Labour gained two extra seats, while the Lib Dems lost two.
By Tom Mulvihill and Naomi Agius
The Conservatives swept the board once again in the Kensington and Chelsea elections, gaining a council majority for the 50th year running.
But despite the Tories now controlling 38 out of 50 seats in the borough, Labour were the only party to make gains in the election, winning two seats from the Liberal Democrats in Colville.
Going from nine to 11 seats, the party are far from challenging Tory control – but Labour councillor Andrew Lomas, who won a seat from the Lib-Dems in Colville, feels the results are cause for celebration.
“I’m absolutely elated, and not just because I’ve won,” he said. “It’s just baby steps, but Labour are going in the right direction.”
The same cannot be said for the Liberal Democrats, who are down to just one seat from a previous three.
Yet even as some in the Conservative party were celebrating their victory, others expressed concern at the impact of three independent candidates in the hotly contested Stanley ward.
Andrew Barshall, Ian Henderson and celebrity hair stylist Heinz Schumi together amassed almost 1,400 votes – the largest ever percentage of votes taken from the Tories in a Chelsea ward election.
Standing in protest against controversial planning decisions by the previous council, including the demolishment of several estates and the Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre, the independents nevertheless failed to win any seats.
However, Mr Schumi considers the results to be a success.
“We had a very tall order – we didn’t have a lot of funds and we were quite inexperienced, having never been in politics before,” he said.
“I think we gave them a good run for the little money we had.”
Mr Schumi stated his intention to continue campaigning, and is considering the possibility of standing in the general elections next year.
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