2026 Croydon London Borough Council election

2026 Croydon Council election

←  2022 7 May 2026 2030 →
The Mayor of Croydon and all 70 seats of Croydon London Borough Council 36 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Jason Perry Rowenna Davis Party Conservative Labour Last election 33 seats, 38.5% 34 seats, 34.5% Last mayoral election 50.4% 49.6%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Peter Underwood Richard Howard Party Green Liberal Democrats Last election 2 seats, 12.9% 1 seats, 11.7%
Mayor before election Jason Perry Conservative Mayor TBD

The 2026 Croydon London Borough Council election will take place on 7 May 2026, as part of the 2026 United Kingdom local elections. All 70 members of Croydon London Borough Council will be elected, along with the Mayor of Croydon. The election will take place alongside the local elections in the other London boroughs. ^{[1] [2]}

Background

History

Result of the 2022 council election

The thirty-two London boroughs were established in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. They are the principal authorities in Greater London and have responsibilities including education, housing, planning, highways, social services, libraries, recreation, waste, environmental health and revenue collection. Some of the powers are shared with the Greater London Authority, which also manages passenger transport, police and fire. ^[3]

Since its formation, Croydon has variously been under Labour control, no overall control and Conservative control. Councillors have usually been elected only from the Labour and Conservative parties, but in the most recent council election in 2022, the Green Party won two councillors and the Liberal Democrats won one. The office of Mayor of Croydon was first elected in 2022, and since then the council has been under no overall control with a Conservative mayor.

Electoral process

Croydon, as is the case all other London borough councils, elects all of its councillors at once every four years, with the previous election having taken place in 2022. The election takes place by multi-member first-past-the-post voting, with each ward being represented by two or three councillors. Electors will have as many votes as there are councillors to be elected in their ward, with the top two or three being elected.

Croydon is one of five London councils led by a directly elected mayor; all voters across the borough vote to elect a mayor by first past the post system in addition to voting for their local councillor.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in London aged 18 or over are entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. ^[4] Voting in-person at polling stations takes place from 7:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters are able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election. ^[4]

Previous council composition

After 2022 election			Before 2026 election			After 2026 election
Party		Seats	Party		Seats	Party		Seats
	Labour	34		Labour	34
	Conservative	33		Conservative	33
	Green	2		Green	2
	Liberal Democrats	1		Liberal Democrats	1

References

1. Coughlan, Joe (30 April 2025). "London local elections, why they aren't in 2025 and when the next ones will be". My London. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
2. "Local authority, combined authority, and county combined authority election cycles in England". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
3. "The essential guide to London local government | London Councils". London Councils. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
4. "How the elections work | London Councils". www.londoncouncils.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 September 2021.