The Liberal Democrats are performing better than expected in the South West constituency London Assembly elections.
Gareth Roberts, the leader of Richmond upon Thames council and GLA candidate for the South West, was upbeat this afternoon, following wins in some of the council’s by-elections.
Roberts said: “We’re rising through the ranks and may be able to pull off an enormous victory for the Lib Dems.
“I’m really very hopeful because in the past it’s always been a straight two-way fight between Labour and the Conservatives and now the Lib Dems are powering through the middle, which is really encouraging to see.”
According to the councillor and father of three, yesterday’s counts on areas where the party does not hold traditional strength were always going to be disappointing, but is expecting better results in today’s counts in Richmond, Kingston, Sutton and Wimbledon.
“Today will be a night, whatever the results is, for thanking those people who took part, seeing my wife and family, and just having a bit of a relax, because it’s been a long, long struggle,” the councillor concluded.
Claire Bonham, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Croydon and Sutton, shared in the success of the party in South West London.
She said: “We’re feeling reasonably good, we’re doing okay in the seats in the South West and down towards Sutton and Croydon so it’s good to be getting a decent amount of the vote share.”
Nationally, Dr Bonham explained that it is harder to assess the party’s performance.
Dr Bonham said: “In some places we’ve been doing very well, in some areas, holding councils, and in some areas it’s been quite disappointing.
“I think it’s really early to say and it is quite hard to say how the picture is looking nationally, but we’re really encouraged by some of the results we’ve had especially in the South West of London.”
You can follow all the results as they happen through the South West Londoner Twitter and shortly afterwards on the website.
