The political landscape of London’s south western boroughs has been reshaped with the Liberal Democrats and Labour making significant inroads into what was once considered Conservative territory.
One of the most notable trends of the night was the collapse of the Conservative vote share across south west London.
As Labour swept to power with an overwhelming landslide, ending 14 years of Conservative rule, they strengthened their hold on the capital while the Lib Dems quietly but effectively painted a large part of south west London in their signature yellow gold.
Across south west London, the Lib Dems doubled their number of seats from three to six, while Labour secured some significant scalps of their own.
The Lib Dems bulldozed in Wimbledon in a remarkable result which saw them gain the constituency which had been held by the Conservatives since 2005 whilst gaining more votes than Labour and the Tories combined.
They picked up two more gains in Sutton borough marginals Sutton and Cheam and Carshalton and Wallington, a sweet victory in a borough that voted for Brexit in 2016.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, who was re-elected as the Kingston and Surbiton MP with a large 25,870 votes, increasing his majority from 11,000 to 17,000, hailed the “exceptional” and “historic” results which saw his party record their best electoral performance in a century.
Elsewhere, Labour made huge inroads in more central and traditionally wealthy seats.
They seized marginals Kensington and Bayswater and Cities of London and Westminster and unseated Government minister Greg Hands in Chelsea and Fulham.
Even in seats where the Tories managed to hold on such as Croydon South, a significant hold by them, their majority was significantly reduced.
The results in Croydon reflected a broader trend across London, with Labour making gains in outer boroughs that had previously leaned blue.
Labour also secured big wins in constituencies across the boroughs of Hounslow, Lambeth and Wandsworth.
The Green Party, while not winning any seats in south west London, saw its vote share increase across the board.
In Richmond Park, the Greens secured over 5% of the vote, their best performance in the constituency to date.
The Lib Dem and Labour successes in south west London marks significant political realignment in the region which has traditionally been a key battleground between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party.
With this result, south west London which was once a fairly predictable area, is now a rainbow of yellow, red and diminishing blue.
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