A Bermudian politician saw off eight opponents to hold on to her position as a councillor in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London.

Jahdia Spencer, who won a ward councillor seat in West Thamesmead in a December 2024 by-election, retained her seat with 589 votes.

While the ruling Labour Party faced losses elsewhere in the election, the party held on to both of the councillor seats up for grabs in West Thamesmead, with her fellow party member, Nathan Baffour-Awuah, receiving 718 votes.

Ten candidates put their names forward in the election, representing five parties, and voter turnout was 30.3 per cent.

In a brief speech delivered after the results were released, Ms Spencer thanked the Labour Party, her fellow candidates and her family in Bermuda.

She said that the election was just the beginning.

“We are going to keep doing what we have been doing, being active, being involved in the community and getting things done,” she added.

Speaking to The Royal Gazette, Ms Spencer said that it felt great to retain her seat.

She added: “It was a difficult one, as you can see by the numbers. I was also in a difficult position because my last name is Spencer, which meant I was at the very bottom of the ballot sheet and I really had to rely on name recognition.”

Ms Spencer was grateful to hold on to her seat because her 18 months in office had not been sufficient time to accomplish everything she hoped to do in the area.

She said: “At the moment, there’s not community spaces in West Thamesmead at all. That’s one thing I would like to push for. The other thing I would like to do is really look at better using our green spaces”

She also wants to continue working with the police to ensure residents feel safer and to support schools in the area.

Asked about similarities between politics in Bermuda and Britain, she felt one commonality was the need to get more of the community involved.

Ms Spencer said: “Voter apathy is really a problem across the world. You can see it in the UK and you can see it in Bermuda. In West Thamesmead, turnout was only about 30 per cent.

“I think it's about making sure people know who we are, what we do and getting them involved, and that starts with local pride. One thing Bermuda is great at is Bermudian pride.”

She said that pride in the community would help to address issues such as littering and fly-tipping and have a wider positive impact on the area.

Her seat was one of 55 in Greenwich and more than 5,000 across 136 local authorities in England up for grabs in the election.

The Labour Party retained control of Greenwich overall, securing 35 seats, but the party was dealt heavy blows elsewhere losing more than 1,100 councillor seats across the UK with Reform UK gaining about 1,300 seats.

Labour also suffered an historic defeat in Wales, losing control of the Welsh parliament after 27 years in power to Plaid Cymru.

Ms Spencer, who grew up in Loyal Hill, Devonshire, and is a digital information officer for Southwark Council’s Department of Culture, serves on various council committees and is governor of a local primary school.

She became fascinated with politics when her grandmother, Pat Brangman, took her to a Progressive Labour Party rally, aged 8. She went on to study the subject at school and university, as well as becoming youth leader of the island’s Free Democratic Movement.

Ms Spencer told The Royal Gazette earlier this week that she had been busy canvassing for herself and other Labour Party colleagues.