Croydon Council will be governed by no single party as the borough today failed to deliver a decisive result, though Conservative Jason Perry was re-elected as mayor yesterday.
The result was unsurprising, as Croydon also failed to deliver a majority in 2022, and before that it swung back and forth between Labour and Conservative each election.
Yet spirits were high amongst the parties, perhaps because each party gained in its own way: Labour ended up with the most seats, the Tories retained the mayor, while the Greens and Reform both made gains.
And there was also a spirit of co-operation as parties seemed willing to work together to break the deadlock.
Mohammed Islam, returning Labour councillor for Selhurst said: “We will work with others and make sure that we do the work to deliver Croydon a better future. We will work together.”
Peter Underwood, losing Green candidate for Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, said: “I don’t care who does the good stuff as long as the good stuff gets done.
“If they do it fine, if not we’ll replace them and we’ll do it.”
To pass the time during the counts, Underwood described the joke poll he ran between chewy wiggly worm sweets and sour strawberries.
Chris Philp, Conservative MP for Croydon South and Shadow Home Secretary also made an appearance to support his party.
He said: “What we’re seeing here in some parts of Croydon is evidence that if people vote Reform, they very often find themselves letting Labour through the middle.”
While Philp maintained it was still essentially a ‘two horse race’ in Croydon, the gains made by the Greens and Reform mirror larger patterns nationally that threaten the traditional two party dynamic.
Of the 70 seats, Labour have 30, Conservatives 28, Greens 8, Reform UK 2, and Lib Dems 1.
With a total 286,933 people having voted in Croydon’s elections, it was one of the largest local election counts in London and voter turnout was high at 41.02% with turnout as high as 54.41% in the ward of Sanderstead.
Yet, despite chaotic previous elections – in 2022 it took three days to announce the result of the council elections – the count went smoothly, with the final result delivered at 5.40pm.
Julie Setchfield, elected Labour councillor for Norbury Park, spoke of her excitement in her new role and her eagerness to deliver for the people of Croydon.
She said: “We’re there to work hard for them. We’re there for them to tell us what they need, what they want and to make sure their voices are heard on the council.”
Ria Patel, newly elected Green councillor for Fairfield, said “I’d like to convene a meeting with all the residents to really listen and respond to everything they want resolved in the town centre.
“There’s a lot that needs to happen, a lot of issues, and we’re ready to get back to working really really hard.”
Keir Starmer’s niece, Ellie Sandover, is the elected Labour councillor in Bensham Manor.
After the returning officer announced the election was over, someone from the labour team asked: “right, who wants to go and get some food?”
The choruses of yeses that followed were emblematic of the long two days of ballot sorting the count staff and parties have endured. But now it’s time for the real work to begin.
You can see all of South West Londoner’s local elections coverage here.
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