Last night saw two by-elections in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, as Labour held onto one seat but Aspire gained the second seat to return the borough to four-Party politics again. Both winning candidates are former Tower Hamlets councillors, and they emerged victorious from a packed field with a number of former local councillors running for office again.

Cllr Harun Miah is the new (and returning) Aspire councillor in Shadwell ward, increasing his vote share by 13.4% to snatch the ward from Labour, a seat that they had only held since May last year.

In Lansbury ward, Cllr Rajib Ahmed was returned as the new Labour councillor. He previously represented the area for both the Liberal Democrats and Labour.

Labour still hold a firm grip on the council with 42 councillors compared to 2 Conservatives, 1 Liberal Democrat and 1 Aspire. However, the voting trend from last night may hint at a more fractious Tower Hamlets politics in 2022, as smaller parties gain more momentum again. In Lansbury ward, Labour polled 1,308 votes but Aspire closed the gap to secure 1,002 votes and set this ward up for a tighter battle next time.

The campaign did not escape controversy, as the Liberal Democrats suspended their campaign two days ahead of polling day when anti-semitic comments by their candidate Abjol Miah were uncovered from 2014. The former Respect councillor had his membership of the Party immediately revoked.

With Lutfur Rahman on the local campaign trail again, it is a reminder that party badges come and go in Tower Hamlets, but a lot of the political characters remain.