The by-election was called following the resignation last month of Lib Dem councillor Jennifer Campbell-Klomps, who left her post due to moving abroad.  In the 2010 London Borough Council elections, Cllr Campbell-Klomps recieved 2,735 votes, 428 more than her nearest rival.

The Lib Dems retaining their seat means that there are still 43 Liberal Democrat members on the Sutton Council, and 11 Conservative members.

There was a 33.48% turnout for the election.

Do you turn 18 on 3 May? Do you love London? If so, you could help a London-wide campaign to help encourage young voters to have their say in the election for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

Yesterday, London Elects launched a social media campaign to find youngsters that are passionate about London and their local area.

Sarah Garrett, from London Elects, said: “On 3 May, Londoners will be able to vote for the Mayor of London and 25 London Assembly members. These people make decisions that affect many aspects of your everyday life in London.

“We want young people who love London as much as we do to join us to make sure that the capital’s young people know how to have their say on 3rd May. We’re looking for one teenager from every borough in London who will be celebrating their 18th birthday on 3 May, to join us and help our campaign to get young people out on polling day and have their say in this important election.”

Contact @LondonElects, on Facebook or email info@londonelects.org.uk to find out more and join the campaign.

To vote in the London election you need to be at least 18 years old on 3 May 2012, live in London and be a British, Republic of Ireland, Commonwealth or EU citizen.

Martin joins from Camargue where he worked in the Cheltenham office on a range of projects providing consultancy on corporate communications, planning and consultation, internal communications, public affairs and stakeholder management.

In that time he completed a successful secondment to an energy company as well as working on major regeneration and renewable energy development projects

Managing Director of LCA Jonny Popper said: “Martin was a hugely impressive candidate and brings a wealth of expertise and experience from his previous roles where he has demonstrated a great track record of success. He has already made an excellent impression in just his first week with us and I am sure he will be a great asset to the LCA team.”

Martin previously worked for a Member of Parliament and volunteered during two general election campaigns (2005 and 2010). He also completed a short placement at a local newspaper.

A graduate from Aston University in Birmingham, Martin gained a BSc in Politics and Sociology. Martin plays tennis and loves watching football, rugby and Formula 1.

As keen LCA-watchers will know, we love cartoons and have for many years commissioned them on the themes of London politics, elections and issues of the day. We are publishing a cartoon on our website every month from leading cartoonist Martin Rowson and this is the latest offering to represent London during January. Martin is one of the UK’s most well known and influential political cartoonists and features regularly in the Guardian and Independent. He was appointed “Cartoonist Laureate” of London by former Mayor Ken Livingstone and continues to provide a regular illustrative take on London, UK and international politics.

A statue in front of St Katharine Docks with Tower Bridge and the Shard forming a glorious backdrop.

This snowy scene was pictured at Granary Square, King’s Cross yesterday.

Sometimes you just can’t beat a London early morning skyline

Or at least, they should do. Because their job is about much more than just the obvious requirements of the role.

Most organisations’ staff look to their press offices with comfortable acceptance that they are expert in what are clearly communication skills and techniques – how to turn out a finely crafted phrase, how to come up with campaign ideas which will become talked-about stories, how to sell in a press release, how to navigate social media.

Those are a ‘given’ when it comes to doing any good, basic communications job, not just in the public sector. But communications staff have a role which goes beyond these basics and, in many ways, is more important – and certainly more challenging – to get right, especially in the public sector.

This is their role as a model for corporate behaviour, the added extra which on top of a good basic composite of skills turns your standard communications employee into a true team player, manager or leader.

And this model of behaviour is not just one thing – it is a subtle combination of a lot of different things, all adding up to more than the sum of the parts. I suppose it’s a bit like ‘zero tolerance’ policing, or ‘nudge’ theory – it’s all about the smaller things having a larger impact.

So it is about the way you talk, present yourself, contribute to meetings, write emails, the way you conduct yourself around the office, your phone manner, even the way you dress.

Why is this so important in the public sector? Because corporate behaviour, collectively, adds up to corporate culture and, so often in the public sector, it is the culture of the organisation which seems to be the most difficult bit to get right.

In the private sector for example it is blindingly obvious that if one works for, say, Apple, one should embody as far as possible the corporate style, brand and values of that organisation. Not necessarily by wearing a black polo neck, but you know what I mean. It is an inextricable part of the success of the Apple corporation.

In the public sector, even for the biggest names in the book, the same clarity of corporate style, values or brand too often simply do not exist. Short of wearing blue clinical scrubs, for example, what would you say was the corporate style or brand of someone working in the NHS, or in NHS communications? How do we expect communications officers in local authorities to look, or behave?

As a result, public sector staff in general are, rightly, highly receptive when dealing with a communications professional – whether a press officer or director of department – to someone who knows how to behave and generally conduct themselves as corporately as possible.

They are looking beyond basic communication skills for guidance about what their own behaviour and style should be. They expect to be dealing with someone who represents as closely as possible the corporate culture to which their organisation aspires. After all, if communications staff in an organisation don’t do this, who on earth will?

I am not saying the public sector should always emulate the private sector. But it is incontrovertibly true that corporate behaviour and corporate culture should always have the same high priority, no matter where you work.

This column first appeared on the PR Week website and is kindly reproduced thanks to Haymarket Media. To view this article, or any other PR Week online articles, log on to the PR Week website here.

Are you bright, enthusiastic and fascinated by London politics?

LCA is the award-winning specialist PR consultancy which works on some of the most exciting projects in London.

We are offering a paid internship for 3.5 months from mid-February 2012 to the end of May to provide support in the lead up to and post the London Assembly and Mayoral elections. Working closely with our research team, the role primarily involves researching, monitoring and gathering intelligence for use in presentations and for clients.

Full information about London Communications Agency, including our client list, is available on our website: www.londoncommunications.co.uk

If you are a graduate and think you have got what it takes, then send a covering letter and a copy of your CV to Barbara Allen at ba@londoncommunications.co.uk

The closing date for applications is a week today on Friday 3 February 2012.

We are an equal opportunities employer and believe in embracing diversity.

LCA is working with London Elects, the independent body responsible for delivering this election and encouraging Londoners to take part.

On 3 May, around 5.8 million Londoners will get to decide who the capital’s Mayor for the next four years will be. They will also vote on which 25 individuals will represent them in the London Assembly. Creating awareness of the election and understanding of the voting process is a huge challenge but our preparations are already well underway to deliver a high profile campaign to raise awareness of the election and boost electoral knowledge ahead of 3 May.

Today London Elects have launched their new website www.londonelects.org.uk which, as you’d expect, has been fully integrated with social media tools to reach a wider community – particularly younger voters. As well as being jam packed with information about the election Londoners can also sign up to receive alerts to notify them of key announcements, dates and reminders about when to vote.

The Mayoralty and the Assembly now have tangible track records. Londoners are touched every day by something the Mayor has done or the Assembly has scrutinised – whether it is taking a bus, walking past a neighbourhood police officer or using a public toilet.

We believe there is an opportunity to make these connections and so explain to people just how much impact the work of the Mayor and the London Assembly has on London life.

Watch this space as we’ll be telling you lots more over the coming months about what we are doing.

Follow London Elects on Twitter here.

Follow London Communications Agency on Twitter here.