Closer Than Expected Contest in Brentford West By-election
Labour's Emma Yates wins by fewer than two hundred votes
New Brentford West Councillor Emma Yates was joined by Sadiq Khan when campaigning
May 3, 2024
The fiercely fought by-election in Brentford West has ended with a victory for the Labour candidate Emma Yates although the margin of victory was less than many predicted.
The contest was held on Thursday (2 May) the same day as the Mayoral and Greater London Assembly Elections resulting in a higher turnout than normal for a council ward by-election with 45% of the electorate of around 6,000 participating.
Labour's Emma Yates topped the poll with 988 votes just 190 ahead of second placed candidate Theo Dennison who is a fierce critic of the ruling administration.
Although like for like comparisons are difficult due to the previous contest being for two ward seats, Labour's share of the vote has dropped considerably with the number of people supporting them lower than last time out even though fewer people voted in 2022.
The outcome will have been a disappointment to the Greens who saw their vote fall but Conservative candidate Michael Denniss polled almost the exact same number as in 2022 which, in the context of a generally dreadful day for his party, could be taken as a positive.
Ms Yates, who works as an assistant to Seema Malhotra the MP for Feltham and Heston, was felt by many observers to have adopted a low profile during the campaign which was dominated by the issue of the closure of the Watermans Arts Centre.
After the result she said, “I am honoured that the people of Brentford West have placed their trust in me to represent them. We chose to run a positive campaign focusing on Hounslow Labour’s record of achievement, and the need to build a fairer, greener, safer Brentford. Now the hard work begins, I can’t wait to get stuck in.”
Brentford West By-election Result May 2024 |
||
Name of Candidate |
Description |
Number of Votes |
YATES Emma |
Labour Party |
988 |
DENNISON Theo Christopher |
Independent |
798 |
DENNISS Michael |
The Conservative Party |
414 |
SUMMERSGILL Freya Caroline |
Green Party |
338 |
FRANCIS William James |
Liberal Democrat |
126 |
VINER John Nelson |
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition |
33 |
This was only the second election held in the ward which was created in 2022.
The ward, which roughly speaking is bounded by Boston Manor Playing Fields in the north, the River Brent in the west, Ealing Road in the East and Albany Road in the south.
Brentford West Result May 2022 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
Labour |
Guy Lambert |
1,183 |
51.8 |
Labour |
Lara Parizotto |
1,119 |
49.0 |
Green |
Stephen Paul Clark |
669 |
29.3 |
Conservative |
Michael James Annear Denniss |
410 |
17.9 |
Conservative |
Zoe Louise Nixon |
392 |
17.2 |
Green |
Tony Firkins |
367 |
16.1 |
Independent |
Bob Ayres |
226 |
9.9 |
Turnout |
2,285 |
36.06 |
|
The seat was vacated following the resignation of Lara Parizotto who stepped down for personal and work-related reasons. She was elected in May 2022 with nearly half voting for her as a Labour candidate. She subsequently left the part due to a range of differences on policy.
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