The incoming Conservative leadership of Westminster Council has said it will fight the Mayor of London over Oxford Street pedestrianisation plans.
Today’s election result gives the Tories 32 seats on the council — a 10 seat majority over Labour which held on to 22 seats.
No councillors from any other parties nor independent candidates were elected.
Westminster was one of the most high profile boroughs holding local elections yesterday. It has historically been a Tory strong-hold, before changing to Labour control in 2022.
One local expert predicted that the Conservatives had a slight advantage and would take back the council.
Conservative Westminster group leader, Paul Swaddle, described the result as “fantastic.”
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he had been “hopeful” walking into the count on Thursday night.
“Neither Greens nor Reform made any inroads, and both of them threw quite a lot at it. So as far as that’s concerned, here in Westminster, I’m very pleased with the result,” he said.
He will be appointed as leader on Saturday and said that he will be setting up a legal fund to challenge London mayor Sadiq Khan on Oxford Street’s pedestrianisation.
The Labour Party is now the opposition group on the council. No representatives were available to give a comment to the LDRS following their defeat on Friday morning.
The average turnout in Westminster was 36 per cent — an increase from 31.9 per cent in 2022. A total of 46,962 ballot papers, excluding for Queen’s Park Community Council, were verified.
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