The imminent threat of a Tory surge was resoundingly rebuffed this morning by landslide majorities in all three Ealing constituencies.

While Ealing North and Ealing Southall have long been Labour strongholds, Ealing Central and Acton was more of a surprise, as Labour’s second most marginal seat in the 2015 election. 

Rupa Huq took an ever so slight 274 majority two years ago up to a massive 13,087 this time.

Fellow winner Virendra Sharma, returned in Ealing Southall, said of Ms Huq’s achievement: “The most marginal seat has become one of the safest seats in Ealing.

“We are united in a Tory free area and we will be fighting.”

Ms Huq herself said she was ‘flabbergasted’ at such a surge in her majority.

Ealing Central and Acton was only 56th on Labour’s list of target seats in 2014, and pundits had wondered whether the Tories would recapture it.

Her success in blocking this is in part due to her continued commitment to the Ealing community, completing 17,500 pieces of case work and speaking 440 times in the Houses of Commons while MP.

It was however also thanks to the strong links between Ealing Labour MPs, and the so-called progressive alliance of liberal opposition parties in the area, that Ms Huq managed to recapture the seat with increased vigour. 

Given the highly marginal nature of this seat, the Green party announced in April 2017 that they would not be fielding a candidate after Ms Huq confirmed her commitment to progressive environmental policies. 

Allowing the 1,841 votes cast for the Greens in 2015 to be redistributed to Labour ensured Ms Huq the best possible chance of success.

Yet no one could have predicted the landslide victories that Ealing Labour enjoyed this morning.