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LOCAL ELECTIONS 2014: Shock win for Labour in Hammersmith and Fulham

Summary:

The party took 11 seats from the Conservatives to hold the authority for the first time since 2006.

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By Jacqueline Fanchini

The Prime Minister’s favourite council has voted Labour after eight years in the control of the Conservatives.

In an exciting turn of events Labour have reclaimed Hammersmith and Fulham, painting the borough red.

Labour gained 11 seats from the Conservatives, winning with 26 out of the 46 seats available.

The new leader of the council, Stephen Cowan, said: “We had a lot of people from all political persuasions telling us that they were going to vote for us.

“While you can never take anything for granted, we began to have a slightly less than quiet confidence.”

The night began with steady wins from the Conservative party in wards such as Palace Riverside, Town and Parsons Green before the tide started to turn at around 4am when North End and Fulham Broadway were taken over by Labour.

In his victory speech Mr Cowan declared that the borough’s Labour contingent were sending a message of hope from Ed Miliband´s Labour that the party is back and things are about to change.

“This is a slap in the face of the Prime Minister,” he said.

“If David Cameron’s conservative party has lost its grip on Fulham then there is hope for people everywhere.”

He claimed that the Prime Minister’s visit to the borough last week was an emergency one and he told us first – exclusively, that as he understood it, last night David Cameron was telephoning people, telling them to vote for his council.

The Conservatives are yet to comment and were quick to leave when the opposition’s win was announced.

Mr Cowan declared to the hall: “David Cameron’s favourite council has just voted Labour!”

When asked whether he would be going for some well-deserved rest after the many interviews that followed, the exhausted but beaming councillor said no, he intended to first share a beer with his colleagues to celebrate.

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