A Greenwich councillor who quit the Labour Party last year after accusing a colleague of homophobia has joined the Liberal Democrats.
Chris Lloyd, who represents West Thamesmead, becomes the party’s first councillor at Woolwich Town Hall since 2010, the last time more than two parties were represented on Greenwich Council.
Lloyd, who had sat as an independent since December and plans to stand down altogether at the next council election in May 2026, said he was “delighted” to make the switch.
The council will now be made up of 51 Labour councillors, two Tories and a Lib Dem, with one vacancy to be filled at the Mottingham, Coldharbour & New Eltham by-election next month.
Lloyd was first elected in the old Peninsula ward in 2014, moving to West Thamesmead in 2022. He had ambitions to reach Westminster with Labour, having been selected in 2022 to contest North Swindon at the next general election, after impressing during an unsuccessful attempt to stand in a neighbouring seat.
But he quit three weeks later, saying that he was struggling to balance the demands of a new job with his commitments as a candidate.
Lloyd, who had been a chair of scrutiny under former council leader Danny Thorpe, walked out on Labour just after Christmas. He was angry about a remark allegedly made to him by a colleague in the lead-up to the last council elections in 2022, and accused the party of a lack of action.
While the north of the borough returned SDP MPs – Rosie Barnes in Greenwich and John Cartwright in Woolwich – in the late 1980s, the Liberal Democrats have not been a force in Greenwich politics for some years.
Their last two councillors, in the old Middle Park & Sutcliffe ward, were swept away in the 2010 election – held on the same date as the general election that brought the party into a Westminster coalition with the Conservatives.
Overall the party picked up 6 per cent of the vote at the last council election, compared with 12 per cent for the Greens, 23 per cent for the Tories and 58 per cent for Labour.
Lloyd said: “Here in Greenwich, the Liberal Democrats are a positive choice for improving public services, protecting vulnerable communities and tackling inequality.
“Pragmatism has always been an important part of my political outlook, and I wholeheartedly reject the current lurch into populism, both on the left and right.”
“It is easy to become disillusioned with politics and the political process, the current Conservative government has a lot to answer for in that regard. That is why I am making a positive choice to join the Liberal Democrats and play my part in getting a fair deal for Greenwich residents”.
Chris Annous, the Lib Dems’ candidate for Greenwich & Woolwich at the next general election, said: “Chris brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in providing the scrutiny and liberal voice that Greenwich Council needs.
“I look forward to working with Chris to champion the voices of Greenwich residents and to provide the opposition Greenwich & Woolwich deserves at the upcoming General Election, where with the Conservatives in freefall, the Liberal Democrats are the alternative to Labour.”
Labour councillors rounded on Lloyd’s decision, with council leader Anthony Okereke saying on social media: “It is disappointing that this former Labour councillor – elected on a Labour ticket just two years ago – has chosen to ignore the democratic decision of his residents and join another party, rejecting the positive manifesto on which he was elected.
“He should do the right thing, stand down and trigger a by-election for West Thamesmead to give local people the opportunity to decide who they wish to represent them.”
In a message retweeted by Okereke, his Labour colleague, Creekside councillor Calum O’Byrne O’Mulligan, said: “The Lib Dems have a strong record of unprincipled opportunism so I’d say this is probably a good match.”
Lloyd told The Greenwich Wire that he did not wish to comment further. Nationally, Labour recently accepted two Tory MPs – including right-winger Natalie Elphicke – into their fold without a by-election.
Only part of Lloyd’s West Thamesmead seat – the area around the Royal Artillery Quays development – is in the Greenwich & Woolwich constituency that will be contested by Annous. The whole ward moves to Erith & Thamesmead at the next general election, where Pierce Chalmers will be the Lib Dem candidate.
Updated at 4pm to include Labour councillors’ comments.
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