As a former Tory councillor in Wandsworth, James Cousins is still getting used to the idea of voting against his old party. But he decided to cast his ballot for Labour on Thursday, backing the Conservatives’ nemesis in local elections for the first time.
Wandsworth council, his former employer, had been a blue stronghold for 44 years before it turned red this week, after Labour gained 12 seats and the Conservatives lost 18 there.
This central London borough was far from alone in changing allegiance to Labour. Keir Starmer’s party also won large victories elsewhere in the capital, including in Westminster, which until Friday had only had a Conservative-run council.
Speaking after these dramatic flips to Labour, Mr Cousins, who left the Tories in 2015 after almost 17 years as a councillor, told The Independent that change in Wandsworth had been “overdue”.
“I suppose it’s a slightly bittersweet feeling. I have a degree of pride about what I did as a councillor,” he said.
“But councils should be focused on representing what an area stands for. It was a one-trick pony: it just focused on low council tax and property development,” he added, noting his view that the recent Nine Elms regeneration had done little for local residents.
Like other commentators, Mr Cousins suggested the incompetency of Boris Johnson was also to blame for the poor Conservative performance on Thursday. He said even more seats should have been won by opposition parties.
“I don’t understand how people with a conscience can support the Conservatives. There was no compelling reason to do so yesterday,” he said.
He believes his former party needed another “1997 moment”, the year it was last booted out of power and was forced to rethink its priorities.
“It’s no longer a One Nation Conservative party. It has no claim on the capital, Scotland or other devolved nations,” he said. “It’s become an unrepresentative party with the Red Wall and little else.”
Gavin Barwell, the former No 10 chief of staff under Theresa May, also hinted at a malaise within the Conservative party.
“Wandsworth and Westminster were flagship councils. We held them during the Blair honeymoon. We held them during austerity. We held them under Theresa May. Losing them should be a wake up call for the Conservative Party,” he tweeted on Friday morning.
But the prime minister appeared to downplay Tory losses, saying the local elections had provided “a mixed set of results”.
His comment appears to ignore the anger felt by long-standing Conservative voters like Fareed Ishani, who, until Thursday, had never voted for another party.
The 72-year-old, who lives in South Kensington, said he supported the Liberal Democrats on Thursday because he couldn’t face backing the Tories under Mr Johnson. “I just find that they’ve lost humanity, they’ve become very selfish and inward-looking,” he said.
To his mind, this mentality had driven away traditions Conservative voters. “People who live in Wandsworth, South Kensington and Westminster are mostly Tory-minded, as I am. I’d like to see a change of guard.”
Over in Pimlico, Nigel, a 73-year-old retiree, said he did not vote but was glad that the Conservatives, whom he has supported in the past, had lost control of Westminster council.
“They deserved a kicking locally because they’ve been hopeless in Westminster,” he said. “They’ve spent money stupidly like the mound at Marble Arch, plus they’re just very complacent.” The £6 million artificial hill, whose appearance was widely mocked, garnered headlines for opening when it was unfinished and for failing to attract tourists.
For Nigel, the results should not cause undue worry for Mr Johnson and his team though. “I don’t think local elections have any bearing at all on national results,” he said.
However, Sunny, a 53-year-old health worker who also lives in Westminster, disagreed. “It might have national repercussions because people are very angry,” he said, citing Partygate and the cost-of-living crisis as the two main factors.
Around the corner, Christopher, 67, a teacher who has lived in the borough for more than 40 years, stated his belief that local and national politics should be kept separate. For that reason, he said he voted Conservative on Thursday, adding that he was sorry to see the Tories lose Westminster.
“Westminster has been a very well-run borough. It’s had very good services, very low council tax.” He worried this could change under Labour, as did 95-year-old Jane Morgan.
“I have no idea what will happen under Labour. We’ll see,” she said.
