The Lib Dems have kept their large majority in another South London stronghold, securing an easy victory in Kingston for the third term in a row.

The Lib Dems have secured 44 out of the 48 seats on Kingston Council – the same number of seats the party won in 2022, but two more seats than it had going into the election on Thursday (May 7).

The party lost a seat to Kingston Independent Residents Group (KIRG) in a by-election in November 2022, while another councillor left the group in 2024.

KIRG held onto both seats in Green Lanes and St James – with leader James Giles securing 1,043 votes, followed by Councillor Yvonne Tracey with 1,001 votes. But the party lost its other seat, as Councillor Jamal Chohan was not re-elected.

The Conservatives also kept both seats in Coombe Hill, with leader Rowena Bass and Councillor Ian George winning the highest number of votes in the ward.

The result means KIRG is no longer the official opposition in Kingston, as it previously had one more councillor than the Tories.

Councillor Giles told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "Whilst obviously we would have liked more Independents to be elected across the borough, our borough-wide vote share was higher than the Labour party, and it is clear that more and more residents are looking for change here in Kingston.

"Whilst the Democrats have once more emerged with a super majority, rest assured we will work day in and out to provide the opposition that Kingston's residents so desperately need. Thank you to everybody who placed their trust in us."

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The result means the Lib Dems will run Kingston for another four years – with their seats well above the 25 needed for a majority – after winning control of the council from the Conservatives in 2018.

The borough is a Lib Dem stronghold and home to party leader and MP Sir Ed Davey.

Lib Dem Council Leader Andreas Kirsch comfortably kept his seat in Chessington and South Malden Rushett, with 1,641 votes, while Lib Dem councillor Emily Davey – Sir Ed's wife – easily retained her seat in Norbiton with 1,416 votes.

The party pledged in its manifesto to continue "caring for the families who call Kingston home, caring for our communities and the people in them, and caring for the environment we share" over the next four years.

The Lib Dems, Conservatives and Labour each stood a full slate of 48 candidates in Kingston, while Reform UK stood 42 candidates and the Greens put forward 41 candidates.

KIRG had 36 candidates, while three candidates from The Official Monster Raving Loony Party and two Independent councillors also battled for a seat.