Labour has taken huge losses in local councils across London as Reform UK and the Green Party made huge gains in traditional Labour heartland areas.
The Green Party’s Zoë Garbett was elected mayor of Hackney in a major blow for Labour, with Zack Polanski’s party also taking the mayoralties in Lewisham and Waltham forest. Lambeth, a previous Labour stronghold, fell to no overall control with the Green Party now holding the most seats in the borough.
The Greens also toppled a huge Labour majority in Lewisham to take control of their third London council after winning the council elections in Hackney and Waltham forest.
The Conservatives gained control of Westminster City Council back from Labour, as well as holding on to Kensington and Chelsea, Croydon and Bexley, which was a target for Reform UK.
Results from local elections in England also show Nigel Farage’s Reform UK have gained hundreds of councillors across the country, taking seats away from Labour on dozens of councils.
Aspire has won the Tower Hamlets council election to secure an overall majority in the only London borough where it stands.
Here’s an overview of the results in London:
Ms Garbett lambasted the “failing Labour government” in her victory speech and said the borough “rejects hate and division” after she won in Hackney.
She told The Independent after her victory that voters are “showing they really want that alternative” to the traditional parties, while Zack Polanski declaring two-party politics is “dead and buried”.
Mr Farage announced Havering is “under new management” after his party passed the threshold of 28 seats to take overall control of the council.
The Tories have also become the biggest party in Wandsworth, which has moved to no overall control from being run by Labour.
Kemi Badenoch’s party also managed to retain control of Hillingdon, Harrow, and Bromley.
But Labour’s grip on the city has held firm in other places. Sir Keir Starmer’s party has held on to Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing, Hounslow, Barking and Dagenham, Camden, Islington, Greenwich.
It also pulled off a narrow win in Merton, which pollsters had suggested could go Lib Dem.
The Liberal Democrats have held on to Sutton, Richmond-upon-Thames, and Kingston-upon-Thames.
The capital has been seen as a Labour stronghold in recent years, with the party holding majority control in 21 councils. However, the political landscape has shifted dramatically in the four years since the 2022 London elections.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour has declined in popularity since becoming the governing party in 2024, with polling of younger and more left-leaning voters suggesting this dynamic has benefited the Green Party most of all.
More councils in London have been left in no overall control than at any point since the current system of local government in the capital was established in 1964.
There are nine London councils where no party won enough seats to form a majority.
Eight of them were previously controlled by Labour – Barnet, Brent, Enfield, Haringey, Lambeth, Newham, Southwark, Wandsworth – while one, Croydon, remains in no overall control.
The previous record for the most number of London councils left in no overall control after local elections was eight, set in 2006.
Here are the results of the mayoral elections so far:
Contests have taken place in 136 local authorities across the country, including some of the largest cities and the whole of London. A mix of urban authorities and rural districts also held elections, along with several county councils.
It marks the largest set of local elections in England for three years and a key test for all political parties.
