Labour candidate Andrew Dismore has taken the formerly Conservative Barnet and Camden London Assembly seat.
Labour candidate Andrew Dismore has taken the London Assembly seat for Barnet and Camden from Conservative candidate Brian Coleman.
The result has ended Coleman’s 12-year stint as Assembly Member for the Constituency with the switch to Labour.
“I believe it’s been the most bizarre election I’ve ever seen and its showing that you have to listen to people, which the Conservatives haven’t,” said Dismore.
“Brian Coleman managed to unseat himself.”
Barnet and Camden was another disappointing result for the Liberal Democrats, with their candidate Christopher Richards coming in fourth after the Green Party candidate Audrey Poppy.
Richards said: “The government have taken a kicking because of the difficult economic circumstance.
“Most of the voters have moved over to Green but I think actually what you’ll see is most people moving back away from the Greens as it gets closer to the general election as they realise you’re not going to get a Green MP in Barnet and Camden.”
Dismore was the MP for Hendon from 1997 to 2010, when he was beaten by Conservative candidate, Matthew Offord.
Dismore asked Tony Blair a parliamentary question about Holocaust memorial and education which led to the establishment of Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK.
A delighted Dismore points out his landslide victory over Coleman
Despite the swing towards Labour for the Barnet and Camden’s constituency member, the majority of the London Mayoral vote is for the current Conservative London Mayor Boris Johnson.
Dismore added: “The Labour results across the country are good – don’t write Ken off yet. We’ll have to see how the 2nd preference votes go.”
More to follow.
Reporting team: Nicholas Bonfield, Lydia Morton, Tom Sweetman & Anna Tabrah
