Residents of Lewisham will go to the polls on Thursday, 5 May, in local elections for the mayoral seat and all 54 council positions.
This is the first borough-wide election in Lewisham since the council redrew the boundaries for all but two wards in 2020.
Lewisham had 18 wards but undertook the redistricting effort following concerns about electoral inequality.
The borough now has 16 three-councillor wards and three two-councillor wards, although the number of councillors, 54 has remained the same.
Who are the council candidates?
Lewisham has been a Labour stronghold since 1971, and in the 2018 election, Labour won every council seat for the first time.
In 2019, however, Councillor Alan Smith resigned from the Labour Party in protest over Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership and became the borough’s only independent councillor.
In this election, several seats face strong challenges from the Greens, Liberal Democrats, and Conservatives.
Brockley in particular could see an upset from the Greens, who held all three council seats in 2006.
Labour is running on a campaign to build 800 new social homes, implement a new Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, and crack down on fly-tipping and graffiti, among other pledges.
The full list of councillors running for election and re-election can be found on the Lewisham Council’s website, here.
Who are the mayoral candidates?
Standing for re-election is Lewisham Mayor Damien Green, who won office in 2018 with 54% of the vote.
He is running against six other candidates: Caroline Attfield (Conservative), Nick Humberstone (Green), Chris Maines (Liberal Democrats), Andy Beadle (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition), Roger NM Mighton (Independent), and Maureen Maud Martin (Christian Peoples Alliance).
Martin drew criticism recently for an “anti-gay” campaign leaflet that included her position on marriage.
The leaflet stated in part that: “Natural marriage between a man and a woman is the fundamental building block for a successful society, and the safest environment for raising children.”
When does voting take place?
Polls open at 7am on 5 May and close at 10pm.
The results of the vote will be announced on Friday, 6 May, from 1pm onwards.
Featured image credit: Via Flickr, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
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