The final result of the 2017 Election is a Labour gain in Kensington. Conservative candidate Victoria Borwick received 16,313 votes; while Emma Dent Coad, the Labour candidate received 16,333.
So occasionally we do get good, if almost unbelievable, news!
Labour’s victory in Kensington was for several reasons. As you mentioned before, Victoria Borwick was viewed negatively by a majority of her constituents. She was a staunch Leave campaigner in one of the most pro-EU constituencies in Britain. Like many inner-city areas, Kensington is a socially liberal place, proud of its ethnic diversity, and thus disillusioned with the direction May was taking the Conservative Party. I suspect Labour’s win here was more to do with anti-Conservative sentiment, rather than a firm endorsement of Corbyn’s socialism. If the Conservative Party becomes more liberal, I suspect Kensington’s usual voting habits will re-emerge. It’s also worth noting the decline in wealthy Britons living in Kensington (along with the rest of inner London), and their replacement with the world’s super-rich, almost all of whom are obviously ineligible to vote. Consequently, Kensington’s working class (yes they do exist) made up a larger proportion of the electorate, making a Labour victory more likely.