You can't assume that Lib Dem voters and Labour voters are simply interchangeable. There is a significant demographic of people (wealthy homeowners) that will sometimes vote for the Lib Dems but would never vote for Labour. You'll find a fair few of these types in the new very expensive riverside developments in Nine Elms.
There is a reason why Labour's current strategy for defeating the Tories in 2024 seems to involve the Lib Dems hoovering up soft Tory votes. These people could quite possibly be persuaded to vote against the Tories but most could never bring themselves to vote Labour.
I suppose the interesting point there then is that such a strategy was not enough to win in a ward like this. Granted of course it is only one ward (and an odd and new one apparently), so far from useful for extrapolating out. Just did not know if you might see this elsewhere in Wandsworth, but by the sounds of it the wealthy developments in this area means it is not at all an indication that the Lib Dems are going to be a factor elsewhere.
