London election results 2022: Labour wins Westminster, Wandsworth and Barnet

Labour has won three councils from the Conservatives in London, taking control of the borough of Westminster for the first time.

The borough in which 10 Downing Street sits had been run by the Tories since its creation in 1964.

Labour also won Wandsworth, which had been Tory-held for decades, and Barnet, but in a surprise result lost Harrow to the Conservatives.

The outgoing leader of Wandsworth said Boris Johnson had lost his party votes.

Ravi Govindia admitted people in the south-west London borough raised the prime minister's leadership during the campaign.

"Inevitably, other events have clouded the judgement of people in Wandsworth," he said.

Mr Govindia added he had run the "most successful council" with council tax cut and rent frozen.

"We have done exactly what the residents of Wandsworth wanted," he said.

"To find that counts for nothing is a sad reflection of the importance of local government not being recognised."

The incoming leader of Westminster City Council, Adam Hug, promised a "root-and-branch re-evaluation of everything the council does".

Mr Hug said: "It's an enormous honour to be given the support of the people of Westminster."

Wandsworth Council was a favourite of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who came to power a year after the Conservatives took control of the borough.

The local authority had a reputation for slashing council tax and privatising council services, like bin collections.

Formerly a Conservative stronghold, the seat became a marginal in 2018 following a 4.1% swing to Labour.

The borough's three parliamentary constituencies have all been represented by Labour MPs since 2019, when Fleur Anderson took Putney from the Conservatives.

A Labour Party source described Wandsworth as the "Tories' jewel in the crown".

The borough's incoming leader Simon Hogg promised to "build a compassionate council that truly listens and [to] keep that same low council tax".

He said: "When we were calling around on voters we didn't even have to raise Partygate, we didn't have to mention Boris Johnson.

"People have formed their own views on this government, so I am afraid it is time for change at the top as well."

However, in a surprise result Labour lost the borough of Harrow with the Tories assuming overall control of the council for the first time since 2006.

Paul Osborn, the incoming leader of Harrow Council, described the victory as a "big day for Harrow" which showed the Conservatives "can win in London". 

In another shock result, Labour's incumbent mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs was beaten by Lutfur Rahman.

Mr Rahman, standing for the Aspire party, was removed as mayor of the east London borough in 2015 and banned from office for five years after being found guilty of election fraud.

However, he beat Mr Biggs after second preference votes were counted.

Barnet Council in north London, which had been taken by the Conservatives in all but two elections since 1964, was Labour's other big win in the capital.

Barnet Conservative leader Daniel Thomas said: "I think this is a warning shot from Conservative supporters", adding that he believed "a fair number of Conservative voters... just didn't go out to vote".

"Clearly, if Labour are to get a majority in Parliament they need to win Barnet. They won the council; if they win our parliamentary constituencies as well, then it doesn't bode well for us to form a government in future general elections."

Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit, said Labour's wins had "huge symbolic value".

"Losing all three of these councils in a single election will be a big blow to Conservative morale," he said.

"At the same time, it's part of a longer-term trend in which Labour has tightened its grip on inner London."

The majority of councils have been declared in the capital.

Croydon and Tower Hamlets are expected to declare on Saturday, while the final result in Havering is not expected until Monday because of a recount in one ward.

The mayoral elections in Hackney, Lewisham and Newham have all been won by Labour candidates. The result in Croydon is yet to be declared.

By BBC London's political editor Tim Donovan

In 1990 Conservative success in Wandsworth and Westminster enabled then party chairman Kenneth Baker to spin disastrous results overall into a kind of victory.

Now we've seen the inverse of that.

While there may be some reasons for Boris Johnson to be cheerful in parts of the North and the Midlands, it will be eclipsed by the loss of these totemic London councils.

It is a dangerous political moment for him.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan listed every one of the previous Tory leaders who managed to hang on to them - even in bleak times.

He has more reason than most to understand the Labour agony it's entailed. As a local councillor, Mr Khan fought - and failed - to dislodge the Tories from Wandsworth over more than a decade.

Tory candidates departed the count ashen-faced, declining to comment leaving their outgoing leader to front up.

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