Conservative Councillor Tony Arbour held off competition from Labour’s Councillor Martin Whelton to hold the South West GLA seat that he has occupied ever since the first election in 2000.
The constituency, which is made up of the London boroughs of Hounslow, Richmond-Upon-Thames and Kingston-Upon-Thames, has been a Conservative stronghold for 16 years, with Labour again failing to gain ground.
Reflecting on the changes he has seen over his 16 years in the London Assembly he said: “It is quite clear that the mayoralty is now an established part of London life.
“Judging by the turn out in this election which is truly astonishing as it is a local election after all demonstrates that the people of London think that the GLA and the mayoralty has improved.”
Labour candidate Mr Whelton was disappointed by the loss but believes the party has put itself in a strong position for the future.
“We have done incredibly well, we got 62,000 votes and that is more than 13,000 votes than we polled in the last election,” he said.
“Labour has moved from third into a clear second place and I want to thank my team for their effort across all three boroughs and I am incredibly proud of our achievements.”
Mr Arbour is a Richmond Councillor for the Hampton Wick Ward and former leader of Richmond Council.
He was first elected as councillor in 1971 and is currently the cabinet member for community safety.
He is keen to improve the safety and environment of the borough along with improving access to the river.
