2026 London local elections

2026 London local elections
7 May 2026
All 1,817 councillors in all 32 London boroughs,
and 5 directly-elected mayors
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Keir Starmer Kemi Badenoch Zack Polanski
Party Labour Conservative Green
Last election 1,156 seats, 40.3% 404 seats, 24.8% 18 seats, 11.4%
Seats won 696 seats
9 councils		 409 seats
6 councils		 279 seats
3 councils
Seat change Decrease460
Decrease12 councils		 Increase5
Increase1 council		 Increase261
Increase3 councils
Percentage 25.6% 20.0% 22.3%
Swing Decrease16.9% Decrease4.8% Increase10.5%
Mayors 1 1 2
Mayors +/– Decrease2 Steady Increase2
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Ed Davey Nigel Farage
Party Liberal Democrats Reform UK
Last election 180 seats, 13.8% 0 seats, 0.16%
Seats won 243 seats
3 councils		 79 seats
1 council
Seat change Increase63
Steady 0 councils		 Increase79
Increase1 council
Percentage 12.4% 13.0%
Swing Decrease1.9% Increase12.8%

Local elections in London were held on 7 May 2026, as part of the 2026 United Kingdom local elections.[1] All London borough councillor seats were up for election.[2]

The election saw major losses for the Labour Party, major gains for the London Green Party, and minor gains for Reform UK, Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. The Labour Party saw its worst results in London local elections since 1968, while the London Green Party and Reform UK had their best ever results, gaining 278 and 79 seats respectively. The London Green Party have also gained 2 directly-elected mayors in Hackney and Lewisham, Zoë Garbett and Liam Shrivastava.

Background

In the 2022 London local elections, Labour gained Westminster, Wandsworth and Barnet councils.[3] In the 2024 United Kingdom general election, most of the constituencies in London elected Labour MPs.

In January 2026, BBC News reported that the Green Party of England and Wales and Reform UK were seeking to make gains in the capital.[4] The elections were expected to be tough for Labour who controlled most of the councils in London.[5][6] Pollsters suggested that Labour might be fighting on five fronts against the Conservatives, Reform UK, Liberal Democrats, Greens and pro-Gaza independents.[7]

In March 2026, LSE Professor of Local Government Tony Travers said Labour could face a "political earthquake" in the London local elections, worse than their loss in the Gorton and Denton by-election. He said Labour, which had plummeted in the polls, risked losing over 600 seats (more than half of their total of 1,150) and the Conservatives, who won more than 400 seats in 2022, could fall to a new historic low, with the Greens and Reform being the main beneficiaries.[8]

Councils

Council Seats Party control Details
Previous New
Barking and Dagenham 51 Labour Labour Details
Barnet 63 Labour No overall control (Labour minority) Details
Bexley 45 Conservative Conservative Details
Brent 57 Labour No overall control (Labour minority) Details
Bromley 58 Conservative Conservative Details
Camden 55 Labour Labour Details
Croydon 70 No overall control
(Conservative minority)		 No overall control
(Conservative minority)		 Details
Ealing 70 Labour Labour Details
Enfield 63 Labour No overall control

(Conservative minority)

Details
Greenwich 55 Labour Labour Details
Hackney 57 Labour Green Details
Hammersmith and Fulham 50 Labour Labour Details[9]
Haringey 57 Labour No overall control (Green minority) Details
Harrow 55 Conservative Conservative Details
Havering 55 No overall control
(HRA/Labour coalition)		 Reform Details
Hillingdon 53 Conservative Conservative Details
Hounslow 62 Labour Labour Details
Islington 51 Labour Labour Details
Kensington and Chelsea 50 Conservative Conservative Details
Kingston upon Thames 48 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Lambeth 63 Labour No overall control (Green minority w/ Lib Dem support) Details
Lewisham 54 Labour Green Details
Merton 57 Labour Labour Details
Newham 66 Labour No overall control (Labour minority) Details
Redbridge 63 Labour Labour Details
Richmond upon Thames 54 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details[10]
Southwark 63 Labour No overall control (Green-Lib Dem coalition) Details
Sutton 55 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Tower Hamlets 45 Aspire Aspire Details
Waltham Forest 60 Labour Green Details
Wandsworth 58 Labour No overall control (Conservative minority) Details
Westminster 54 Labour Conservative Details
All 32 councils 1,817

Councillor comparison with 2022

The table below shows the number of councillors by party for each council in London. The shaded cells show the party or parties in each council's governing administration.

