
The Liberal Democrats have easily retained control of Kingston-upon-Thames Council in south-west London.
It is a victory which has seen them keep or win all 27 seats declared so far – with 21 to go.
Kingston has been a Lib Dem stronghold since the party seized control from the Tories in 2018.
Despite the borough’s sky-high council tax emerging as a key issue threatening the party this year, the Lib Dems have secured a comfortable victory.
Former Tory mayor Cllr Roy Arora even failed to defend his seat in Coombe Vale – now represented by three Lib Dems.
Before today, Kingston had 37 Lib Dem councillors, eight Tories and two independents.
The controversial proposed redevelopment of the Kingfisher Leisure Centre also proved a hot topic for locals leading into the election, after the Lib Dem council voted to knock it down in September 2021.
Councillors later voted against a petition signed by 3,869 residents to stop the demolition of the centre.
The issue led to Lib Dem councillor Jon Tolley, who represented the ward, resigning from the party last year.
Boundary changes mean the number of wards in the borough has increased from 16 to 19, but the number of councillors has remained the same at 48.