The Liberal Democrats swept to a commanding victory in the local elections, winning 51 of the council’s 55 seats, all but eliminating the Conservatives as the main opposition.
This landslide means the Lib Dems continue their nearly 40-year dominance of the council, having first taken power in 1990.
The results of Thursday’s election were declared early Friday morning at Westcroft Leisure Centre, Carshalton.
The Lib Dem triumph, gaining 22 seats, came at the expense of the local Conservatives, previously the main opposition. The party was wiped out across the council, losing all 20 of its seats in a crushing defeat that also unseated several long-serving councillors.
Reform UK replaced the Conservatives as the main opposition on the council after its first two councillors were elected in the St Helier West ward.
In Beddington, the Independent Residents lost their grip on the ward, with only Nick Mattey returned to the council alongside two Liberal Democrat councillors — Mattey was a former Lib Dem councillor himself.
Hackbridge also voted to keep one of its Labour representatives in Dave Tchil. Elsewhere, the Greens and the Christian Peoples Party missed out on the night.
Following the result, Councillor Barry Lewis, leader of Sutton Council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “This was a historic night. The people of Sutton have put their trust in the Liberal Democrats once again to keep our borough moving forward — this time with the largest group of Liberal Democrat councillors ever elected across Sutton.
“Faced with a choice between vision and division, voters here backed the Lib Dem plan to deliver the brightest possible future for Sutton. In these difficult times, I am so proud that Sutton chose the politics of hope, community and ambition once again.
“Our larger-than-ever team of local champions will now get stuck in, working hard every single day to deliver results for our community.”
The new council composition will be 51 Liberal Democrats, two Reform UK councillors, one Labour councillor and one independent. Voter turnout in Sutton was 46.78 per cent, up from 2022.
Here are the full results in Sutton
Sutton (Total number of seats: 55)
Winner: Liberal Democrats (hold)
Lib Dem seats: 51 (+23)
Reform: 2 (+2)
Labour: 1 (+1)
Independent: 1 (-4)
Conservative: 0 (-20)