Greenwich Labour retain Shooters Hill seat in council by-election victory

The entrance to Woolwich Town Hall, where Greenwich Council hold its meetings, Greenwich, London, UK
-Credit: (Image: Joe Coughlan)


A Greenwich by-election last week saw Labour retaining its stake in the area following the resignation of a former council leader. Labour candidate Raja Zeeshan has been elected to represent the Shooters Hill ward for Greenwich Council in a by-election held on Thursday (November 14), having received 1,043 votes.

The newly elected councillor comfortably won with Ezra Aydin of the Conservatives claiming 237 votes. Green candidate Tamasin Rhymes came in third with 185 votes with Reform UK's Alan Cecil following closely with 179 ballots.

Kirstie Shedden of the Lib Dems garnered 158 votes. The turnout for the by-election was 22.5 per cent, with 1,811 ballots cast in total. The vote was called following the resignation of Labour Councillor Danny Thorpe.

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Newly elected councillor Charlie Davis joins Cllr Pat Greenwell to represent the Conservatives in the Eltham Town & Avery Hill ward
The result comes after Charlie Davis joined Cllr Pat Greenwell to represent the Conservatives in the Eltham Town & Avery Hill ward following another by-election last month -Credit:Greenwich Conservatives

Cllr Thorpe served as an elected official for over 20 years and was a former leader of the council until May 2022. He announced his departure on X at the end of September, stating he was no longer able to dedicate the time he once had to his duties.

The win means the Labour Group retains its 50 seats on Greenwich Council, while four seats are occupied by the Conservatives and one final seat remains empty. The result follows two earlier by-election wins by the Conservative Group this year with Councillor Roger Tester now representing the Mottingham, Coldharbour & New Eltham ward and Councillor Charlie Davis claiming the Eltham Town & Avery Hill seat.

A fourth by-election for the authority's empty West Thamesmead seat will take place on December 19 following the resignation of Lib Dem Councillor Chris Lloyd. The former member served as a Labour councillor for nearly ten years before resigning his membership in December 2023.

Cllr Zeeshan and Greenwich Labour were approached for comment, but had not responded at the time of publication.

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