The Political Fallout of the 2026 London Elections

The results have given the leading political figures in many London authorities a very tough time. Voids have had to be filled where senior councillors have lost their seats, such as Richard Olszewski in Camden. New leaders have not always gone down well with their colleagues. In Hillingdon, there has already been a resignation.

Those leading parties in councils left with no overall control have had to engage with political rivals to establish how their authority will function for the next four years, with varying ease and success. Wandsworth announced a minority Conservative administration very quickly, with a deal involving a former Conservative councillor, now Independent, enabling a minority Conservative administration. Neighbouring Lambeth took more than a month. A Green/Lib Dem coalition has emerged, but even at the Annual Meeting, where the Leader was appointed, there were differences in how the two parties voted on other administrative issues.

More than 500 of London’s new councillors are new, and some of them are taking on leading roles in their authorities. This is more visible in councils such as Hackney, Lewisham, both Green, and Havering, Reform.

Manifestos are relatively easy to write. Delivering the pledges in them tends to be harder. Councillors with little local government experience are now having to step up to the challenge of steering a new course. The chances are they will either rely on their officers, go it alone, potentially causing antagonism between the political administration and its officer executive, or wobble about and achieve nothing.

Some new councillors will learn very quickly what their role should be, but others will take time to get to grips with it, and a few might decide it is not for them. They will also have to get used to the whipping system whereby they have to accept collective responsibility and follow their party line.

Some will find that very difficult and, as has been witnessed across England in the last few weeks alone, a few of them will either resign and cause a council by-election, or may defect. This is the sort of thing that can cause turmoil in the running of a local authority, particularly one which has minority control and where every vote counts.

Already we are hearing about potential fallouts between parties. For example, in Lambeth, two Green councillors have resigned, causing by-elections next month. If Labour gains these seats, it is possible they may try to seek an agreement with the Liberal Democrats to seize back minority control. We will have to wait and see.

Election day, 7th May 2026, has certainly delivered change across London as a whole. The politically safe councils such as Kingston, Kensington and Chelsea, and Hammersmith and Fulham will see changes in personalities and new councillors coming forward into more senior roles, but in essence will mostly continue as before.

Councils which have seen an outright change in control will face the upheaval of new leaders, parties, ideas and relationships with officers. The lack of experience of some of the politicians is likely to make this more challenging and may lead to some instability in the short term, but these are hurdles that have been overcome in the past.

Those now run by coalitions are going to be interesting to watch. Every by-election will become a political stomping ground, and with the new multi-party system currently in operation the outcomes are likely to become harder to predict. Knowing who the key players are, how they interact and which councillors have the most influence will be even more critical. The role and skill of officers will be crucial.

As the boroughs settle down to become used to their new post-2026 looks, the role of the GLA and the Mayor of London will come under the spotlight. It may have lost control in some boroughs, but Labour still controls the upper tier of government in the capital.

Planning committees that take on the aspirations of previous regimes may learn quickly that key strategic planning applications are more readily called in by the Mayor, and even the Secretary of State, ensuring that Labour’s ambitions are still realised. The next two years will be new territory for Sadiq Khan, now in his third term of office. Watch this space.

The current political make-up of the boroughs at the time of writing this piece is included in the table below. How long it will last is a good question. Terrapin, with our knowledge of contacts and wealth of experience, will be guiding our clients on how to achieve their goals through the ebbs and flows of the next four years.

As Joseph Chamberlain said more than a century ago: “I think that you will all agree that we are living in most interesting times.”