Wikipedia

2022 Bexley London Borough Council election

The 2022 Bexley London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. 45 members of Bexley London Borough Council were elected. The elections took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.

2022 Bexley London Borough Council election
← 2018 5 May 2022 2026 →
All 45 council seats
  First party Second party
 
Leader Teresa O'Neill Stef Borella
Party Conservative Labour
Last election 34 seats, 50.4% 11 seats, 33.7%
Seats won 33 12
Seat change Decrease 1 Increase 1
Map of the results. Conservatives in blue, Labour in red.
Council control before election

Conservative

 Subsequent council control

Conservative

In the previous election in 2018, the Conservative Party maintained its longstanding control of the council, winning 34 out of the 45 seats with the Labour Party forming the council opposition with the remaining 11 seats.

Background

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History

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Result of the 2018 borough election

The thirty-two London boroughs were established in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. They are the principal authorities in Greater London and have responsibilities including education, housing, planning, highways, social services, libraries, recreation, waste, environmental health and revenue collection. Some of the powers are shared with the Greater London Authority, which also manages passenger transport, police, and fire.[1]

Bexley has generally been controlled by the Conservatives since its creation, except for the elections of 1964, 1971 and 2002 which resulted in Labour councils, and the 1994 council election which resulted in no overall control. Most councillors for the borough have been from the Conservative and Labour parties, with a number of Liberal Democrats being elected between 1982 and 2002. Independent and UK Independence Party candidates have also been elected. In the prior election in 2018, the Conservatives maintained their longstanding control of the council, winning 34 seats while Labour won eleven.[2] Although neither party won any seats, the Liberal Democrats received 5.7% of the vote across the borough and the UK Independence Party won 5.6% of the vote. The 2018 elections took place on new boundaries which reduced the number of councillors for the borough from 63 to 45. These boundaries remained in place for the 2022 election.

Council term

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One of the three Labour councillors for Thamesmead East, Danny Hackett, resigned from his party in 2019 to sit as an independent councillor. He blamed the party's leadership for "a culture of bullying and toxicity".[3] Later in 2019, Hackett denied allegations against him from several women who had accused him of sexual misconduct and harassment.[4] One of the Conservative councillors for Longlands ward, Gareth Bacon, was elected as MP for Orpington in the 2019 general election. He announced his intention to resign as a councillor in 2021, though due to the COVID-19 pandemic the by-election was not held until 6 May 2021.[5] The Conservative candidate Lisa-Jane Moore was elected to successfully defend the seat for her party. The Member of Parliament for Old Bexley and Sidcup, a constituency covering the southern part of the borough, James Brokenshire, died in October 2021. In the ensuing by-election, the Conservative candidate was Louie French, a councillor for Falconwood and Welling, and the Labour candidate Daniel Francis was a councillor for Belvedere ward.[6][7] The Conservatives held the seat on a reduced majority.[8]

Electoral process

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Bexley, as with all other London borough councils, elects all of its councillors at once every four years, with the previous election having taken place in 2018. The election took place by multi-member first-past-the-post voting, with each ward being represented by two or three councillors. Electors had as many votes as there are councillors to be elected in their ward, with the top two or three being elected.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in London aged 18 or over were entitled to vote in the election. People who lived at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, were entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities.[9] Voting in-person at polling stations took place from 7:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters were able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.[9]

Councillors not standing for re-election

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A number of councillors did not stand for re-election and/or had their party whip removed due to impropriety or controversy. Councillor Danny Hackett, Thamesmead East (Labour), was an Independent councillor after allegations of sexual misconduct on social media.[10] Councillor Adam Wildman, Blackfen & Lamorbey (Conservative) no longer sat as a Tory after being found to have participated in a lockdown-breaking party with former mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey.[11] Councillor Dave Putson, Belvedere (Labour) also lost the whip. Councillor Linda Bailey, Crook Log (Conservative) died in office in 2022. Finally, Councillor Louie French, Falconwood & Welling (Conservative) ceased to take an allowance after being elected at the Old Bexley & Sidcup by-election of 2021. He did, however, attend the final council meeting of the 2018-2022 term.

Outcome of 2022 election

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Despite initial suggestions of around four seats changing hands from the Conservative party to the Labour party, this did not materialise. However, the previously split ward of Northumberland Heath returned two Labour candidates compared to a previous one Labour and one Conservative. Across the Borough, the vote share for the Conservative party fell by around 4%, with Labour gaining around 7%. In the seat of East Wickham, the highest placed Labour candidate was only 41 votes short of the nearest Conservative. In Crayford, that number was only 89. Many seats began to become more marginal as a result of lower turnout and increased Labour votes in some areas. The Liberal Democrats did not increase their vote share on a borough-wide basis, but did succeed in increasing their vote share in some seats.

