Londoners head to the polls on Thursday 7 May 2026 in all-out borough elections that will set the political tone of the capital for the next four years and offer the most detailed reading yet of how Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government is faring with city voters. Every seat in all 32 London boroughs is up for grabs — more than 1,800 council seats in total — alongside five directly elected borough mayoralties in Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets.
The 2022 starting line, four years on
At the previous all-out elections in May 2022, Labour swept to dominance with 21 of the 32 boroughs. The Conservatives held just five, the Liberal Democrats took three, the Tower Hamlets-based Aspire party held one, and two boroughs were left under no overall control. The Conservatives have lost ground at every electoral test since. The 2024 general election compounded that decline, reducing the party to a handful of London MPs.
That 2022 baseline now looks unusually fragile. Polling by YouGov in late April puts Labour vote share in London at around 33%, well below the 44% the party recorded in 2022. Reform UK is polling in the high teens to low twenties, the Greens around 13%, the Conservatives in the low twenties and the Liberal Democrats around 12%. With five parties competing meaningfully for vote share, the swing required to flip individual wards can be small — and unpredictable.
Outer London: Reform’s first serious test
The party most poised to make gains is Reform UK, which is fielding a near-complete slate of candidates for the first time in London. Boroughs identified by analysts as Reform-curious include Havering, Bexley, Bromley, Hillingdon and Sutton, where Brexit-era Conservative voters are most likely to switch to Nigel Farage’s party. Reform is unlikely to win outright control of any London borough on these polls, but a haul of 50 to 100 seats would mark a transformative entry into council politics in the capital.
The party’s London strategy has focused on cost-of-living messaging, opposition to ULEZ expansion, and concerns about borough-level housing pressures. The challenge for Reform will be converting protest sentiment into reliable turnout — a task that has historically defeated insurgent parties at local elections.
Inner London: Green and pro-Gaza pressure
Inner London’s political map will be tested by pressure from Greens and pro-Gaza independent candidates in boroughs with significant Muslim populations, including Tower Hamlets, Newham, Brent and Hackney. Lutfur Rahman’s Aspire party is expected to consolidate its hold on Tower Hamlets, with the mayoralty also up for re-election.
The Greens are targeting wards in Hackney, Lambeth, Lewisham, Camden and Islington where Labour has held effective monopolies for over a decade. Their strategy combines climate policy with concerns about gentrification and housing affordability. Even modest Green gains — winning ten to fifteen wards across inner London — would represent the party’s largest-ever footprint in the capital.
South-west London: Lib Dem consolidation
The Liberal Democrats are eyeing further consolidation in their south-west London strongholds — Richmond, Kingston and Sutton — and may be the largest beneficiaries of any broader anti-Labour mood among progressive voters. Sir Ed Davey’s party has positioned itself as the responsible alternative for centre-left voters disillusioned with Labour but unwilling to vote Conservative or Reform.
What Westminster will be watching
The political stakes for Sir Keir Starmer extend well beyond the capital. The May elections also include 104 English councils, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Senedd. A poor London result — particularly the loss of council control in places such as Barnet, Enfield, Croydon or Wandsworth — would intensify questions inside Labour about whether the party has communicated its first-year-in-government record effectively.
For Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, even modest holds in places such as Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon would be treated as a relief; further losses would prompt internal pressure on her leadership.
Practical voting information
Polls are open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday. Voters must bring an accepted form of photo ID, including a UK passport, driving licence, Older Person’s Bus Pass, Oyster 60+ card or a Voter Authority Certificate. Postal vote applications closed on 22 April; emergency proxy votes remain available until 5pm on polling day.
Counting begins overnight in most boroughs, with the bulk of declarations expected between midnight and 4am on Friday morning. Five boroughs — including Tower Hamlets — will count on Friday.
— Sarah Mitchell, London Capital Post
