Richmond’s former Green leader has warned the result is not healthy, after the Liberal Democrats obliterated all opposition
The Liberal Democrats have won all 54 seats on Richmond Council in a landslide victory, which saw all five Green councillors lose their seats in the South West London borough.
Sir Ed Davey’s party gained five seats from the Greens in what was already a definite Lib Dem stronghold. The Lib Dems will now lead the council for a third term, after winning control of the authority from the Conservatives in 2018. The party had 49 seats going into the election on Thursday (May 7), after the Tories lost a by-election in January 2024.
Twickenham and Richmond Lib Dems thanked voters on X for trusting the party to run the borough for another four years, after the results were announced, and pledged to make every vote count.
The party wrote: “To every voter, every volunteer, every canvasser, every delivery hero and every teller who stood outside the polling station. Thank you.”
Richmond’s former Green Party Group Leader on the council, Andrée Frieze, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) it had been a “difficult” night for the local party, but she promised it would continue to scrutinise the Lib Dem administration.
See the full results by ward in our widget (story continued below)
Ms Frieze, who was not standing for re-election on Thursday, said: “I can’t deny that probably the national news over the last couple of weeks in the run up to the election – some of the stories going around about the Greens – won’t have played their part, and it’s difficult to say exactly why on the doorstep we didn’t quite manage it…
“Lib Dems are very strong and they’ve run a really strong election campaign, so well done them at the end of the day – one has to recognise that it’s a good result for them.
“I’m not sure that it’s a good result for residents, frankly. Having 54 councillors all from the same party, with no opposition to scrutinise them, is really bad for democracy. It’s really bad for residents.”
Ms Frieze vowed the Greens would “stand up for the rights of residents, but also make sure that we keep protecting our planet, dealing with inequality and social justice” by continuing to challenge the Lib Dems, who she warned against becoming “complacent”.
She added: “I would say that for the next four years the Greens locally are going to be spending their time from outside the council scrutinising what they’re doing and trying to make sure we can have as much impact as possible, even if we’re not in the council chamber.”
The Lib Dems pledged in their manifesto to “protect what matters most – by transforming how the council works, focussing on early help and prevention, and using every pound wisely to reinvest in a fairer, greener and more resilient Richmond”.
It promised to protect vital services from Government cuts, tackle the cost of living, lead on climate action, invest in early help for children and adults and deliver thriving town centres and cultural life.
The party’s victory comes after it stood a full slate of 54 candidates in the borough, along with Labour, the Conservatives and the Greens. Reform put forward 45 candidates, while three Independent candidates also battled for a seat.
The overall turnout in Richmond was 50.8 per cent – up from 47.7 per cent in 2022, when the borough saw the highest turnout in the capital.
The Lib Dems secured 51.5 per cent of the votes, miles ahead of the Conservatives with 17.9 per cent of the share – they were followed by the Greens at 16.1 per cent, Reform at 10 per cent and Labour at 4.5 per cent.
The LDRS has contacted Twickenham and Richmond Lib Dems for further comment.
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