The Conservative Party retained their stronghold in Harrow to bring their number of elected councillors to 42.
While the Tories gained 11 councillors, Labour suffered a devastating blow as their number was halved from 24 to 12.
Conservative candidate in the 2024 London Mayoral election and London Assembly member Susan Hall retained a safe seat in Hatch End.
Hall said: “We’re running the council, we’re making a very good job of it and people are starting to notice a difference.”
Throughout the day the strength of Harrow’s Conservative base was evident, as results were declared it was the Tory cheers that rang the loudest.
Hall said: “I feel very sorry for Labour activists because they’re being let down by the Prime Minister and cabinet because they’re making such dreadful decisions and that has an impact.”
The big shock of the day was in Marlborough ward which saw a Labour seat replaced by Pamela Fitzpatrick with her new Harrow-based party Arise.
Arise, a party made up of political activists, only stood candidates in five of the 22 wards, but made considerable impact, especially threatening the Labour vote.
Fitzpatrick, an ex-Labour councillor, said: “We found so many people want change, they’re fed up with the traditional political parties and we can offer them that change.”
Citing the accomplishment of the party in its first local election, she said: “Few other parties can claim to have that success so quickly, so we’re gonna build on that.”
‘Shocked’ was the mood of the day as Conservative councillors walked around dazed by their success and many Labour candidates looked defeated as they lost control in Headstone, Roxeth, and Greenhill – one Labour candidate described feeling as though they’d ‘lost all hope’.
However there were Labour successes in Harrow West, Wealdstone South, and Marlborough.
It was an emotional win for Maxine Henson, who won Roxburne alongside her husband Graham.
Councillor Henson said it’s a “a fight to get things done” as a minority in a Conservative-led council, but is still committed to helping her constituents.
It was anticipated that the north-west London borough would remain blue but even the winning party could not have foreseen the large margin by which they won.
Reform and the Liberal Democrats failed to make any headway in the borough, despite standing 41 candidates and 32 candidates respectively.
Featured Image Credit: Jade McDowell
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