Labour success in all four Lambeth constituencies with mixed fortunes elsewhere for Councillors standing in the General election

All four constituencies in our Brixton Buzz patch returned Labour MP’S to Westminster as the votes for the General Election were counted overnight.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy won in Clapham and Brixton Hill; likewise for Florence Eshalomi in Vauxhall and Camberwell. Helen Hayes is once again the Labour MP for Dulwich and West Norwood.

Steve Reed returns to Lambeth as the new MP for Streatham and Croydon North. Reed was the Labour Leader of Lambeth Council up until 2012 when he became the MP for Croydon North. Expect Reed to now enter Cabinet as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

All four MP’s will now represent new constituencies following the Boundary Review by the Electoral Commission in 2023.

There was also success for veteran Lambeth Labour Councillor Jim Dickson. Following his new found “passion” for Dartford, Lucky Jim now finds himself as the new MP for the area. This is likely to trigger a by-election back in Herne Hill.

His Lambeth Labour colleague Marianna Masters finished third in St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire. There was a fourth place finish for Lambeth Labour Councillor Nanda Manley-Browne in Henley and Thame.

Ex-Lambeth Councillor Tom Rutland’s decision to focus his political ambitions on the South coast paid off. After finally quitting his seat in Streatham Common and Vale, Rutland is now the new Labour MP for East Worthing and Shoreham.

Former Lambeth Cabinet Member Honest Luke Murphy has finally managed to meet his own Westminster ambitions having been elected MP for Basingstoke.

Another ex-Lambeth Cabinet Member waking up as a Labour MP is Imogen Walker. The new MP for Hamilton and Clyde Valley is one half a new power couple in Westminster, alongside her husband Morgan McSweeney, Labour’s campaign chief.

McSweeney was active behind the scenes back in Lambeth when Reed was rolling out his Co-operative Council experiment. He plotted the Lambeth Labour victories whilst Reed was Leader of the Town Hall.

It’s been a colourful campaign for another Lambeth Labour Councillor in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich. Former Bishop’s ward Councillor Kevin Craig finished in second place to the Tories. At least he will be able to cash in on his bet against himself to lose and hand the money over to charity.

Rounding up the Lambeth Labour list of Westminster careerists is Iain Simpson, the former Streatham Hill Councillor. He failed to beat the Tories in Broadland and Fakenham.

Away from the General Election and there was a by-election buried away in Lambeth overnight. Residents in Streatham Common and Vale went to the polls for the second time in three months following the unexpected resignation of Councillor Henna Shah.

Lambeth Labour has retained the seat with Dominic Armstrong elected with 2,796 votes. Green candidate Duncan Eastoe polled an impressive 1,354 votes in second place. Tory Lachlan Rurlander was third with 918 votes, with LibDem Nicholas Davidson polling 906 votes.

No reason has been given to the electorate as to why Shah resigned. She is the political adviser to Keir Starmer’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Pat McFadden. Her partner is Matthew Pound, a senior advisor to the party’s General Secretary, David Evans.

It is highly likely that she is heading for a job at 10 Downing Street.