Previous council composition

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  •  
    Councillors prior to the 2022 election
  •  
    Councillors after 2022 election
After 2018 election After 2022 election
Party Seats Party Seats
Conservative 34 Conservative 33
Labour 11 Labour 12

Results summary

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2022 Bexley London Borough Council election
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 33 0 1   1 73.3 50.8 74,254 +0.4
  Labour 12 1 0   1 26.7 44.0 64,294 +10.3
  Liberal Democrats 0 0 0   0 0.0 3.4 5,005 -2.3
  Green 0 0 0   0 0.0 0.7 1,071 -1.0
  Reform UK 0 0 0   0 0.0 0.7 957 New
  Independent 0 0 0   0 0.0 0.2 261 -1.0
  British Democrats 0 0 0   0 0.0 0.2 253 New
  SDP 0 0 0   0 0.0 0.1 100 New
  CPA 0 0 0   0 0.0 0.0 64 New

Candidates

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Statements of persons nominated were published on 6 April.[12] Incumbent councillors are marked with an asterisk (*). Those elected are in bold.

Barnehurst

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Barnehurst (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brian Bishop* 1,637 59.4 +2.6
Conservative Howard Jackson* 1,599 58.0 +3.7
Labour Elizabeth Folarin 1,173 42.5
Labour Andrew Smith 1,106 40.1
Turnout 5,515 33.9 −4.87
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Belvedere

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Belvedere (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sally Hinkley* 2,033 61.0 −0.3
Labour Esther Amaning* 1,998 60.0 −9.5
Labour Daniel Francis* 1,956 58.7 −1.4
Conservative Christine Bishop* 1,278 38.4 −10.5
Conservative William Dorgu 1,126 33.8
Conservative Viny Poon 1,072 32.2
Green Sarah Barry 533 16.0
Turnout 9,996 31.3 −2.68
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

Bexleyheath

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Bexleyheath (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Sue Gower* 2,364 60.9 +0.4
Conservative Bola Carew 2,154 55.5
Conservative Rags Sandhu 1,983 51.1
Labour Eric Davies 1,599 41.2
Labour Matthew Murphy 1,568 40.4
Labour Pat Ball 1,532 39.5
Liberal Democrats Jawharah Albakri 436 11.2
Turnout 11,636 35.5 −0.01
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Blackfen and Lamorbey

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Blackfen and Lamorbey (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Hunt* 2,199 59.3 +1.6
Conservative Peter Craske* 2,185 58.9 +1.2
Conservative Cafer Munur* 1,924 51.9 +6.6
Labour Josephine Chodha 1,349 36.4
Labour John Cove 1,310 35.3
Labour Daniel Jenkins 1,295 34.9 +9.0
Liberal Democrats Robin Kelly 538 14.5
Reform UK Michael Pastor 325 8.8
Turnout 11,125 33.0 −5.73
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Blendon and Penhill

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Blendon and Penhill (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Patrick Adams 2,267 64.8
Conservative Nick O'Hare* 2,040 58.3 −4.5
Conservative David Leaf* 2,012 57.5 −3.6
Labour Emma Francis 1,322 37.8
Labour Ahmad Brooke 1,099 31.4
Labour Floyd Millen 1,092 31.2
Liberal Democrats Bruce Meredeen 402 11.5
Reform UK Marc Mason 262 7.5
Turnout 10,496 33.2 −4.49
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Crayford

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Crayford (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Melvin Seymour* 1,890 55.5 +5.0
Conservative Geraldine Lucia-Hennis* 1,872 55.0 +5.6
Conservative Felix Di Netimah 1,717 50.5
Labour Abi Johnson 1,628 47.8
Labour Anthony Riches 1,554 45.7
Labour Nick Hair 1,549 45.5
Turnout 10,210 32.6 −2.54
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Crook Log

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Crook Log (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Teresa O'Neill* 2,317 59.1 −0.7
Conservative Janice Ward Wilson 2,154 54.9
Conservative Christopher Taylor 2,077 53.0
Labour Liam Davies 1,684 43.0
Labour Janet White 1,491 38.0
Labour Timothy Nicholls 1,418 36.2
Liberal Democrats Zoe Brooks 621 15.8
Turnout 11,762 36.1 −4.79%
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

East Wickham

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East Wickham (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Steven Hall* 1,967 53.1 −2.2
Conservative Caroline Newton* 1,794 48.5 −3.8
Conservative Christine Catterall* 1,774 47.9 −3.7
Labour Donna Briant 1,733 46.8
Labour Claire Hedderman 1,609 43.5
Labour Dave Tingle 1,467 39.6
Liberal Democrats Sean Ash 506 13.7
British Democrats Michael Jones 253 6.8 −2.1
Turnout 11,103 34.5 −2.90%
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Erith

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Erith (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Christopher Ball 1,512 70.1
Labour Nicola Taylor* 1,469 68.1 +5.7
Conservative David Li 670 31.1
Conservative Masbah Khan 664 30.8
Turnout 4,315 27.9 −4.52
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

