While the rest of London was busy dissecting the Greens' gains, Reform's rise, and Labour's existential crisis, one leafy west London borough decided to go full totalitarian - in the politest possible way. The Liberal Democrats swept every single seat in every ward in Richmond-upon-Thames on 7 May 2026, leaving the council chamber with all the opposition of a well-run book club.

The Lib Dems now hold 54 seats (up 6), while the Greens lost all five of their previous seats and the Conservatives lost their solitary one. It's a result that has prompted both self-congratulatory back-patting and nervous glances at the democratic mirror.

Council leader Gareth Roberts, who now presides over a one-party utopia, insists the voters simply adore them. "People like us as a council. They like the fact that we deliver good quality services for them and that we make sure that we have this relentless drive for good quality," he told BBC London Politics, adding that they're seen "all year round and not just this election time," which, to be fair, is more than most politicians manage.

When asked how the council will be held accountable with zero opposition, Roberts promised a consultation extravaganza: "We will consult, consult, consult, on everything we do." Because nothing says accountability like asking yourself for feedback.

The local Green party, which lost five seats, was less than thrilled. In a statement on 8 May, the Richmond and Twickenham Green party declared: "The Lib Dems now have a monopoly on this council, which is not a healthy position for our residents as there is nobody to stand up for them if the administration is going in a direction they don't want." They also noted that on doorsteps, residents repeatedly expressed their horror at the prospect of a one-party borough - right before apparently voting for exactly that.

Professor Tony Travers from the London School of Economics, the go-to guy for electoral commentary, warned: "It's not great for democracy because our system as a whole relies on the idea of a majority party and another party who hold them to account, or more than one party who hold them to account." He did offer a sliver of hope: "What you lack is anybody publicly making those opposing views. But having said that, there's still the media, there are still other commentators who can bear down on the council." So, basically, the press will do the opposition's job, as usual.

Meanwhile, Hina Bokhari, leader of the Liberal Democrats group on the London Assembly, struck a tone of magnanimous triumph: "We've won 100% of the seats but we do still support proportional representation and we want to make sure that every vote counts." She then casually dropped the political equivalent of a mic: "It's interesting that when Labour was running councils with 100% Labour councillors nobody was talking about that issue then." Touché.

So, Richmond-upon-Thames is now a one-party borough, joining the ranks of Lewisham and Barking and Dagenham in 2022, though those were Labour's doing. The Lib Dems promise to consult, the Greens promise to grumble, and the rest of us promise to watch with mild amusement.