Council Elected in 2022 Prior to 2026 election Elected in 2026
Lab Con Lib Dem Green Others Lab Con Lib Dem Green Reform Ind Others Lab Con Lib Dem Green Reform Others
Barking and Dagenham 51 0 0 0 0 47 1 0 3 0 1 0 38 0 0 4 9 0
Barnet 41 22 0 0 0 40 19 0 1 1 1 0 31 31 0 1 0 0
Bexley 12 33 0 0 0 12 30 0 0 0 3 0 9 29 0 0 7 0
Brent 49 5 3 0 0 42 6 3 5 0 1 0 26 11 11 9 0 0
Bromley 12 36 5 0
5
Chislehurst Matters: 3
Independent: 2
 11 33 5 0 3 2
3
Chislehurst Matters: 3
 8 35 6 0 6
3
Chislehurst Matters: 3
Camden 47 3 4 1 0 45 3 6 1 0 0 0 30 3 10 11 0 1
Croydon 34 33[a] 1 2 0 34 33[a] 1 2 0 0 0 30 28[a] 2 8 2 0
Ealing 59 5 6 0 0 59 4 7 0 0 1 0 46 5 13 5 0 1
Enfield 38 25 0 0 0 35 25 0 0 0 3 0 27 31 0 5 0 0
Greenwich 52 3 0 0 0 47 4 0 2 0 2 0 35 6 0 13 1 0
Hackney 50 5 0 2 0 42 6 0 4 0 5 0 9 6 0 42 0 0
Hammersmith and Fulham 40 10 0 0 0 36 10 0 2 0 1 0 38 12 0 0 0 0
Haringey 50 0 7 0 0 43 0 7 2 0 5 0 21 0 8 28 0 0
Harrow 24 31 0 0 0 23 31 0 0 0 1 0 12 42 0 0 0
1
Arise: 1
Havering 9 23 0 0
23
Havering Residents Association: 20[b]
Harold Hill Independent: 3
 8 16 0 0 1 2
28
Havering Residents Association: 25[c]
Harold Wood Hill Park Residents Association: 3
 2 0 0 0 39
14
Havering Residents Association: 11
Harold Wood Hill Park Residents Association: 3
Hillingdon 23 30 0 0 0 16 30 0 1 0 5 0 16 32 0 1 4 0
Hounslow 52 10 0 0 0 43 10 0 1 0 6 0 32 17 1 3 8 1
Islington 48 0 0 3 0 44 0 0 3 0 4 0 32 0 0 19 0 0
Kensington and Chelsea 13 35 2 0 0 7 36 2 1 0 4 0 13 34 3 0 0 0
Kingston upon Thames 0 3 44 0
1
Kingston Independent Residents Group: 1
 0 2 42 0 0 0
4
Kingston Independent Residents Group: 4
 0 2 44 0 0
2
Kingston Independent Residents Group: 2
Lambeth 58 0 3 2 0 55 0 4 4 0 1 0 26 0 8 29 0 0
Lewisham 54 0 0 0 0 50 0 0 4 0 0 0 14 0 0 40 0 0
Merton 31 7 17 0
2
Merton Park Ward Independent Residents: 2
 30 7 16 0 0 1
2
Merton Park Ward Independent Residents: 2
 32 4 19 0 0
2
Merton Park Ward Independent Residents: 2
Newham 64 0 0 2 0 56 0 0 3 0 3
4
Newham Independents: 4
 26 0 0 16 0
24
Newham Independents: 24
Redbridge 58 5 0 0 0 54 5 0 0 0 4 0 43 5 0 5 1
9
Redbridge Independents: 9
Richmond upon Thames 0 1 48 5 0 0 0 49 5 0 0 0 0 0 54 0 0 0
Southwark 52 0 11 0 0 45 0 11 4 0 3 0 29 0 12 22 0 0
Sutton 3 20 29 0
3
Independent: 3
 2 21 29 0 0 0
3
Sutton Independent Residents Group: 3
 1 0 51 0 2
1
Independent: 1
Tower Hamlets 19 1 0 1
24
Aspire: 24
 16 1 0 1 0 5
22
Aspire: 22
 5 1 1 5 0
33
Aspire: 33
Waltham Forest 47 13 0 0 0 45 12 0 0 1 2 0 15 14 0 31 0 0
Wandsworth 35 22 0 0
1
Independent: 1
 34 21 0 0 1 2 0 28 29 0 0 0
1
Independent: 1
Westminster 31 23 0 0 0 28 24 0 0 2 0 0 22 32 0 0 0 0
Total 1,156 404 180 18 59 1,046 386 181 47 13 70 66 696 409 243 297 79 93

