The road to victory Pic: Laerke Nilsen
Labour has taken Croydon for the first time since 2006. In a key victory, Labour gained 7, the Conservatives lost 7.
The new council is Labour 40, Conservative 30.
The vote went Labour’s way after victories in New Addington, Ashburton, Addiscombe, and Waddon.
The Conservatives had some successes in Kenlet where they held on to three seats. But overall Labour went pelting past the finish line.
Purley was one of several areas to switch from Conservative to Labour overnight.
Purley Conservatives spoke of their loss and thanked everyone involved in their campaign:
The count went on throughout the night and well into this morning, with election coverage having to be moved from one building to another because of delays.
You can see a full list of the results as they happened below on our live blog. To see all of the action you may have missed on Twitter, check out the Storify here.
10:35 It’s been a pleasure bringing you all the latest election news from Croydon… but it’s not over yet for East London Lines. Please visit our pages for Hackney, Tower Hamlets, and Lewisham – where we will be providing a similar live blog throughout today
10:34 And that’s it! Croydon election count is officially over!
10:26 Norbury – re-election for Labour – Sherwan Chowdhury, Shafi Khan, and Maggie Mansell
10:24 And it’s Conservative Coulsdon West too – Jeet Bains is joined by new councillors Luke Clancy and Mario Creatura
10:23 Conservative Coulsdon East – re-election for Chris Wright, Margaret Bird, & James Thompson
10:20 Bensham Manor goes Labour with Alison Butler, Jamie Audsley, Humayun Kabir
10:18 Last few updates to come through momentarily and then we’re done for Croydon!
10:07 And another! This time Broad Green – who also re-elect Labour candidates Stuart Collins, Mike Selva, & Manju Shahil-Hameed
10:06 Lots of action here in Croydon – keep following the drama live with East London Lines!
10:05 Selhurst stays Labour, re-electing Tim Godfrey, Toni Letts, and Gerry Ryan
09:57 West Thorton- Labour – Emily Benn, Bernadette Khan, Stuart King elected
09:50 Sanderstead remains Conservative: Lynne Hale, Yvette Hopley, and Tim Pollard all re-elected
09:34 Ashburton changes hands: Maddie Henson, Stephan Mann, and Andrew Rendle take the three seats for Labour
09.13 Results are coming through thick and fast now! Stay with us here for the latest announcements.
08.58 Conservative win in Heathfield: Jason Cummings, Margaret Mead, and Andy Stranack elected.
08.52 Thornton Heath elect 3 Labour Councillors: Patricia Clouder, Karen Jewitt, Matthew Kyeremeh.
Labour takes Thornton Heath Pic: Laerke Nilsen
08.43 Seldon & Ballards ward elect 3 Conservatives: Sara Bashford, Dudley Mead, and Thomas Phil.
Conservative win in Seldon and Ballards Pic: Laerke Nilsen
08.36 Waddon announced 3 Labour winners: Robert Canning, Andrew Pelling and Joy Prince.
Labour winners for Waddon. Pic: Laerke Nilsen
08.19 Croham has elected 3 Conservative councillors.
08.17 Shirley re-elected 3 Conservative councillors Richard Chatterjee, Mike Fisher and Sue Bennett.
Re-elected: Hamida Ali, Tony Newman, and Paul Scott. Pic: Laerke Nilsen
08.02 Labour have taken 3 seats in Woodside: Hamida Ali, Tony Newman, and Paul Scott.
07.51 Lots of results coming in quickly in the past hour. We have been moved upstairs to the sports hall as Trinity School is set to open as usual. We’ll keep the results coming as we get them.
Sean Fitzsimons, Patricia Hay-Justice & Mark Watson take all three seats in Addiscombe. Pic: Laerke Nilsen
07.30 Labour takes all three seats on Addiscombe. Sean Fitzsimons, Patricia Hay-Justice & Mark Watson.
07:10 South Norwood voted Labour on all three councillor seats: Jane Avis, Kathy Bee and Wayne Lawlor.
Held by Conservatives – Kenly Ward. Steve Hollands, Jan Buttinger and Steve O’Connell Photo: Sheila Smith
06:42 After speaking to candidates and winners, the opinion is that the mix of votes are slowing down the count.
06:38 Bensham Manor held by Labour. 31% Turnout.
Carole Bonner and Simon Hall re-election for Fieldway Ward Labour Photo Sheila Smith
07:04 South Norwood held by Labour.
o6:31 It’s a little like waiting for a bus. You wait all night and they all come at the same time.
