Labour wins by-election in Lewisham as new councillor for Deptford announced

A South London borough has a new Labour councillor following Thursday's by-election (May 2). David Walker of the Labour Party won a by-election with 2,642 votes and will serve Deptford ward in Lewisham replacing his predecessor and now-mayor of Lewisham, Brenda Dacres.

Adam Pugh of the Green Party received 944 votes, while Lib Dem's Jean Raili Branch received 221 votes. Independent candidate, Tan Bui came fourth with 124 votes and the Conservatives' Hugh Rees-Beaumont received 69 votes. Mr Walker will join Labour councillors Dawn Atkinson and Rosie Parry who also represent the Deptford ward.

READ MORE: London local elections 2024: When results will be announced and why they are so late

This afternoon he wrote on X: "Delighted to be elected as Councillor for Deptford. Thanks to everyone who voted and my brilliant team for getting such a great result" Cllr Atkinson congratulated Mr Walker and wrote on X "welcome to the team".

In March of this year, Ms Dacres was elected as the new Labour mayor of Lewisham and made history as the first Black woman to be directly-elected into a mayoral role. She won the mayoral election with 21,576 votes, which was a 51.5per cent share. Ms Dacres' previous council seat in Deptford was now up for grabs and sparked this week's by-election. She had represented the Deptford ward since 2022, and had previously represented the New Cross ward since 2014.

Don't miss out on the biggest stories from across the city. Sign up to MyLondon's The 12 HERE for the 12 biggest stories each day.