Labour has lost one of its councillor seats to the Greens following a local by-election in Lambeth on May 1. Paul Valentine is the new Green councillor for Herne Hill and Loughborough Junction ward after winning 48per cent of the vote with 1,774 votes.
Finishing in second place was Labour’s Stephen Joseph Clark with 1,459 votes. In third place was the Conservatives’ Jago Brockway with 183 votes, followed by Reform UK’s Lydia Aitcheson with 135 votes.
The Lib Dems’ Charley Hasted came fifth with 121 votes, followed by Marco Tesei from the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition with 30 votes, and lastly Adam Buick from the Socialist Party of Great Britain with 16 votes.
Last night’s by-election saw a voter turnout of 32per cent out of an electorate of 11,554.
The South London seat had previously been held by Labour’s Jim Dickson, a long-term councillor who was first elected to Lambeth Council in 1990.
Mr Dickson announced he was stepping down from his role as councillor eight months after being elected as the Labour MP for Dartford in the July 2024 General Election.
Announcing his departure in March, Mr Dickson said: “It has been an honour to serve the community and the borough for 35 years, and I firmly believe that it is a better place than I found it in 1990, as a result of the work of Lambeth Labour.
“I am proud of many things we achieved which have made a great difference in people’s lives, including bringing in buffer zones for abortion clinics, increasing access to healthcare for our Trans friends and launching the UK’s first LGBT+ retirement housing.”
He added: “The improvements we have seen – which still have further to go – are down to an active and committed local community working closely with a supportive and engaged Lambeth Labour Council, and I know this will continue. I wish whoever is elected in my place every success in serving this wonderful neighbourhood.”
Cllr Valentine will share Herne Hill and Loughborough Junction ward with two existing Labour councillors, Deepak Sardiwal and Pauline George.
Lambeth Council has a Labour majority with 57 councillors. The total number of Green councillors has now increased to three, while there are also three Lib Dem councillors.
