A third recount in one ward and the shock defeat of the council leader in Merton couldn’t stop Labour retaining control of the authority for another four years.
Most of the ward results came in early on Friday morning however Lower Morden ward required several recounts, with the third scheduled to take place at 14:00 BST.
But, by that point Labour had secured its majority, winning 29 of the 57 seats up for grabs, despite its incumbent council leader Mark Allison losing his seat to Liberal Democrat Kirsten Galea.
She was one of 17 Lib Dems to secure a seat, marking a strong performance from the party which gives them some clout as the biggest group in opposition.
It came at the expense of the Conservative Party which took a pasting, winning just six seats, having held 17 the previous day.
Merton Park Ward Independent Residents won the two seats up for grabs in their ward after one seat was lost in a boundary review.
The boundary review means most wards in the borough have slightly changed and the council now has a total of 57 councillors, a reduction of three seats.