2014 election results: Time for naval gazing

	2004	2014
Barking and Dagenham	4.6	1.4
Barnet	7.4	8.3
Bexley	4.5	1.3
Brent	7.4	4.5
Bromley	5.9	5.3
Camden	14.8	15.7
Croydon	6.3	8.9
Ealing	8.6	3.8
Enfield	6.5	6.1
Greenwich	8.9	6.9
Hackney	16.7	20.5
Hammersmith and Fulham	10.3	2.5
Haringey	13.5	15.4
Harrow	5.8	1.2
Havering	4.8	1.7
Hillingdon	5.6	3.7
Hounslow	7.4	4.4
Islington	17.1	19.2
Kensington and Chelsea	8.8	1.4
Kingston upon Thames	7.5	6.9
Lambeth	13.9	15.5
Lewisham	12.8	16.3
Merton	8.7	1.8
Newham	5.8	0.6
Redbridge	6.0	2.0
Richmond upon Thames	10.2	6.0
Southwark	10.7	11.9
Sutton	5.2	3.0
Tower Hamlets	8.8	6.5
Waltham Forest	9.3	5.6
Wandsworth	10.7	6.1
Westminster	9.1	5.6

Table shows percentage vote share comparison

In 2004 I fought my first ever elections. I say elections because on the same day of the Mayor and London Assembly elections there was also a by-election in Bensham Manor ward. As constituency candidate for Croydon & Sutton, I polled just under 5 per cent.* It meant the deposit was not saved. I remember at the time my fellow candidate for Havering and Redbridge, Ashley Gunstock, who was later to run for leader, and I were the only candidates in London to lose our deposits. It was a big blow. Nothing can prepare for that feeling.

Fast forward to 2014, ten years later, take out the Green boroughs with a natural green demographic that have elected Green party councillors in the past and present: Lewisham, Hackney, Camden, Southwark and Lambeth and Islington; add in Haringey (which always comes close due to its demographic), and you are left with 24 boroughs. Incredibly, from languishing at the foot of the 'other boroughs', our percentage according to calculations on the London Green Party web site, puts us at the top of the remaining 24 boroughs. WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT!! In fact, under pure PR, the London Green Party article calculates we would have returned 6 councillors.

Picture taken during the 2004 GLA campaign

This change hasn't just happened organically. Croydon's overall demographic hasn't suddenly altered favourably. This has happened through hard work, and those of us that have put in the countless hours, should feel very proud. I am sure this direction of travelhas not gone unnoticed by Croydon Labour:

Exhibit One: Creating a new cabinet post called CLEAN GREEN Croydon!

*For convenience, the percentages are easier to copy and paste, I have taken the ASSEMBLY LIST results from 2004 instead of the constituency results when creating the table.

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Tags croydon, greenparty