Local elections 2026: the picture in London
Reform have taken control of their first council; Conservatives win back Westminster from Labour
As results from yesterday's local council elections continue to come in - it's looking like a very successful election for Reform UK, mostly at the expense of Labour seats.
A pretty good showing for the Green Party too, especially across London.
Here we'll look at the picture across the capital.
Reform UK claimed victory in Havering, its first London borough.
Nigel Farage’s party wiped out the Conservatives to take majority control of Havering Borough Council, securing 39 out of the 55 council seats.
Mr Farage said it showed Reform were a truly national outfit, with gains across England and progress expected in Scotland and Wales.
Mr Farage said: “It’s a big, big day, not just for our party, but for a complete reshaping of British politics in every way.”
Green success
Meanwhile in a major blow for Labour, the Green Party now has two new mayors, Zoe Garbett in Hackney and Liam Shrivastava in Lewisham.
Both were Labour mayoralties until Thursday’s elections, an indication of the huge losses facing the governing party.
On the local council elections, Hackney turned Green, with the party taking 42 seats, reducing Labour's seats to 9.
Speaking from the Hackney count, Green Party leader Mr Polanski said: “Two-party politics is not just dying, it is dead and it is buried.
“And actually, whether it’s here that Labour have been rejected, or whether we’re seeing around the country, it’s very clear that the new politics is the Green Party versus Reform.”
Elsewhere in London, the Conservatives regained Westminster City Council from Labour and became the largest party in Wandsworth.
They also held on to their majority in Bexley, Bromley, Hillingdon, and in Kensington and Chelsea.
In Redbridge, Labour held control, but with a reduced majority.
However, they did lose all 20 seats in Sutton to the Liberal Democrats, who retained control, as they did in Richmond-upon-Thames.
Labour have also lost Brent to No Overall Control, but holds on to Merton, Hammersmith and Fulham, Greenwich and Ealing.
And while Camden - the borough that takes in Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Holborn and St Pancras constituency - remains Labour, the council leader lost his seat to the Greens.
Lambeth paused counting overnight after announcing results in 16 wards, with the London borough saying “due to close results, a number of recounts are required” and they would return in the morning to resume.
The Greens won 21 of the seats declared, with Labour on 12 and the Liberal Democrats on seven, meaning the Greens needed another 11 of the 23 yet to be announced to take control of the council.
Fourteen London councils are yet to declare - among them, Croydon; Lewisham and Tower Hamlets aren't expected until tomorrow.
And mayoral election results are still due in Croydon and Tower Hamlets.