Waltham Forest London Borough Council elections

A map showing the wards of Waltham Forest from 2002 to 2022

Waltham Forest London Borough Council in London is elected every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2002, 60 councillors have been elected from 20 wards, with 3 councillors per ward.

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority ahead of the new system coming into full effect the following year. Political control of the council since 1964 has been held by the following parties:

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1964–1968
	Conservative	1968–1971
	Labour	1971–1994
	No overall control	1994–1998
	Labour	1998–2002
	No overall control	2002–2010
	Labour	2010–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1965 have been: ^{[1] [2]}

Councillor	Party		From	To
Herbert Palethorpe		Labour	1965	1968
Tom Brandon		Conservative	1968	1971
Bill Pearmine		Labour	1971	1982
Gerald King		Conservative	1982	1986
Neil Gerrard		Labour	1986	1990
Clive Morton		Labour	1990	1992
Evan Jones		Labour	1992	1994
Huw Morgan-Thomas		Labour	1994	1998
Tony Buckley		Labour	1998	30 Jul 2003
Clyde Loakes		Labour	30 Jul 2003	21 May 2009
Chris Robbins		Labour	21 May 2009	25 May 2017
Clare Coghill		Labour	25 May 2017	2 Sep 2021
Grace Williams		Labour	2 Sep 2021

Council elections

Summary of the council composition after recent council elections, click on the year for full details of each election.

Year	Labour	Conservative	Liberal Democrats	Independent	Notes
1964	33	3	0	9
1968	4	44	0	0
1971	39	9	0	0
1974	36	12	0	0
1978	36	21	0	0	Boundary changes increased the number of seats by 11. [3]
1982	26	25	6	0
1986	31	16	10	0
1990	30	16	11	0
1994	27	16	14	0	Boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same. [n 1] [n 2]
1998	30	15	12	0	Boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same. [n 3]
2002	29	18	13	0	Boundary changes increased the number of seats by 3. [4]
2006	26	15	19	0
2010	36	18	6	0
2014	44	16	0	0
2018	46	14	0	0
2022	47	13	0	0	Boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same. [5]

Borough result maps

• 
  2002 results map
• 
  2006 results map
• 
  2010 results map
• 
  2014 results map
• 
  2018 results map

By-election results

1964-1968

There were no by-elections. ^[6]

1968-1971

Leyton by-election, 17 September 1970 ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. L. Leighton	1230
	Conservative	F. Barnes	363
	Liberal	L. C. A. Roskilly	95
Turnout				16.8%

1971-1974

Central by-election, 11 May 1972 ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. M. Cohen	1,324
	Conservative	Mrs E. J. White	839
	Communist	R. A. Sayers	78
Turnout				21.4%

Chapel End by-election, 11 May 1972 ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	K. Gordon	1,796
	Conservative	J. Watson	1,396
	Liberal	G. E. Caryer	306
Turnout				33.1%

St James Street by-election, 5 July 1973 ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. F. Gerrard	1,056
	Liberal	M. P. O'Flanagan	512
	Residents	D. R. South	363
	Conservative	Mrs B. R. Eden	180
	Ratepayers Association	H. L. Rider	163
Turnout				26.0%

1974-1978

Chapel End by-election, 2 December 1976 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Reginald B. Lewis	1,284
	Labour	Joseph Levy	785
	National Front	Donald R. South	356
	The Centre Party	Ronald W. Garner	283
	Ratepayers	Wilfred Atkinson	241
	Liberal	Barry R. Woodward	188
Turnout				31.0

Chingford Central by-election, 2 December 1976 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Graham F. Sinclair	1,811
	Ratepayers	Henry J. Berry	736
	Labour	Paul J. Diamond	504
	National Front	John R. P. King	407
	Liberal	Michael J. Mackrory	260
	The Centre Party	Michael J. Page	235
Turnout				34.6

St James Street by-election, 21 April 1977 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert C. Hammond	1,090
	Conservative	Laurie Braham	568
	National Front	Donald R. South	396
	Liberal	George D. Bristow	201
Turnout				29.1

1990-1994

Leytonstone by-election, 15 October 1992 ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jennifer Gray	1,194	48.6
	Lib Dem Focus Team	Jonathan H. Fryer	969	39.6
	Conservative	Michael Thompson	182	7.4
	Independent	Colin R. Bex	112	4.6
Turnout				29.3
	Labour hold		Swing

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Patrick J. Hayes.

1994-1998

Wood Street by-election, 1 May 1997 ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Angela M. Bean	2,718	49.5	+8.7
	Liberal Democrats	Robert S. Meadowcroft	1,717	31.2	-14.5
	Conservative	Robert J. Brock	1,079	19.6	+5.9
Majority			1,001	18.3
Turnout			5,514	63.1
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Neal A. Chubb.

1998-2002

Leytonstone by-election, 1 October 1998 ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian Leslie	997	47.3	+0.0
	Liberal Democrats	John C. Howard	965	45.8	+18.5
	Conservative	Matthew R. Sharp	78	3.7	-4.2
	Independent	Roderick M. Milroy	66	3.1	-2.7
Majority			32	1.5
Turnout			2,106	27.8
	Labour hold		Swing

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Huw M. Morgan-Thomas.

