The Liberal Democrats are locked in a fierce political fight against Labour as they seek to win control of their fourth council in the capital.
Party leader Sir Ed Davey joined activists in Merton, south-west London, as they focused on key wards in the borough which could decide who runs the council after May 7.
In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the local elections, Sir Ed said his party was repelling the big squeeze on London politics by Zack Polanski’s Green Party and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
“Look at our strongholds in south-west London, in Richmond, Kingston and Sutton,” he said.
“We're going to fight them off and actually beat Greens in places like Richmond and Kingston. People don't want Reform.
“So, I'm really confident we can hold those three councils, but actually do even better elsewhere.
“Here in Merton, we could make a historic victory and take control of the council, run for so long by Labour.”
The latest poll has the Lib Dems ahead of Labour by 31% to 23% in Merton.
But senior Lib Dems say the contest is closer and could come down to a few wards including Colliers Wood and Ravensbury.
If the Lib Dems did win Merton, it would be the first time that they would be running four London councils at the same time.
Sir Ed also talked up his party’s chances in Inner London, including in Southwark, Lambeth and Camden, as well as in Ealing, despite polls suggesting these boroughs are more battles between Labour and the Greens.
“So we go into these elections with our tails up, I think you will be surprised how well Liberal Democrats do in London and the rest of the country,” he added, with his party now focusing more on Labour than Tory-run councils in the capital.
He also flatly ruled out any deal with Mr Farage at the next general election, saying: “Of course not, but we're not focused on that.
“We're focused on winning. We won seven years in a row in local elections. That's a historic high for us. I think we could have an eighth year in a row.”
The Wimbledon parliamentary seat, which is in Merton, was won by Lib Dem Paul Kohler at the 2024 general election, with the constituency previously held by Conservative Stephen Hammond.
The Lib Dems are seeking to at least become the biggest party on the council but believe they might be able to gain an overall majority.
The neighbouring borough of Kingston has one of the highest council tax levels in the country.
But Sir Ed stressed that this was down to the Government’s funding formula for town halls.
“We get no help from national Government,” he said.
“Now that's unusual. If we had the average help of London boroughs, we'd have the lowest council tax,” he argued.
The Lib Dems have pushed for closer ties with the European Union, after a multi-billion pound blow from Brexit to the UK economy.
Sir Ed pressed the case for a new Customs Union with the EU but shied away from saying when a referendum on rejoining the European bloc should take place.
“The key thing at the moment is to rebuild trust between ourselves and our European colleagues, a much closer relationship than we've got,” he said.
“My concern with Labour is they've been so timid in rebuilding that relationship.
“It's been left to the Liberal Democrats to say, look, let's have, for example, a much closer relationship with a new EU-UK Customs Union. Let's have a youth mobility scheme.
“These are the way to rebuild that trust so we get that closer relationship, so we grow our economy and can deal with the cost of living.”
On key issues facing the capital, Sir Ed emphasised that housing was a “massive issue” and accused the Government of “dragging its feet” on leasehold reform and on raising standards in private rented accommodation.
“The decent home standard that applies in the social sector really should apply in the private sector as well,” he said.
He called for more community policing to tackle shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.
He also slammed “Trump's idiotic war with Iran” for pushing up prices in Britain, including petrol and mortgages, with energy bills set to soar in the autumn if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked.
Sir Ed criticised the Government for pressing ahead with the King’s visit to America after the US president has lambasted Britain for not playing a bigger role in his military campaign against Tehran.
“What I do feel sorry for His Majesty is that Keir Starmer is putting him in this incredibly embarrassing position.
“Donald Trump is so unpredictable.
“He's insulted our troops. He's insulted our Navy, insulted our country. He's dangerous and reckless with his wars and his tariffs.
“Keir Starmer was wrong to suggest that the State Visit should continue.”
