The fall of Westminster Council

Of all the setbacks for the Conservatives in London, the loss of Westminster Council was probably the least expected and the most emblematic. To be sure, as in much of the capital, the Conservative vote had been declining, but the prospect that control would actually change this year seemed unlikely. But it did, and as a resident of south Westminster for more than 20 years, I was an infinitesimal part of the reason.

In 2000, contemplating the move back to the UK from the United States, we bought a flat within the echo (on a quiet day) of Big Ben. That the local authority was Westminister was a consideration. The council drew high praise not only for some of the lowest council tax rates in the country but for running high-quality and efficient services.

And so it seemed. Contacting council departments by phone for various reasons, as a prospective resident may have to do, was almost a pleasure – compared with negotiating the lumbering equivalents in Washington DC, which had been early adopters of press-one-for-this-press-two-for-that automation.