A controversial Green Party candidate has narrowly won a London council by-election despite facing backlash over previous social media posts. Esther Lie secured the Crofton Park ward in Lewisham on Thursday with 1,340 votes, just ten more than Labour's Alex Brooks, who finished second.
Before standing for election, Ms Lie apologized for a now-deleted tweet from 2013 in which she referred to Indian men having “rapey grins.” She explained that the tweet was a response to a personal incident while backpacking and was never intended for public consumption. The Green Party's vote share in the ward dropped by 7.5 points, while Labour's increased by 13.9 points.
Labour accused the Green Party of repeatedly selecting candidates with racist views and failing to properly vet them. The by-election was triggered after Liam Shrivastava vacated his council seat upon being elected as the first Green mayor of Lewisham.
London is facing nine local by-elections this month, costing nearly £250,000. Seven newly elected councillors have already stepped down for various reasons, including six from the Green Party. Among them is Saiqa Ali, a Lambeth councillor who resigned after her arrest for allegedly making antisemitic social media posts.
The election of Zoë Garbett in Hackney means another by-election will be needed to fill her council seat.
