Justine Greening has managed to hold on to her Putney seat after a tough contest against Labour heavyweight Dr Neeraj Palit, the former mayor of Lambeth.
However, she saw her share of the vote plunge by nearly ten percent, with the turnout 71.73% – up from 67% in the 2015 General Election.
However, she admitted disappointment that neighbouring Battersea returned to Labour hands while Tooting remained red too.
Miss Greening is Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities while Labour candidate, Dr Neeraj Patil, is an A&E consultant who has worked for the NHS for 20 years and was also previously the Mayor of Lambeth. He increased his party’s share of the vote by nearly 11 percent.
“This has been an election very much fought in the shadow of terrorism, including here in London,” she said.
“But in every single community there have been votes cast for different parties but they’ve all had one thing in common, and that is that every single vote cast in this election has been a vote against those who want to threaten our way of life and for all of us who believe in our democracy. That’s something that’s hugely important.
“Two years ago, when I was elected, I thought about how much opportunity and social mobility meant for me. In fact, when I got involved with politics nobody in my family was involved in politics before and it was something completely new for all of us.
“But I got involved not because I had a big life ambition to become an MP but because I wanted to make a difference.
“I wanted to make a difference in my local community that I’m proud to be a part of and I wanted to make a difference in my country. That is why I feel that running for parliament, being part of our democracy, is one of the greatest privileges that anyone can have in their lives.
“I’ve loved absolutely every single minute of it. It’s a privilege to be able to continue to represent a community.”
Justine Greening (Conservative) 20,679, Dr Neeraj Pati (Labour) 19,125, Ryan Mercer (Liberal Democrat) 5,448, Ben Fletcher (Green) 1,107 Patricia Ward (UKIP) 477, Lotta Quizeen (Independent) 58
Conservative hold, majority 1,554 (-2,339)
Turnout: 46,645 (71.73%)
