Lewisham parties publish manifestos as Labour faces Green incursions
Lewisham parties published manifesto pledges one day before the local elections, as residents prepare to choose councillors and the mayor who will lead the council for the next four years. In lewisham, 265 candidates are competing for 54 seats across 19 wards, while Labour faces pressure from Green challengers.
Labour and the Conservatives each field 54 candidates. The Green Party has 53 nominees, the Liberal Democrats 52, Reform UK 35 and Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition five. Three independents and three Your Party candidates are also standing, along with one candidate each from the Christian Peoples Alliance, the Climate Party, the Motoring Party and the Communist Party of Britain.
Tony Travers on Labour
Tony Travers, an election expert and professor at the London School of Economics, said: "-it's hard to see Labour controlling anything like the number of seats they have now, but probably they will remain the biggest party but with significant Green incursions." He said that while Labour is still likely to lead, the Greens are positioned to make gains after holding no seats at the 2022 local election, when every seat in Lewisham was won by Labour.
Since then, three councillors have defected from Labour to the Greens, and a fourth councillor, who was suspended by Labour, later joined them. Pollsters at More in Common expect the Green Party to make considerable progress in Lewisham, adding pressure to Labour's effort to hold its current position.
Greens and the mayoral vote
Lewisham is one of five London boroughs with a directly elected mayor, alongside Croydon, Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets. The Greens have pledged to defend LGBTQ+ rights and declare Lewisham a Trans Friendly Borough, setting out one of the clearest contrasts voters will weigh in the mayoral and council contests.
Two candidates, Kim Allenby and Raymond Allenby, did not complete all of the nomination papers. The contest now moves to polling day with the balance between Labour and the Greens likely to shape both the council and the mayoral race.
