Sixteen years of a Conservative representative for Merton and Wandsworth on the London Assembly has ended with the election of Labour’s Leonie Cooper.
Ms Cooper, a Wandsworth councillor for Furzedown, won her seat on the Assembly by a margin of just one per cent, knocking Conservative councillor for Merton, David Dean, into second place.
Speaking after the results, Cllr Cooper said she was “elated”.
She said: “"We would not have managed this without a lot of people who have worked their socks off for me. I take my hat off to them. You probably shouldn't mix socks and hats, but there you go.
"I have been working for this since 2007, when I stood last time. It's been a very long time coming, and I couldn't be happier."
Shadow Chancellor and close friend of Cllr Cooper, John McDonnell MP, attended the Olympia Centre in Kensington to hear the results.
He said: "Leonie has been a great friend of mine for a long time. Over the years we have worked together countless times.
"This is a recognition of her hard work and dedication to the local community.
"I'm so pleased for her. She is so dedicated, so hardworking, and she is never beaten."
Cllr Dean, who insisted he had not checked the results all day and was waiting for the final announcement, left before the results were read out.
Follow all our live coverage of the London Mayor and Assembly election results day here
The final results for Merton and Wandsworth were:
Leonie Cooper (Labour) - 77,340
David Dean (Conservative) - 73,039
Esther Obiri-Darko (Green Party) - 14,682
Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett (Liberal Democrats) - 10,732
Elizabeth Eirwen Jones (UKIP) - 8,478
Thamilini Kulendran (Independent) - 1,142
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