Louie French MP's latest column in the News Shopper.
At last month’s local elections, our borough returned a Conservative-majority council. To all of you who voted Conservative, I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you. Having spoken to hundreds of people throughout the local election campaign, I know people voted Conservative for a variety of reasons.
Some did so to stop Reform, having seen the damage they’ve done in Kent. Others were considering voting Reform, but ultimately trusted Bexley Conservative candidates to run local services. Many more could no longer recognise the Labour Party or stomach what it stood for.
You backed us because you see that local Conservatives deliver for our community, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.
As your MP, I am proud to have worked alongside community partners to deliver the Community Diagnostic Centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital, two banking hubs in Welling and Sidcup, and the return of more rail services on both the Bexleyheath and Sidcup lines from December. With a Conservative council re-elected with a focus on delivery, we can now do even more.
While some town halls across England have been plunged into uncertainty and political gridlock, Bexley has decisively rejected Labour and Reform’s chaos and division. Twenty-nine Conservative councillors were elected across Bexley, with Labour in a distant second place and Reform third in terms of seats.
Amid the ongoing political flux across the country, our borough remains an oasis of common sense. The message from Bexley residents was clear. They want a Conservative council that will protect our green belt, fix more roads, stop the rise in HMOs, and invest in local services, including our libraries, community centres, and playgrounds.
It will not be easy. The Labour government has weakened green belt protections and cut Bexley Council’s funding. Whilst Sadiq Khan’s planning policies protect HMOs rather than family homes. But as the Member of Parliament for the Old Bexley and Sidcup constituency, I look forward to working with the new local Conservative administration to fight Labour’s policies and deliver for our borough.
But this election also showed something else: the Conservatives are back in London, and Labour’s grip on the London mayoralty is the weakest in more than a decade.
While Reform UK flopped in the capital, the Conservative Party went on to win across London. Bexley, Bromley, the Croydon mayoralty, Kensington and Chelsea, Harrow and Hillingdon were all strongly retained by the Conservatives. Whilst Westminster, Wandsworth and Enfield also went blue. Meanwhile, support for Labour fell almost everywhere, with the Greens taking advantage in Lewisham and parts of North London.
The next mayoral election may be the best chance in years to end Sadiq Khan’s terrible tenure as mayor — but these local elections show that only the Conservatives are best placed to do this. Reform cannot win London, and Bexley residents cannot afford to let the Green Party win London’s mayoralty.
Electing a Conservative Mayor of London in two years is the only way to end Sadiq Khan’s war on motorists, to make London safe again for everyone, to protect our precious green spaces and to get London building again.
As your MP, I look forward to working with the next Conservative mayoral candidate to make this a reality and to ensure that London remains the best City on earth.
