A coin toss helped Conservative James McDermott-Hill secure the final seat in Sutton’s Nonsuch ward.
He finished level on 1,405 votes with Liberal Democrat candidate Samantha Bourne, 1405 seats, but his victory meant the ward swung from three Lib Dems to three Conservatives.
Both activities were conducted in private, before the announcer explained the process to the packed Westcroft Leisure Centre hall.
Though it is often said that there’s little room for fun and games in politics, this unexpected development amused many in attendance who tried to make ‘heads or tails’ of what was going on.
In between fits of laughter, one attendee said: “This can’t be serious. Flipping a coin? Surely not!”
Shortly after the count had begun, Chancellor John McDonnell MP moaned that the election is “boring” during the BBC’s election special broadcast.
The epic Sutton coin-toss lends itself to the contrary school of thought, jazzing up an otherwise mundane political process with a bit of comic relief.
The final outcome saw Conservatives Mr McDermott-Hill, Martina Allen, Peter Hugh Geiringer duly elected to the Nonsuch. This brought the overall Tory tally to 18 seats out of 54 – double their 2014 total
