The results of Local Council Elections 2021 – Bexley & Bromley, Brent & Harrow, Ealing & Hillingdon, Havering & Redbridge, West Central, Lambeth & Southwark and North East, Barnet & Camden, Croydon & Sutton, Enfield & Haringey, Greenwich & Lewisham, Merton & Wandsworth, and SouthWest have been announced.
Sadiq Khan has been re-elected as London Mayor despite the Labour party’s disappointing performance in the other local elections. It’s imperative to note that Khan became the first Muslim to head a Western capital in 2016, after defeating his opponent Shaun Bailey, the Conservative Party candidate.
Khan won by 55.2 percent votes by a narrow margin while Bailey stood at 44.8 percent in a highly polarised and hyped result. After being re-elected Khan said, “I am deeply humbled by the trust Londoners have placed in me to continue leading the greatest city on Earth. I promise to strain every sinew to help build a better and brighter future for London after the dark days of the pandemic.
"I will always be a mayor for all Londoners, working to improve the lives of every single person in this city. The results of the elections around the UK shows our country, and even our city, remains deeply divided. The scars of Brexit have yet to heal. A crude culture war is pushing us further apart.
"Economic inequality is getting worse both within London and in different parts of our country. As we seek to confront the enormity of the challenge ahead, and as we endeavour to rebuild from this pandemic, we must use this moment of national recovery to heal those damaging divisions."
Shaun Bailey congratulated Mr Khan but hoped the re-elected mayor would not "blame everything on the government".
Tories buoyed by close race against Khan
“Conservative turnout in some areas was so high that party sources said they had revised their assessment that London was now a “Labour city”. In the London Assembly, the Conservatives gained Brent and Harrow, and Ealing and Hillingdon from Labour — boroughs with a combined population of more than 1.2 million people.” The Times reported.
Meanwhile, Brexit has unarguably changed Britain’s electoral landscape. It has changed what politics is about and driven a wedge between Labour and many of its traditional supporters.
Critiquing this win, Matthew Goodwin (professor of politics and international relations at University of Kent) wrote in The Sunday Times, “In a world no longer running on traditional class lines, the party (Labour) has lost its low-income voters to the Tories, is reduced to a rump in Scotland and even fears being squeezed by the Greens. Its confused values now appeal to nobody.”
Keir Starmer plans move out of London?
Keir Starmer is said to be planning a move out of London as a senior frontbencher quit with a withering attack on the 'London-based bourgeoisie' who have taken over the party 'with the support of brigades of woke social media warriors'.
New Blackburn Tory councillor Tiger Patel cites X-rated campaign video “vital for election win”
Tiger Patel, (real name : Altaf), stood for the Conservatives in Blackburn. The video, which was shared before the election, shows Mr Patel walking around a local children's playground, displaying the damage that has been caused and its dilapidated state. Mr Patel, who says he has been described as "the BoJo of Blackburn", beat the Labour incumbent candidate in Audley and Queen's Park ward by 1,209 votes to 1,096.
Liverpool has elected its first black female mayor
The first woman of colour to ever lead a large British city, Ms Joanne Anderson told The Independent earlier this week: “I do think this will impact on girls thinking about what they can and cannot achieve… And just by being in the room, as a black woman, it will make a difference to the tone and culture here.”
HOW DID ASIANS FARE?
WINNERS
Brent & Harrow: Krupesh Hirani (Labour and Co-operative Party) - 46%
Ealing & Hillingdon: Onkar Singh Sahota (Labour and Co-operative Party) - 41%
Lambeth & Southwark: Marina Masuma Ahmad (Labour and Co-operative Party) - 49%
City & East: Unmesh Desai (Labour and Co-operative Party) - 57%
LOST
Ealing & Hillingdon: Hussain Shah Khan (Liberal Democrats) - 8%
West Central: Rita Begum (Labour and Co-operative Party) - 37%, Saradhi Rajan (ReformUK - London Deserves Better) - 1%
Barnet & Camden: Marisha Priyanka Ray (Liberal Democrats) - 8%
