Bye Bullock, Enter Egan

The people of Lewisham have chosen Damien Egan as their new Mayor.

Our first ever directly elected Mayor, Steve Bullock, stood down after 16 years of sterling service to make way for a new candidate. Voters duly installed the next Labour candidate. The full results are as follows:

Councillor Damien Egan - Labour Party - 39951 votes (54%)
Ross Kenneth Archer - The Conservative Party - 9790 votes (13%)
Councillor John Leo Coughlin - Green Party - 7649 votes (10%)
Chris Maines - Liberal Democrats - 6065 (8%)
Duwayne Brooks - Independent - 5480 (7%)
John Nicholas Hamilton - People Before Profit - 4193 (6%)
Will Donnelly - Democrats and Veterans - 445 (1%)

The election produced a surprisingly high turnout (37%), given that the result was a certainty, with the Council chamber a sea of red.

The enduring appeal of People Before Profit is interesting, given that many of their supporters were thought to have been hoovered up by Corbyn-era Labour. Perhaps it shows the power of leafleting at local train stations. And the LibDems still cannot catch a break, despite having once been the main source of local opposition.

Brockley's Green Councillor Leo Coughlin gained a creditable third place finish.

Congratulations to Egan. And good luck.