London Assembly election: which seats to watch UK News

Londoners will go to the polls on May 6 to elect the 25 members of the London Assembly as well as the next mayor of London.

The composition of the Assembly will likely be very different after the election, with several resigning and small majorities in some constituencies.

Jennette Arnold and Nicky Gavron of Labor and Tony Arbor of the Conservative Party retire after serving in the Assembly for its 21 years of existence, while MP Gareth Bacon, Andrew Dismore, MP Florence Eshalomi, Dr Alison Moore , Steve O’Connell, Peter Whittle and Assembly Speaker Navin Shah are also resigning or retiring.

Of the 14 constituency seats up for grabs on May 6, there are three that are most likely to move on to another party.

Havering and Redbridge

Currently owned by Keith Prince of the Conservative Party, the constituency of Havering and Redbridge is perhaps the most interesting seat to watch in the election.

The seat, which has been held by the Tories since the Assembly’s first election in 2000, was retained by a majority of just 1,438 in 2016.

Judith Garfield, the Labor Party candidate for the seat this year, hopes to capitalize on the party’s 2.1% increase in votes between 2012 and 2016.

The constituency comprises a mix of Labor and Tory politicians at the local level, with the Havering Borough Council controlled by the Tories while the Redbridge Borough Council is controlled by the Labor Party.

Merton and Wandsworth

The constituency of Merton and Wandsworth had been held by the Tories from 2000 to 2016, when Labor’s Leonie Cooper won the seat.

But with a majority of 4,301 in 2016, the seat will likely be closed again this year and could still change hands.

Louise Calland, who is currently a councilor at Wandsworth, will seek to return the seat to the Tories on May 6.

Like Havering and Redbridge, Merton and Wandsworth present a mix of Labor and Conservatives at the local level, the former being responsible for the Merton Borough Council while the latter leading the Wandsworth Borough Council.

But Wandsworth’s parliamentary constituencies have a strong Labor presence and are represented by MPs Fleur Anderson, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan and Marsha De Cordova.

Midwest

The Central West constituency, which includes the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham, has been Tory-owned since 2000.

The seat is currently held by Tony Devenish of the Conservative Party, who won by a majority of 14,564 in 2016.

Despite this majority, the seat has been identified by Labor and Tories as a potential seat in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Labor’s share of the seat vote fell from just 18.9% in 2004 to 34.7% in 2016, while the Tory vote share moved the other way, from a high of 52.1 % in 2008 to 44.2% in 2016.

Rita Begum is the Labor candidate who will seek to build on that trend this year.

Headquarters throughout London

In addition to the 14 constituency seats available, there are 11 seats where the candidates represent all of London.

A total of 171 candidates representing 18 political parties are running for these seats, which are decided using some form of proportional representation.

The outcome of the constituency seats will have a direct impact on the seats in London, and there is a chance that Town Hall Conservative Leader Susan Hall, who is third on her party’s list of candidates in London , miss a seat.

Elsewhere, the Green Party is hoping to add a third member to its London Assembly squad with a recent YouGov poll showing that Zack Polanski, who is third on their slate of candidates, could be on his way to winning one of the seats in London. .