Labour Gains Merton & Wandsworth Assembly Seat
Leonie Cooper overturns Tory majority as Sadiq Khan looks set to be Mayor
The new London Assembly member for the Merton & Wandsworth constituency is Labour's Leonie Cooper. She beat the Conservative candidate, David Dean, by 4,301 votes when the results were declared this Friday afternoon (6 May).
The seat was previously held by Conservative Richard Tracey, who announced his retirement prior to the election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Leonie Cooper | 77,340 | 39.39 |
5.17 |
|
| Conservative | David Dean | 73,049 |
41.71 |
-3.75 |
|
| Green | Esther Obiri-Darko | 14,682 |
7.92 |
0.44 |
|
| Liberal Democrat | Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett | 10,732 |
5.79 |
-2.09 |
|
| UKIP | Elizabeth Jones | 8,478 |
4.57 |
2.11 |
|
| Independent | Thamilini Kulendran | 1,142 |
0.62 |
-0.99 |
|
| Majority | 4301 |
||||
| Turnout | |||||
At the 2012 election, Richard Tracey held the seat with 43.1% of the vote, against Leonie Cooper's 36.5%.
This time she received 41.7% of the vote, against 39.4% achieved by David Dean, who is a Merton Borough Councillor for Wimbledon's Dundonald ward.
Meanwhile, a Merton Borough Council by-election in Figge's Marsh was won by former council leader Mike Brunt for Labour.
A by-election was called in Figge’s Marsh ward at the end of March following the resignation of former councillor, Peter Walker.
Labour's Mike Brunt was Dundonald ward councillor from 1990-2002 and leader of the council from 1997-1999.
The breakdown of votes were as follows:
•Labour Party: Mike Brunt: (2,824 votes)
•Conservative Party: Hamna Qureshi: (443 votes)
•UK Independence Party (UKIP): Andrew Thomas Mills:(254 votes)
•Green Party: Penelope Jane Homer: (184 votes)
•Liberal Democrats: Rachel Ann Waitt: (136 votes).
Turnout was 47% and Mike Brunt received 74% of the vote.
Sadiq Khan is the city's new mayor, after beating Tory Zac Goldsmith by 1,310,143 votes to 994,614. He secured the largest majority ever for a London Mayor. The confirmation of the result was delayed due to problems with London Elect's electronic vote counting system.
Mr Khan said, "This election has not been without controversy. I am so proud that London has chosen hope over fear and unity over division. I hope we will never be offered such a stark choice again."
Vote count in Mayoral Election
May 7, 2016