06:28 Two results for you. Kenley has been held by Conservatives. Fieldway Held by Labour.
05:41 Waiting for news on the next result. We can only assume the elections are very close and re-counts are taking place. Awaiting confirmation on this. Trinity School is due to open today as normal.
Croydon Map. New Addington goes Red. Photo Sheila Smith
Oliver Lewis talks to East London Lines about winning New Addington Ward.
05:00 Lousia Woodley says it’s a good night for Labour and for New Addington. Labour take the ward which was previously split between Conservatives and Labour. Surprise in the hall about UKIP coming in second. Will this be a trend in Croydon?
04:48 Turn out in New Addington was 39%. The ward voted in 2 new members to Council Croydon. UKIP came in 2nd with Conservatives a close 3rd.
New Addington Ward Oliver Lewis and Lousia Woodley – Labour Councillors Photo: Sheila Smith
04:35 Declared New Addington has gone to Labour. New councillors Lewis Oliver and Lousia Woodley are duly election to Croydon Council….more to follow
03:53 As time goes by the speculation grows. Are Labour going to take overall control? Will UKIP have it’s first councillor on Croydon Council? Will the Liberal Democrats still have no councillors. Clock is ticking and the breakfast is out in the canteen.
03:41 Still waiting. No sign of a result yet but the call could come any second.
03:12 We are now expecting the first result near to 04:00. A long hour ahead here in Croydon.
Croydon Council media team hard at work Photo: Laerke Nilsen
03:00 While we wait for the result the media team for Croydon Council are hard at work. 02:52 New Addington is expected to be the first to declare. Tension is high as we await the result. Rumours of an upset are filling the press room.
Press room watching coverage on BBC from Croydon Photo: Larke Soedring Nielsen
02:35 Press room huddle round the TV to watch Winston McKenzie on BBC.
02:19 Winston McKenzie UKIP candidate for South Norwood spoke of the change in politics. UKIP currently on 40 councillors nationally.
02:11 We are now hearing 03:00 for the first result.
01:55 They are still busy counting at Purley Ward. No confirmation yet on which Ward is declaring first.
Purley Ward Election Count Photo: Sheila Smith
01:44 Lots of rumours going around. We are expecting the first result to be called at around 02:15. We will bring you the news as it is confirmed. 01:35 Some of the issues in Croydon have been council tax and fly tipping.
Candidates in the canteen having a cup of tea. Photo: Sheila Smith
01:15 Still about 2 hours until we expect the first result to be called. Time for a cup of tea. 01:04 Candidates are starting to flock into the hall. Nervous huddles are forming. Counters are doing an amazing job as we go into the small hours.
Candidates at Croydon count and waiting for the results. Photo: Sheila Smith
00:53 Noise of ballot papers being counted are filling the hall at Trinity School. Which ward will call first? 00:46 It is past midnight and people seem to be getting more excited as we are getting closer to the moment of revelation. We have a lot of good colleagues here with us today, just to name a few of them Sky News, Croydon Radio, Inside Croydon and Croydon advertiser are tapping away alongside us. Our reporter Sheila Smith went and got a nice view at the count. Check it out!
Coulsdon West count in Croydon Photo: Sheila Smith
23:45 It’s going to be a colourful evening. Just had a look at the different coloured ward shaped pieces for the map. All different colours to represent all the parties who have candidates. 23:25 Will the Liberal Democrats gain a seat tonight? They have not held a council seat in Croydon since 2006. 23:17 New Addington is one of the wards to watch tonight. The two seats for this ward are currently split between Labour and Conservative. 22:52 Only 4 seats between Conservative and Labour. Looking like a close contest for overall control here in Croydon. 22:43 The first ward results are expected at 3:30am.
Map of Croydon Local Council Wards Photo: Sheila Smith
22:23 Croydon’s 316 Candidates are represented by 70 candidates from Conservatives, 70 from Labour, 70 from the Green Party, 46 Liberal Democrats, 42 UKIP, 3 from the Communist Party, 5 from the Trade Unionist & Socialist coalition, 4 from the Independent and 1 from putting Croydon first! 22:09 Starting to get busy in the press area at the Croydon local elections count. East London Lines is ready to give you a live blog update as the results come through. 22:03 The polls have closed. Off we go! The polls are now closed and no more votes may be cast in the borough of Croydon The electoral count is now underway with results expected to be announced overnight. We are running a live blog covering the electoral count in Croydon so stay with East London Lines for the most up-to-date coverage of the event.
