Local elections are taking place today in the biggest test at the ballot box for political parties since Labour’s landslide general election in July 2024.
Polls suggest that Sir Keir Starmer’s party is in for a tough night in the capital amid a surge of Green support in inner boroughs and right wing voters turning to Reform in the suburbs.
Labour currently controls 21 of the city’s 32 town halls and big losses would put Sir Keir’s leadership in further jeopardy.
A recent YouGov survey suggested Labour could lose its top vote share position in as many as 14 councils at the local elections.
While a MRP survey by JL Partners for the London School of Economics (LSE) showed the Green Party and Labour neck-and-neck in Sir Keir own backyard Camden, with 33% to 32% of the vote share respectively.
Across the country almost 25,000 candidates are fighting to be elected to more than 5,000 seats on 136 councils, with Reform UK fielding around 4,800, less than 100 fewer than Labour and some 50 more than the Conservatives.
The Greens have almost 4,500 candidates, with the Liberal Democrats on just under 4,000 and there are more than 2,000 other candidates from minor parties or standing as independents or for residents’ groups.
Polls close at 10pm.
Some town halls will begin counting straight away, with others waiting until Friday morning.
Results are set to trickle in from about 2.30am until Saturday evening.
In London, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Croydon, Hackney and Lewisham have directly elected mayor votes to count as well as councillors.
Here is when every borough is predicted to declare its full results:
Borough |
Estimated Declaration |
|---|---|
Barking & Dagenham |
5pm Friday |
Barnet |
5pm Friday |
Bexley |
5am Friday |
Brent |
5pm Friday |
Bromley |
7pm Friday |
Camden |
6pm Friday |
Croydon |
4pm Saturday |
Ealing |
4.30am Friday |
Enfield |
5pm Friday |
Greenwich |
4pm Friday |
Hackney |
5pm Friday |
Hammersmith & Fulham |
5.30am Friday |
Haringey |
5.30pm Friday |
Harrow |
4.30pm Friday |
Havering |
6am Friday |
Hillingdon |
4pm Friday |
Hounslow |
5.30pm Friday |
Islington |
3pm Friday |
Kensington & Chelsea |
5am Friday |
Kingston |
6pm Friday |
Lambeth |
6pm Friday |
Lewisham |
4pm Saturday |
Merton |
5am Friday |
Newham |
6pm |
Redbridge |
5pm Friday |
Richmond |
5am Friday |
Southwark |
6pm Friday |
Sutton |
4:30am Friday |
Tower Hamlets |
6pm Saturday |
Waltham Forest |
3pm Friday |
| Westminster | 3:30am Friday |
Wandsworth |
4am Friday |
