Local elections: Margaret Thatcher’s favourite council Wandsworth distances itself from No 10

The Conservatives’ defeat in Wandsworth is a historic moment that speaks to the fracturing of Boris Johnson’s electoral coalition.

Wandsworth has been a Conservative stronghold for the past 44 years with one of the lowest rates of council tax in London. The leafy borough stretches from Battersea to Putney and was Margaret Thatcher’s “favourite council”.

In an attempt to keep residents happy ahead of the local elections, the borough announced that it would live up to its Thatcherite principles and cut council tax this year — the only local authority in London to do so.

But the local Conservative party’s attempts to distance itself from the party antics in Westminster have failed as Labour secured overall control, beating the Tories into second place with