Merton London Borough Council elections
Introduction A map showing the wards of Merton from 2002 to 2022Merton London Borough Council in London, England is elected every four years; it has administrative control over the London Borough of Merton.Since the last boundary changes in 2022, 57 councillors have been elected from 20 wards.
History === Establishment ===The thirty-two London boroughs were established in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963.They are the principal authorities in Greater London and have responsibilities including education, housing, planning, highways, social services, libraries, recreation, waste, environmental health and revenue collection. Some of the powers are shared with the Greater London Authority, which also manages passenger transport, police and fire.=== Political control ===Since the foundation of the council, political control of the council has been held by the following parties:Party in control  Years   1964–1968   1968–1971   1971–1974   1974–19891989–1990   1990–2006   2006–2014   2014–present===Leadership===The leaders of the council since 1965 have been: Councillor Party  From  To Vincent Talbot   1965 1971 Dennis Hempstead   1971 1974 Vincent Talbot   1974 1975 Allan Jones   1975 1980 Harry Cowd   1980 1988 John Elvidge   1988 1990 Geoffrey Smith   1990 1991 Tony Colman   1991 1997 Mike Brunt   1997 1999 Philip Jones   1999 2000 Peter Holt   2000 25 Apr 2001 Andrew Judge   25 Apr 2001 24 May 2006 David Williams   24 May 2006 26 May 2010 Stephen Alambritis   26 May 2010 18 Nov 2020 Mark Allison   18 Nov 2020 8 May 2022 Ross Garrod   25 May 2022
Local political parties === Longthornton and Tamworth Residents Association ==='''Longthornton and Tamworth Residents Association''' is a residents association in the Longthornton area, which lies in the triangle between Pollards Hill, Streatham Vale and Mitcham Eastfields. Between 1964 and 1994, LTRA contested elections in Merton, initially in the Mitcham Central ward. After the borough's wards were redrawn in 1978 and the Mitcham Central ward abolished, the LTRA contested elections in the Longthornton ward.LTRA won between three and four seats in the elections between 1964 and 1978.At the 1982 election, it was defeated by the Conservatives, who took all three seats in Longthornton. It subsequently regained a seat at a by-election in March 1984 and retook all three seats in the 1986 election. At the 1994 election, LTRA lost two seats to Labour. This was the last election that was contested by LTRA. By the time of the 1998 election, its last councillor no longer sat for the party.=== Merton Park Ward Residents Association ==='''Merton Park Ward Residents Association''' is a residents association in the Merton Park ward. The MPWRA has two councillors on Merton London Borough Council, and for this purpose is registered as the political party '''Merton Park Ward Independent Residents'''.The MPWRA was formed in 1989 in order to contest a by-election that October in the Merton Park ward, caused by the resignation of a Conservative councillor. The MPWRA opposed the proposed extension of the A24 relief road across a corner of the Merton Park Conservation Area, which required the demolition of several Victorian houses. At the by-election, Bridget Smith was elected for the MPWRA; this hung the council. In the following year's local elections, the MPWRA gained all three council seats of the Merton Park ward, becoming the third-largest party on the council. The A24 relief road was not extended.The MPWRA held every seat in the ward in all subsequent elections, although the number of seats for the ward was reduced to two ahead of the 2022 elections. After the 2010 elections, the MPWRA provided support for a minority Labour administration until Labour regained a majority at the 2014 elections. Following seat gains for the Liberal Democrats on other wards at the 2018 elections, the MPWRA became the fourth-largest party on the council.Since its founding, the MPWRA has campaigned for the redevelopment of Nelson Hospital and the regeneration of Morden's town centre. The MPWRA publishes a quarterly local publication known as Forum.ElectionSeatsVotesBorough-wide resultCouncillors#% in ward+/-% in boroughPositionAdministration123199035,56751.1%''n/a''3.1% 3rd Bridget SmithDese ChildNeville Beddoe199435,86059.3%8.2%3.6% 3rd 199834,41552.4%6.9%3.4% 3rd John Nelson Jones200234,33454.1%1.7%3.4% 3rd Jillian AstonPeter Southgate200634,81550.0%4.1%3.0% 3rd Karin ForbesKrysia Williams201037,57253.0%3.0%2.9% 3rd John Sargeant201436,22263.7%10.7%3.7% 3rd Edward Foley201835,89856.7%7.0%3.3% 4th Dickie Wilkinson202225,89859.9%3.2%2.1% 4th Stephen Mercer=== Borough result maps ===File:Merton London UK local election 2002 map.svg|2002 results mapFile:Merton London UK local election 2006 map.svg|2006 results mapFile:Merton London UK local election 2010 map.svg|2010 results mapFile:Merton London UK local election 2014 map.svg|2014 results mapFile:Merton London UK local election 2018 map.svg|2018 results map
List of council elections * 1964 Merton London Borough Council election* 1968 Merton London Borough Council election* 1971 Merton London Borough Council election* 1974 Merton London Borough Council election* 1978 Merton London Borough Council election (boundary changes increased the number of seats by three)* 1982 Merton London Borough Council election* 1986 Merton London Borough Council election* 1990 Merton London Borough Council election* 1994 Merton London Borough Council election (boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same)* 1998 Merton London Borough Council election (boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same)* 2002 Merton London Borough Council election (boundary changes increased the number of seats by three) * 2006 Merton London Borough Council election* 2010 Merton London Borough Council election* 2014 Merton London Borough Council election* 2018 Merton London Borough Council election* 2022 Merton London Borough Council election (boundary changes reduced the number of seats by three)
By-election results ===1964-1968===There were no by-elections.===1968-1971======1971-1974======1974-1978======1978-1982===The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. George Watt.The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. William A. Hillhouse.===1982-1986===The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Peter J. Glasspool.The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. Michael L. Page.The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Nancy Bone.The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Robert A. Dilley.===1986-1990===The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. James B. Garwood.The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. David Mason.The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. David T. Williams.The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Kathryn E. Nicholls. The result meant that the Conservatives lost their one-seat majority on the council, placing the council under no overall control until the next election. This was the first election ever contested by the Merton Park Ward Residents Association, which had run in opposition to the council's proposed extension of the A24 relief road.===1990-1994===The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Michael J. G. Menhinick.===1994-1998===The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. David R. Proctor.The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. Arthur M. Kennedy.===1998-2002===The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Terence J. Daniels.The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Jennifer Willott.===2002-2006===The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Tony Giles.The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Leslie D. Mutch.===2006-2010===There were no by-elections.===2010-2014===The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Tariq M. Ahmad.The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. Gam Gurung.===2014-2018===The by-election was triggered by the death of Cllr. Maxi Martin of the Labour Party.The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Imran Uddin of the Labour Party.===2018-2022===The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Mark Kenny of the Labour Party.The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Cllr. Kelly Braund of the Labour Party.
References '''Notes''''''References'''*  By-election results
External links * Merton Council