James Tacuma Small-Edwards has become the first ever Labour assembly member for West Central.
Labour’s 46,831 votes narrowly trumped Conservative’s Tony Devenish’s 42,578 votes, who exits his post after eight years.
This result follows Sadiq Khan’s historic win as earlier in the day Khan delivered the first ever win for a Labour mayoral candidate in the West Central area.
The West Central area includes The City of Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
In 2021, Labour lost by the minimal margin of just over 2,000 votes, however in 2024, the pendulum has swung as Labour secured 4,000 more votes than the Conservatives, with the Conservatives having 13,000 fewer votes.
After thanking Devenish for his hard work and service to the community as an assembly member over the past eight years, in a buoyant mood he said: “Through your hard we helped Sadiq win a historic third term by delivering the first ever win for a labour mayoral candidate in West Central.
“In addition, it is a privilege to be elected as the first ever labour and cooperative assembly member for West Central.
“Our message of increasing truly affordable and social housing, easing the Cost of living crisis with measures like free school meals and taking comprehensive steps to avert climate catastrophe are ones that resonated with local residents.
“Climate change is the most existential threat for our generation. You can’t live a good life or contribute to society without a stable or safe home.”
Small-Edwards set his sight on further ahead of the eagerly anticipated general election.
He said: “We deserve to celebrate this historic win.
“Within the constituency, there are three marginal parliamentary seats we need to win to form the next government.
“Imagine the change we could with a Labour government and Labour mayor working together, this is within our grasp in 2024.”
Earlier in the Karen Buck, MP for Westminster North cited her fears over the barriers to voting.
“We are worried about the young not turning out due to voter ID and moving polling stations,” she said.
Prior to official results, Tony Devenish seemed resigned to defeat – saying that it had been an honour to serve.
Devenish said: “Even though we are the most successful party in history because of adapting to what people want, I will be happy to go if that is what the voters want.
“It has been an honour to serve for eight years”.
The assembly victory reflects the wider story of Labour supremacy as Khan achieved a 11,000 vote gap in the Mayoral vote, gaining 54,481 votes compared to the Conservatives’ 43,405.
