The Liberal Democrats secured a landslide victory overnight, winning all 54 seats available in Richmond-upon-Thames at the 2026 local election.
The party now hold majority control across all 18 wards in the borough with a 50.8% voter turnout recorded at the count.
This further extends and cements the Lib Dems dominance across the borough, which started in 2018.
Councillor Gareth Roberts, leader of Richmond Council, said: “I feel fan-dabby-dozy! 54 out of 54 has never been done before in the history of the borough.”
Roberts added the success of his party’s campaign was due to their focus on local issues affecting residents – such as crime, the cost of living crisis and the lack of affordable housing.
He said the nature of elections means that there will always be winners and losers, but stressed the party will not be complacent off the back of this historic win.
Roberts said: “We will govern for all Richmond residents, not just the ones who voted for us.
“We want to hear dissenting voices and we encourage dissenting voices from within the group.
“I can give every resident a cast-iron assurance that we will govern for everybody. We will listen. We will not allow 54 seats to become a one-party state.”
Going into the election the Lib Dems held 49 of the 54 seats, but were able to take the remaining five from the Greens, leaving them with no opposition in the leafy South West London heartland.
Former Green Party councillor Chas Warlow said: “We knew we were up against it. The previous two elections in this borough were under an agreement with the Liberal Democrats that helped us to get candidates elected.
“We don’t have that arrangement anymore, so it’s going to be much more difficult to get any councillors elected.”
While the night delivered a historic win for the Lib Dems, for some candidates, it marked their first experience of local politics.
Zoe, 50, the mother of 18-year-old Lucas Spencer running for Labour in Mortlake & Barnes Common said she was there to support her son at his first election.
She said: “I’d like him to come away feeling like it’s been a positive experience, a good learning experience for him about what’s involved. He’s been canvassing since he was 14.”
When asked what inspired the teen to take part in politics, his mother said: “Maybe his interest in history inspired him to take a look at politics, that may have been a bit of a route.”
The borough was once a Conservative Party stronghold but the party lost its last remaining seat in the 2024 council by-election.
You can check out all of SWL’s 2026 local election coverage here.
Feature image: Yusuf Tamanna
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