WALTHAM FOREST: Shock results as Labour gain overall control of council (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

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WALTHAM FOREST: Shock results as Labour gain overall control of council

12:58pm Friday 7th May 2010 in Waltham Forest News By Sian Harrison

Waltham Forest Council Elections count

See the full list of candidates and votes here

8.00pm

All results are now in and Labour have won a decisive victory to gain overall control of the council.

The Liberal Democrats continued to suffer losses, with long-serving councillor Bob Wheatley losing his seat in William Morris ward.

Higham Hill ward also went to Labour, as Sean Meiszner, Patrick Smith and Peter Woolcott were all ousted.

5.00pm

Half of the results have been counted and returned and there have been some shock results so far.

With results in 10 wards announced, the Liberal Democrats appear to have suffered after the deselection fiasco, with prominent councillors losing seats in Chapel End ward.

Labour are on course to gain overall control of the council, after taking nine seats from the Liberal Democrats.

The Conservatives have also taken three seats from the Liberal Democrats in Hale End and Highams Park.

Former leader of the Liberal Democrats John Macklin, and his ward colleagues Bob Belam and Bob Carey, who were deselected by the local party, failed to retain their seats in Chapel End ward.

However, they did take some votes from the Liberal Democrat candidates in the ward, causing the balance of power to shift to Labour.

Other senior Liberal Democrats to lose seats so far are James O'Rourke and former deputy leader Johar Khan, who were both ousted from the High Street ward by Labour's Steve Terry and Claire Coghill.

Former cabinet member Keith Rayner also lost his seat as Labour made a gain in Cann Hall.

12.50pm

The count is underway in Waltham Forest’s local election.

A second shift of counters replaced exhausted colleagues who worked through the night covering the general election at Walthamstow’s Assembly Hall.

Votes in Cann Hall, Leytonstone, and Higham Hill, Walthamstow, will be counted first and the full result is expected between 6pm and 7pm.

Labour councillors will be hoping they can buck the national trend and achieve the extra seven seats needed to take overall control of the authority.

But in private they will be pleased to maintain their position as the largest party, although their is uncertainty over Labour’s relationship with their Lib Dem coalition partners, who need 10 extra seats to take overall control.

The Lib Dems need to win just two seats from Labour to become the biggest party on the council.

But the party’s local election campaign was thrown into disarray when group leader Cllr John Macklin, chief whip Bob Carey and cabinet member Bob Belam were de-selected and decided to run as independents.

Tories are hoping to make inroads beyond their Chingord heartland and have targeted Lib dem seats in Hale End & Highams Park.

Results and reaction will appear first on this website.

Comments(19)

May Buds says...
2:24pm Fri 7 May 10

I'm sure we all await the outcome with barely contained indifference!