The Conservatives have held the Croydon and Sutton seat in the London Mayoral elections, in a relief win for the party after a crushing overall defeat by Labour.
Tory candidate Neil Garratt won 64,674 votes compared to Labour’s Maddie Henson, who got 54,380 votes, securing a 10,000 strong majority.
The constituency seat was widely held as a potential swing seat that could be claimed by Labour, given the split vote due to the popularity of Liberal Democrats in Sutton.
Garratt said: “I feel relieved, obviously it’s been a very difficult night across the country.
“It wasn’t the result we wanted across London and obviously Sadiq Khan is back at mayor. I’ll be there representing Croydon and Sutton, challenging him, scrutinising him, making sure that all the problems we’ve had at City Hall are addressed and not ignored.”
The newly elected Conservative constituency member emphasised how difficult and uncertain the election was.
He added: “It was really very difficult, I think. It was a very uncertain election with the national polls, the London-wide polls. What we were hearing on the doorstep, we came here with no expectations so I’m very relieved to come away with a 10,000 majority.”
With Khan winning a third term, and Labour holding a grand majority of constituency seats, Croydon and Sutton represent a light for the Tories.
Susan Hall, the Conservative mayoral candidate, won a large majority over Khan in this constituency, gaining 78,790 votes compared to Sadiq Khan’s 59,482 votes.
However, compared to the 2021 election, in which the Conservatives won 75,246 votes against Labour’s 56,975 votes, Garrett lost over 10,000 votes.
A large majority of these votes appear to have gone to Reform UK, with the party more than quadrupling its number of votes in the constituency from 3190 in 2021 to 14,375 votes today.
The Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green Party vote share has remained almost unchanged from the 2021 results, with the Liberal Democrat candidate Trish Fivey won 29,160 votes, whilst Green Party candidate Peter Underwood achieved 19,434 votes.
Garrath emphasised the problems facing Khan as he embarks upon a historic third term as London Mayor.
Garrath said: “The fact he’s been re-elected doesn’t doesn’t actually solve all those problems.
“What I hope Sadiq will recognise is that although he’s been elected, lots of Londoners who didn’t support him aren’t happy with his policies on crime, on ULEZ.
“Outer London does not feel heard by him. I’ll be there making sure outer London‘s voice is heard and I really hope that he listens this time.”
Trish Fivey, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Croydon and Sutton likewise highlighted wider issues in London, including the need for affordable housing.
However, she focused above all on the need for cooperation, saying: “I believe in working together, you have to scrutinise the mayor obviously, but I believe in working together and getting the best outcome for Londoners, that’s most important for me, it’s the London people getting the best outcome for them.”
In his victory speech, Garrath said: “I’d like to say thank you to the wonderful people in Croydon and Sutton who have returned me to City Hall.
“On crime I will make sure he is held to account, on transport I will make sure that Croydon and Sutton are heard. You have my word that I will be your voice in City Hall.Thank you very much for giving me the honour to return to City Hall.”
