What were the results in Merton?

Labour has secured another four years in control of Merton Council, seeing off a challenge from the Liberal Democrats .

The results of Thursday’s local elections , announced on Friday, confirmed Labour’s clear majority.

The party returned 32 councillors across the authority’s 57 seats – a modest gain of one compared to 2022 – extending its dominance since 2014.

The Liberal Democrats, who had aimed to unseat Labour and strengthen their south-west London stronghold, secured 19 seats, an improvement on their 2022 result despite falling short of their ultimate goal.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives held their ground in Wimbledon Village but lost three councillors elsewhere.

They included local leader Nick McLean, who was defeated by the Liberal Democrats in Cannon Hill ward.

Merton Park, which includes Morden, re-elected its two independent councillors, Stephen Mercer and Edward Foley, who together secured 59 per cent of the vote in the ward.

Elsewhere, the Greens and Reform failed to elect a single candidate.

The former leader of Labour-run Merton Council Stephen Alambritis said: “It means good continuity and a continuation of the good things we are doing.”
Addressing pre-election talk of a potential Lib Dem win, he said: “I thought the Lib Dems were dewy-eyed about the prospect of Ed Davey turning up to claim his fourth south London borough.

“This is about local issues, this is all about the street on your road.

I think if you make that differentiation, people will think and not want to gamble it all away.”
Councillor Anthony Fairclough, leader of the Merton Liberal Democrats, said: “These results show that more and more residents across the borough are putting their trust in the Liberal Democrats to stand up for them and focus on the issues that matter most locally.

“Liberal Democrat gains from both Labour and the Conservatives prove there is a growing appetite for change, and that residents are putting their trust in Lib Dem councillors to stand up for their communities.

“While Labour council bosses have narrowly held on, it’s clear there are serious concerns about how the council is being run.

With more councillors and a stronger opposition, we will continue to challenge where things aren’t good enough and push for better services, better value for money and a more responsive council.

“We are proud to represent residents across Merton and will keep working hard to ensure residents’ voices are heard.”
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Voter turnout in Merton was 45.15 per cent, up from 40 per cent in 2022.

The election saw a record number of 271 candidates standing for election across all 20 wards.