Brent Labour leader Muhammed Butt says his council still needs to do more, despite losing just eight seats out of 57.
A sea of red rosettes loudly cheered during every declaration as they dominated the seats in the borough of Brent.
However, Butt has said that there is still work to be done to reconnect with residents.
He said: “Obviously we have won the council, but now it is about how do we take that win and reconnect with our voters, residents, businesses and everything else in a meaningful manner.
“One of the things I want to do is to have conversations, not just from the councillors, not just with the members of the party, but with the residents about what change they want.”
The voting numbers in Brent as a whole were poor, with most wards’ turnout percentage between 20-30%.
This is clearly an issue that Muhammed wants to address and something which he says needs to change in future.
He said: “Some of the turnout has been low and we need to work on that.
“It has been quite challenging and I think the situation around the country, the cost of living crisis and everything else had an impact on how people choose to come back to vote.”
Despite this, Muhammed was overjoyed that the residents of Brent put their trust in him and his team.
He said: “Being given that mandate by the people of Brent just reinstills that confidence that people have given us over the last 10 or 12 years.
“I’m delighted for all my colleagues who have been elected to stand as the voice and advocate of Brent residents – it’s truly a proud moment and it’s something that needs to be cherished.
“Every single one of those individuals who came out and gave us that vote signifies something really important that they have trusted us and they want us to take that trust forward.”
Brent Conservative leader Suresh Kansagra was especially happy with his party retaining the three seats in the Kenton ward, in spite of Labour’s supremacy.
He said: “It’s been fantastic. I’ve really enjoyed the campaign itself and we’re extremely satisfied with the result.
“Although the turnout was low across the borough, they turned up for us in Kenton.”
Labour is the only party that has held Brent since 1971, and it is certainly going to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
The Liberal Democrats managed to triple their seats in Brent having previously only had one seat, which has now risen to three.
Anton Georgiou was the only Lib Dem councillor in Brent and he retained his seat in Alperton and was joined in that ward by fellow Lib Dem Hannah Matin, and Paul Lorber became the third Lib Dem councillor in Sudbury.
Georgiou said: “It is so amazing to have two Lib Dems elected in Alperton and Paul Lorber in Sudbury – it means we now officially have a group of Lib Dems elected onto Brent council!
“Nationally, the Lib Dems are on the up, we are gaining council seats up and down the country.
“I think it speaks to the disillusionment that people have with both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party at the moment.
“Obviously people are turning to the Lib Dems– the real hard-working community champions that we are.
“I’m over the moon that we’ve got loads of Lib Dem councillors elected both in Brent now, and across the country.”
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