Falconwood and Welling

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Falconwood and Welling (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nigel Betts* 2,047 57.7 +1.1
Conservative Andrew Curtois 1,894 53.4
Conservative Frazer Brooks 1,795 50.6
Labour Sarah Miller 1,494 42.1
Labour Jeremy Fosten 1,360 38.3
Labour Stephen Perfect 1,273 35.9
Green Elisabeth Radbon 538 15.2 +6.2
Reform UK Marian Newton 245 6.9
Turnout 10,646 32.0 −7.75%
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Longlands

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Longlands (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Lisa-Jane Moore* 1,504 57.4 −4.7
Conservative Andy Dourmoush* 1,347 51.4 −1.2
Labour Teresa Gray 1,029 39.3
Labour Anashua Davies 1,014 38.7
Liberal Democrats Oliver Brooks 346 13.2
Turnout 5,240 36.6 −4.69%
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Northumberland Heath

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Northumberland Heath (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Baljeet Gill 1,361 51.8
Labour Wendy Perfect* 1,345 51.2 +6.7
Conservative Aaron Newbury 1,157 44.0
Conservative Duwayne Brooks 1,146 43.6
Liberal Democrats Paul Bargery 248 9.4 +2.2
Turnout 5,257 35.6 −2.76
Labour hold Swing
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

Sidcup

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Sidcup (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative June Slaughter* 1,828 51.3 −4.2
Conservative Cheryl Bacon* 1,818 51.1 −8.3
Conservative Richard Diment* 1,815 51.0 −2.0
Labour Paul Hinkley 1,211 34.0
Labour Tonya Kelsey 1,204 33.8
Labour Ben Nottle 1,082 30.4
Liberal Democrats Paul Hurren 484 13.6
Liberal Democrats Simone Reynolds 472 13.3 +4.9
Liberal Democrats David Sexton 407 11.4 +5.5
Independent Dimitri Shvorob 261 7.3
SDP Laurence Williams 100 2.8 +0.9
Turnout 10,682 33.1 −5.83
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Slade Green and Northend

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Slade Green and Northend (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Stefano Borella* 1,220 62.6 +8.7
Labour Anna Day 1,213 62.3
Conservative Michael Gillespie 764 39.2
Conservative Mandy Brinkhurst 700 35.9
Turnout 3,897 24.3 −5.46
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

St Mary's and St James

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St Mary's and St James (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Kurtis Christoforides 1,591 58.3
Conservative Cameron Smith 1,506 55.2
Labour Sylvia Malt 939 34.4
Labour John Husband 884 32.4
Liberal Democrats David McBride 347 12.7
Reform UK Linda Purcell 125 4.6
CPA Carol Valinejad 64 2.3
Turnout 5,456 35.2 −5.20
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Thamesmead East

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Thamesmead East (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Larry Ferguson 1,703 74.6
Labour Zainab Asunramu 1,678 73.5
Labour Mabel Ogundayo* 1,661 72.8 +6.0
Conservative Graham Moon 586 25.7
Conservative Natalie Price 558 24.5
Conservative Rajinder Tumber 462 20.2
Liberal Democrats Doro Oddiri 198 8.7
Turnout 6,846 24.4 −4.95
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

West Heath

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West Heath (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Peter Reader* 2,389 59.3 +0.6
Conservative John Davey* 2,328 57.8 +1.3
Conservative Philip Read* 2,283 56.7 +1.5
Labour Sam Marchant 1,730 43.0
Labour Jay Dominy 1,678 41.7
Labour Victoria Akintomide-Akinwamide 1,669 41.5
Turnout 12,077 36.0 −4.69
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

On 11 October 2022, Cllr John Davey was suspended by the Conservative Party following offensive tweets about former British-Iranian prisoner, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "The essential guide to London local government | London Councils". www.londoncouncils.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  2. ^ Holder, Josh. "Local council elections 2018 – results in full". the Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  3. ^ "'I've not changed, the party has': Bexley councillor quits Labour but rules out by-election". News Shopper. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Bexley councillor denies allegations that he sent 'd*ck pics' to under-18 girls". News Shopper. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Orpington MP Gareth Bacon to step down from Bexley council role ahead of May election". News Shopper. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  6. ^ poppy-wood (30 October 2021). "Conservative councillor picked to contest late MP James Brokenshire's south London seat". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  7. ^ Rodgers, Sienna (28 October 2021). "Daniel Francis selected as Labour candidate for Old Bexley and Sidcup". LabourList. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Old Bexley and Sidcup: Conservatives retain southeast London seat in by-election prompted by death of MP James Brokenshire". Sky News. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  9. ^ a b "How the elections work | London Councils". www.londoncouncils.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Bexley councillor denies allegations that he sent 'd*ck pics' to under-18 girls". 14 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Bexley: Councillor who attended Shaun Bailey Christmas party has left Tory group". 4 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Thursday 5 May 2022 | London Borough of Bexley". www.bexley.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Bexley Conservative councillor John Davey suspended over 'racist and xenophobic' tweet about Nazanin Zagahir-Ratcliffe". 12 October 2022.
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