Over 250 new Labour & Co-operative Councillors were elected last week, as well as many existing Councillors returned to serve their communities. The change was most marked with great results in London, 271 Co-operative Councillors were elected, including the biggest number in a single council.

In Greenwich, 39 Labour & Co-operative Councillors were elected, on a manifesto which stated “we believe in co-operatives and will do what we can to support them, and to this end many of us are standing as Labour & Co-operative candidates.”

Other record numbers of Co-operative Councillors were seen in Lambeth (22), Waltham Forest (21), and Lewisham (16). Lewisham also saw one of three new Mayors elected alongside local Councillors. Damien Egan won with 54% of the vote in Lewisham, Rokhsana Fiaz won with 73% of the vote in Newham and Dan Jarvis MP became the first metro Mayor for South Yorkshire. They join Philip Glanville who was re-elected in Hackney with 66% of the vote.

Other votes were closer, in Stockport, David Mellar proved that every vote counts. He won in Cheadle Hulme North by two votes, after three recounts!

Following on from these fantastic results, the Co-op Party is holding a ‘Being the Difference’ Conference in London on 9^th June. This is a great opportunity for Councillors to come together to discuss how we can tackle the issues we face such as housing and what councils look like in a post-Carillion era. The conference will also hear from newly elected Leader of Preston Council, Matthew Brown, on their approach to economic development – the Preston model. Make sure you book your place now!

Finally, a massive thank you to all candidates who stood as Labour & Co-operative in the local elections – taking co-operative values into their communities.