Labour has lost a seat on Wandsworth Council following a by-election in West Putney that focused on unpopular development plans on the Ashburton Estate.
Conservative candidate Nick Austin won the ward with 2,839 votes, compared to Labour candidate Jane Briginshaw who polled 2,350 votes. The Liberal Democrats’ Mark Lejman came third with 635 votes and Green candidate Joseph McEntee last with 438 votes.
The vote in what has traditionally been a Conservative stronghold saw the Conservatives increase their vote share by 1.3 per cent while Labour’s fell by 7.7 per cent. The Liberal Democrats also saw an increase of 1.2 per cent, while the Greens fell by 2.1 per cent.
It’s a result that is entirely down to development plans being pushed by the Labour-run administration on Wandsworth Council to create 1,000 new homes in the borough. While some of the plans have proved popular, four sites on the Ashburton Estate in the south of the West Putney ward have been fiercely opposed by locals who accuse the council of repeatedly ignoring their concerns about construction on their only green land as well as parking and storage spaces .
In a recent Council public comment period on the proposed developments, there were 469 objections to the plans by local residents compared to just 2 in favour. As a result, both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats campaigned heavily on the topic, promising to oppose the plans if they won.
Democracy in action?
Local residents reported that Labour Party activists, including Putney MP Fleur Anderson, heavily campaigned in the area in an effort to retain the seat but were met with angry exchanges and even door stickers telling Labour Party members to stay away.
It is unclear whether the result will have an impact on the Council’s housing plans – which also include a number of equally unpopular sites in Roehampton, including Toland Square and the Lennox Estate. There are already rumours that the council intends to scale back its plans for Hayward Gardens after it faced opposition from the Ark Academy school in West Putney.
Residents of Toland Square have also noted that a new roundabout is being installed on the playground where the council has proposed building a three-storey block. If the Council does decide to scrap or scale back its plans, it will be easy to see it as a case of democracy in action.
Although the result will see the Labour party lose a seat on the council and the Conservatives gain one, Labour still holds a 10-seat majority and is unlikely to face a real challenge until the next local elections in May 2026.
