Mr Prince said the current London Mayor has not dealt with knife crime, stating "I’m sorry but I don’t think the mayor has a handle on it or the right approach, and that’s reflected in the numbers. Let’s hope he wakes up and smells the coffee."
Local democracy reporter Sebastian Mann today writes on the re-election of Conservative GLA Member Keith Prince.
Councillor Keith Prince has committed to “standing up” for Havering and Redbridge after securing another term on the Greater London Authority.
The Conservative candidate won on Saturday (4th May) with a comfortable majority of 65,037 votes, beating Labour candidate Guy Williams by around 15,500.
The May local elections were generally a poor show for the Tories, who lost 474 seats while Labour gained 186 across 107 councils.
But Councillor Prince said his victory “reflected his commitment” to constituents.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “For us, it was a mixed result.
“But I’m honoured that the people of Havering and Redbridge have chosen to re-elect me and with a similar majority as before.
“Hopefully, that’s a reflection of the commitment I give to the people. I’ll be standing up for them and using my position on the borough to win gains for the two boroughs.”
Cllr Prince, who also leads the Tory group on Havering Council, was first elected to the position in 2016. He is one of 25 assembly members that comprises City Hall, alongside the Mayor of London.
He was re-elected for the first time in 2021, securing 77,278 votes against Labour candidate Judith Garfield’s 61,941.
Though he has disagreed with Labour mayor Sadiq Khan over issues with knife crime, he said he was “not combative” and thought it was “far more important” they worked together for the sake of the boroughs.
The biggest advantage of continuing on the London Assembly, he said, was using his platform to “bring different organisations together”.
He said his priorities would be addressing homelessness in not just the boroughs but across the capital, as well as working to reduce knife crime.
He added: “I’m sorry but I don’t think the mayor has a handle on it or the right approach, and that’s reflected in the numbers. Let’s hope he wakes up and smells the coffee.”
Prior to his time in City Hall,
Cllr Prince said he worked with the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC) and found that stop-and-search policies “very clearly worked”.
He said: “When you reduce that, knife crime goes up. I told the mayor in 2016 that his decision would be fatal and he mocked me. But, unfortunately and regrettably, it has come true – and he still hasn’t got the message.”
Sadiq Khan was criticised for dismissing the extent of knife crime in the capital, shortly before a 14-year-old boy was killed in Hainault, but has pledged to continue funding for youth work and mentoring in a bid to tackle the issue.
In his victory speech, delivered in the ExCel building in Newham on Saturday evening, Cllr Prince thanked his team for their hard work and his opponents for running “clean and good” campaigns.
Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall performed similarly well in the constituency, receiving 82,859 votes against the 50,780 share for Labour’s eventual victor, Sadiq Khan.
Labour holds eleven seats on the assembly, the Tories hold eight and the Greens three. The only difference between 2024 and 2021 is that the Tories are down one.
The voter turnout for Redbridge and Havering was 42.94%, slightly above the overall London-wide turnout of 40.5%.
Keith Prince received the winning share of 65,037 votes, followed by Labour’s Guy Williams with 49,561.
Alex Wilson, with Reform UK, came third with 19,696 votes and the Green Party’s Kim Arrowsmith followed with 15,010.
Mohammed Asif, an independent, received 11,768 votes and Fraser Coppin, the Liberal Democrats’ candidate, came second-to-last with 8,240.
Meanwhile, Andy Walker, standing for Trade Unionist and Socialists Against Cuts, received 2,145 votes.
As reported in The Havering Daily on May 8th 2024: www.thehaveringdaily.co.uk/2024/05/08/keith-prince-re-elected-as-haveri…
