Lib Dems shown as 'hardest working' councillors

Next month, voters in the ward of London Bridge and West Bermondsey will decide who they want to represent them on Southwark Council. The election has been delayed due to the death of a conservative councillor. With Southwark Labour retaining overall control of the council, voters in the ward are focusing their attention on the candidates and how well they’ll be served.

New information released show how many enquiries councillors have made on behalf of their constituents, which acts as a rough guide for the amount of casework they do.

While the Labour councillor for the area only made 15 enquiries on behalf of his constituents last year, the Liberal Democrat councillor Damian O’Brien did 239, meaning he did more for his constituents in a month than the Labour councillor did in a year.

In fact, Cllr O’Brien made more enquiries than 19 other Southwark Labour councillors put together. Top of the list for all councillors was Cllr Anood Al-Samerai, Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Southwark Council and who also represented part of the ward before the boundaries changed. Between the two of them, they made more enquiries on behalf of their constituents than 35 Labour councillors combined.

Commenting on the latest figures, Cllr Anood Al-Samerai said:

‘We’re proud of our record of being local champions who work hard for our area and our constituents. Damian’s proven himself as one of the hardest working of all, in terms of sorting out local residents problems and leading the campaign for a tube station at Bricklayers Arms. With Humaira Ali and William Houngbo joining him in standing for the Liberal Democrats in London Bridge and West Bermondsey, residents have the chance to vote for three first-rate candidates, all of whom live locally and are filled with drive, passion, skills and fresh ideas.’