Greens are a very established<br />
part of the political scene that<br />
they’re here to stay and here to<br />
make a real difference."<br />
He also said Ms Berry’s<br />
performance in the Mayoral<br />
election was ‘the start of Sian<br />
Berry making an impact in<br />
London rather than the culmination<br />
of it’.<br />
The Green Party also performed<br />
<strong>we</strong>ll in Scotland, where it<br />
now has six MSPs and overtook<br />
the Liberal Democrats to become<br />
Holyrood’s fourth largest party.<br />
ANDREW Dismore has<br />
slammed Ken Livingstone<br />
for having a negative affect<br />
on his campaign despite<br />
holding Labour’s seat in<br />
Barnet and Camden.<br />
Dismore was run closely<br />
by Conservative Daniel<br />
Thomas after fears Livingstone’s<br />
anti-Semitic<br />
comments would cost<br />
Labour their seat in the<br />
largely Jewish area.<br />
Despite the scandal, Dismore<br />
held on in the Barnet<br />
and Camden London<br />
Assembly elections winning<br />
with 81,482 votes over<br />
Thomas who received<br />
65,242 votes.<br />
But Dismore said:“I<br />
think Ken Livingstone’s<br />
time is up in the Labour<br />
Party, he has been a completely<br />
negative force in the<br />
election and no doubt my<br />
majority would have been<br />
better had he not been<br />
around.<br />
“On the other hand, I’m<br />
so pleased that so many<br />
Jewish voters have clearly<br />
stood by me as I’ve stood by<br />
them in the past and will in<br />
the future.”<br />
Ho<strong>we</strong>ver, Livingstone -<br />
who served two terms as<br />
London mayor before<br />
losing to Boris Johnson<br />
eight years ago - refused to<br />
accept any blame for<br />
Labour losing votes.<br />
And he blamed‘far right’<br />
Labour MPs for stoking the<br />
row in a bid to oust leader<br />
Jeremy Corbyn.<br />
He said:“There’s been a<br />
very <strong>we</strong>ll-orchestrated<br />
campaign by the Israel<br />
lobby to smear anybody<br />
who criticises Israeli policy<br />
as anti-Semitic.I had to put<br />
up with 35 years of this..."<br />
And he <strong>we</strong>nt on to say:<br />
“Let’s remember when<br />
Hitler won his election in<br />
1932, his policy then was<br />
that Jews should be moved<br />
to Israel.”