Labour has retained its local council seat in Newington ward in a by-election that saw the Liberal Democrats make significant gains.
Youcef Hassaine took 57.6 per cent of the vote for the Labour Party, followed by Liberal Democrat Vikkas Aggarwal with 27.9 per cent.
It means that Labour councillors sit in all three of the Kennington ward’s council seats – as they have since 2014.
Yesterday’s by-election (Thursday, June 29) was triggered following Cllr Alice Macdonald’s recent resignation – who is campaigning to be Labour’s MP for Norwich North in the next general election.
Cllr Youcef Hassaine, who is originally from Birmingham and works in Diversity and Inclusion, said: “I want to thank the people of Newington for putting their trust in me. I will not let you down. I’ll be working tirelessly with my fellow Labour councillors to improve life for everyone in our community.
“The residents of Newington know that Labour is the best choice for our ward and our borough and I’m looking forward to playing my part in our Southwark Labour team, supporting people through the cost of living crisis, making our streets and estates safer and delivering high-quality homes for everyone in our borough.”
Cllr Kieron Williams, Leader of Southwark Council added: “To have such an overwhelming vote for Labour is a real endorsement of the difference we are making in Southwark.”
The Liberal Democrats were the only party whose vote share increased – by 15.4 per cent – and local party leader Victor Chamberlain said he was “immensely proud” of Vikkas Aggarwal’s efforts.
Cllr Chamberlain said: “Labour’s massive majority made them the firm favourites to retain Newington. We are immensely proud to regain a strong second place with a 10.35-point swing away from Labour.
“So many of the Newington residents we have spoken to over the last few weeks feel let down, ignored and neglected by Labour and a council that doesn’t listen or respond. Southwark Liberal Democrats will continue to be a voice for those people in the town hall.”
Sir Simon Hughes, Honorary President of Southwark Lib Dems and former local MP, said: “He did very well and the team worked very hard. It certainly shows to the borough that Labour is not inviolate – we’re chasing their tail and we’re closing the gap.”
The Green Party candidate Ruben Buendia, aged just nineteen, who finished his A-level exams days earlier, finished third with 9 per cent of the vote. He said: “I was quite happy with the result – we got a warm and positive response.”
Lewis Jones stood for the Conservative Party and finished fourth with 5.6 per cent of the vote. A spokesperson for the local party said: “Day in, day out, hard-working Conservative volunteers are fighting hard for residents in Southwark and across south London so it is clearly disappointing that we did not increase our vote share but we are here for the long term: fighting poor quality housing, an unfair 80% increase in the cost of residents’ parking permits and poor value for money in council services. Only the Conservatives will stand up for you.”
The Conservative party was approached for comment but didn’t respond before publication.
Newington (Southwark) Council By-Election Result:
LAB: 57.6% (-5.3)
LDM: 27.9% (+15.4)
GRN: 9.0% (-6.2)
CON: 5.6% (-3.9)