- Labour facing "wipe-out" in London - "Ethnic vote" may play decisive factor in outcome of certain seats
News Desk - John Kaponi
London is gearing up for a joint local and general election with the Conservative party vying to take control of key seats that may hand David Cameron the "keys" to Downing Street on May 6. The seats that the Tories are fighting hard to win include Enfield North currently held by Labour with a slim majority of 1,920 votes, Hendon held by Labour with a majority of 2,699 votes. The BNP may take Barking, currently held by Labour with a majority of 8,883, and may see the 12 council seats held by the BNP become 26 seats and be handed control of Barking borough council. Nick Griffin the leader of the BNP and MEP is also the parliamentary candidate in Barking for the BNP.
The Liberal Democrats are likely to fight hard in Hampstead which could see Labour lose control in Camden and surrounding areas, with Hornsey & Wood Green already a Liberal seat, the centrist Liberal Democrats may play a pivotal role if the Tories are going to surge to power.
Other areas that may see movement if there is a last minute "tsunami" of support for the Tories is the Labour stronghold of Edmonton which sees the "green" Conservative and "kojak-lookalike" Andrew Charalambous who has already spent £142,000 on his election campaign, pitched against Andy Love who holds a solid 8,075 majority. The Conservatives have used the "ethnic" vote to mobilise support and "unlock" pockets of the electorate with appeals ranging from Sri Lanka, Cyprus to local regeneration projects in the area.
The predominant factor to play in London is how hard Labour will fight to "hold" onto solid Labour seats like Edmonton, with Labour benefitting from recent boundary changes, but other seats that due to boundary changes have been transformed from being "safe seats" for Labour, are now high risk to lose; like Hampstead, Battersea, Finchley and Golders Green.
Interesting fights in the capital will be the result in Enfield Southgate, which sees David Burrowes the Conservative incumbent, with a slim majority of 1,747 votes pitched against local Labour Councillor Bambos Charalambous who has already, it is claimed, been winning the large Greek vote which could swing the seat away from the Conservative party to Labour, there are an estimated 15,000 Greeks living in Enfield Southgate.
London Daily News coverage will be update daily on the developments of the general and local elections.
