Tamasin Rhymes won the Shooters Hill by-election on Thursday, June 26 with 34.5 per cent of the vote (869 votes), narrowly beating Labour’s Jummy Dawodu who picked up 30 per cent (756 votes).
Green have said that Tamasin’s campaign focused on representing residents who had grown disillusioned with Greenwich’s Labour-led council over issues such as the repair of council homes and the proposed sale of valued community assets such as the Olympic Equestrian Centre and the Green Garth bungalow at Shrewsbury House.
The by-election came about after Labour councillor Ivis Williams resigned after seven years in post.
She resigned after being threatened with a six-week suspension for speaking out against the disposal of the Equestrian Centre and Green Garth and endorsed Tamasin in the run-up to the election.
Councillor Rhymes said: “I am humbled and thrilled that Shooters Hill residents have chosen me to represent them as the first Green on Greenwich Council. I look forward to working with residents and community groups to propose new solutions to the many issues raised during this campaign. We are listening.
“We are especially grateful for the support during the campaign of Ivis Williams, the previous Labour Councillor who resigned over her treatment when she defended the concerns of a big group of residents who wanted to save the Shooters Hill Equestrian Centre and Green Garth at Shrewsbury House.”
The turnout for the hotly anticipated by-election was 32.6 per cent with a total of 2,518 ballots cast, an improvement on last year’s Shooter’s Hill by-election turnout of 22.51 per cent which saw Labour councillor Raja Zeeshan elected.
Reform, like Green, also achieved its best ever result in Greenwich, with the party’s candidate Paul Banks securing 402 votes and coming in third place.
Posting on social media, a Reform spokesperson said: “Thank you to all 402 residents in Shooters Hill who voted for our candidate Paul Banks.
“Third place and our best ever result in Greenwich. Our progress continues, we are building a team that will win in Greenwich.”
Tim Waters of the Local Conservatives came in fourth with 288 votes, and the Liberal Democrat candidate Kirstie Shedden was fifth with 128.
Independents Nazia Atif Tingay and Arnold Edwin Tarling picked up 57 and 9 votes respectively.