Mayors

Council Mayor before Elected mayor Details
Croydon Jason Perry (Con) Jason Perry (Con) Details
Hackney Caroline Woodley (Lab) Zoë Garbett (Grn) Details
Lewisham Brenda Dacres (Labour Co-op) Liam Shrivastava (Grn) Details
Newham Rokhsana Fiaz (Labour Co-op) Forhad Hussain (Lab) Details
Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman (Aspire) Lutfur Rahman (Aspire) Details

Opinion polls

Date(s)
conducted		 Pollster Client Sample
size		 Area Lab Con LD Grn Ref Others Lead
7 May 2026 2026 local elections 25.6% 20.0% 12.4% 22.3% 13.0% 6.7% 3.3
7–29 Apr 2026 More in Common (MRP)[11] n/a 2,646 London 28% 17% 14% 20% 15% 6% 8
27 Mar – 1 Apr 2026 YouGov (MRP)[12] n/a 4,548 London 26% 17% 15% 22% 14% 6% 4
4 July 2024 2024 General Election in London 43.0% 20.5% 11.0% 10.0% 8.7% 6.7% 22.5
5 May 2022 2022 local elections 42.5% 25.8% 14.3% 11.8% 0.2% 5.4% 16.7

Seat projections

Date(s)
conducted		 Pollster Client Sample
size		 Area Lab Con LD Grn Ref Others
7 May 2026 2026 local elections 696 407 243 279 79 113
March 2026 Bombe[13] n/a TBD London 306 464 253 575 145 75
5 May 2022 2022 local elections 1,156 404 180 18 0 59

Ward result maps

London-wide

By borough

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Led by a Conservative Mayor
  2. ↑ Led by a Havering Residents Association and Labour coalition
  3. ↑ Havering Residents Association minority administration

References

  1. ↑ Coughlan, Joe (30 April 2025). "London local elections, why they aren't in 2025 and when the next ones will be". My London. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  2. ↑ "Local authority, combined authority, and county combined authority election cycles in England". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  3. ↑ "London election results 2022: Labour wins Westminster, Wandsworth and Barnet". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  4. ↑ Grew, Tony (1 January 2026). "Local elections in London will test support for Reform UK and Greens". BBC News. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  5. ↑ "'We've Got A Tough Fight': Labour Braces For Council Losses In London Heartlands". Politics Home. 18 December 2025. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  6. ↑ Calkin, Sarah; Weakley, Kirsty (2 October 2025). "2026 local elections will be 'treated like midterms' for Labour". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  7. ↑ Cecil, Nicholas (19 January 2026). "Labour facing 'fierce battles' to hold onto 12 London councils in May elections". The Standard. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  8. ↑ "Labour 'risks losing 600 seats' in London local elections in worse nightmare than Gorton disaster". The Standard.
  9. ↑ Comeau, Dave (8 May 2026). "London election results - live updates as vote counting starts". My London. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  10. ↑ https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/london-election-results-2026-live-33908733#entry3927794
  11. ↑ Ward, Albert (5 May 2026). "More in Common's 2026 London MRP". More in Common. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "YouGov's MRP of the 2026 London local elections shows close races in many boroughs". YouGov. 22 April 2026. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  13. ↑ Crerar, Pippa (6 March 2026). "Senior Labour figures warn government amid fears of 'political earthquake' in London". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
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