In the General Election held on 4 July 2024 our Liberal Democrat candidates won convincing victories in the two Parliamentary constituencies that make up the London borough of Sutton. Our candidates – Luke Taylor in Sutton and Cheam and Bobby Dean in Carshalton and Wallington – recorded significant victories to take the two seats from the Conservatives. Trish, Louise and Richard were part of the team working for Luke in the period leading up to the election. Luke and Bobby are among 72 Liberal Democrat candidates elected to the new House of Commons.

 

Luke’s victory means that for the first time, here in Sutton South Ward, we have three Liberal Democrat Councillors and a Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament, serving our residents. Luke made an excellent maiden speech in the House on 8 October, taking the opportunity to emphasise what a great place Sutton is.

 

This success followed on from some remarkable victories for Liberal Democrat candidates in the local elections held nationwide on 2 May 2024. Across England, Liberal Democrats won 521 Council seats, more than the Tories, with a net gain of 104 seats.

 

Trish stood as our candidate in the Greater London Authority constituency elections. Our constituency covered Croydon as well as Sutton so this was not a winnable seat for the Liberal Democrats. However, Trish performed remarkably well. She pushed our share of the vote up from 14.4% to 15.8%. We were one of only five constituencies where we beat both the Greens and Reform, taking third place in the constituency member vote.

 

 

In the Mayoral election our candidate, Rob Blackie, performed well. Sadiq Khan won the Mayoralty despite the unpopularity locally of ULEZ, a policy we have opposed. Our views on ULEZ are set out in articles further down. Below is a photo of our visit to City Hall, the HQ of the Mayor of London, on 30 June 2023 to present the petition expressing opposition to ULEZ signed by over 10 000 Sutton residents.