2002-2006

Forest by-election, 15 May 2003 ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Mashoodul F. Qureshi	1,283	45.5	+17.7
	Labour	David G. Hayes	717	25.4	-12.9
	Conservative	Julien A. S. Foster	417	14.8	+3.8
	Independent	Mohammed Shafiq	183	6.5	+6.5
	Green	Mark S. Dawes	171	6.1	-6.0
	Socialist Alliance	Cecilia Prosper	47	1.7	-1.6
Majority			566	20.1
Turnout			2,818	38.0
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. Mohammed F. Rahman.

William Morris by-election, 4 September 2003 ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Robert J. Wheatley	1,051	43.6	+18.9
	Labour	Geraldine Reardon	932	38.7	-11.9
	Conservative	Kabir A. Sabar	188	7.8	-7.1
	Green	Gary P. Lancet	151	6.3	+6.3
	Socialist Alliance	Lee Rock	84	3.5	-6.3
Majority			119	4.9
Turnout			2,406	30.3
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Martin J. O'Connor.

Valley by-election, 28 October 2004 ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Laurance A. Wedderburn	791	36.9	-17.4
	Liberal Democrats	Henry A. Boyle	710	33.2	+21.6
	Labour	Margaret L. Broadley	552	25.8	-8.3
	Respect	Christopher Dransfield	88	4.1	+4.1
Majority			81	3.7
Turnout			2,141	27.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. David Divine.

Hoe Street by-election, 18 November 2004 ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arunes Sarkar	774	40.4	-1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Mohammad S. Diwan	561	29.2	+13.1
	Conservative	Graham F. Sinclair	299	15.6	-4.7
	Green	Mark S. Dawes	199	10.4	-6.4
	Socialist Alternative	Louise H. Thompson	85	4.4	-1.0
Majority			213	11.2
Turnout			1,918	23.0
	Labour hold		Swing

The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. Mohammed M. Nasim.

Leytonstone by-election, 14 July 2005 ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Marie E. Pye	937	38.0	+3.0
	Liberal Democrats	Meher Khan	765	31.3	-2.4
	Respect	Caroline M. Coleman	354	14.5	+14.5
	Conservative	Julien A. S. Foster	225	9.1	+1.7
	Green	Mark S. Dawes	165	6.7	-8.0
Majority			172	6.7
Turnout			2,446	30.9
	Labour hold		Swing

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Ian Leslie.

2006-2010

Chingford Green by-election, 26 April 2007 ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew P. J. Hemsted	1,694	55.2	-14.8
	Liberal Democrats	Graham A. Woolnough	1,022	33.3	+14.3
	Labour	Gerry A. Lyons	208	6.8	-4.2
	UKIP	Robert J. Brock	143	4.7	+4.7
Majority			672	21.9
Turnout			3,067	38.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. Derek B. Arnold.

Leyton by-election, 14 February 2008 ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Winnifred F. Smith	1,360	56.0	+12.8
	Labour	Khevyn R. Limbajee	695	28.6	-14.1
	Independent	Carole A. Vincent*	176	7.2	+7.2
	Conservative	Edwin J. Northover	108	4.4	-2.1
	Green	William J. Measure	90	3.7	-3.9
Majority			665	27.4
Turnout			2,429	27.8
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

The by-election was called following the disqualification of Cllr. Miranda A. J. Grell.
*No description (rather than independent). Candidate is a member of the Respect Party and was supported by the local branch. She was unable to use Respect as her description due to a split in the party. Current UK electoral law allows candidates to stand without any description rather than independent if preferred.

Forest by-election, 5 June 2008 ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Samina S. Safdar	977	36.9	-2.3
	Labour	Jawade A. Liaqat	927	35.0	+1.4
	Conservative	Edwin J. Northover	507	19.1	+5.9
	Green	Mark S. Dawes	184	6.9	-7.0
	Left List	Makola Mayambika	56	2.1	+2.1
Majority			50	1.9
Turnout			2,651	32.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Imran Abrahim.

Valley by-election, 6 November 2008 ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ms. Jemma Hemsted	1183
	Liberal Democrats	Henry Boyle	734
	Labour	Geoffrey Hammond	439
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. John M. Gover.

Hale End & Highams Park by-election, 4 December 2008 ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ms. Jane E. Morgan	1298
	Liberal Democrats	Nicky R. Bason	1295
	Conservative	Sandeep D. Christian	1223
	Conservative	Ms. Sheree L. Rackham	1155
	Labour	Mohammed S. K. Ahmed	264
	Labour	Gerry Lyons	241
	Green	Daniel P. Perrett	142
Turnout
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. John D. Beanse and the resignation of Cllr. John N. H. Penstone due to ill health.

Larkswood by-election, 19 March 2009 ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edwin J. Northover	1393
	Labour	Ms. Henrietta A. Jackson	255
	Liberal Democrats	Henry A. Boyle	144
	Green	Daniel P. Perrett	102
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. John F. Walter.

2010-2014

Larkswood by-election, 12 July 2012 ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Moss	1392
	Labour	Peter Woodrow	472
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Woolnough	79
	Green	Bill Measure	70
	National Liberal	James O'Rourke	64
Turnout				24.4%
	Conservative hold		Swing

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Edwin J. Northover.

2014-2018

William Morris by-election, 29 June 2017 ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Umar Ali	1,923	68.4	+11.5
	Green	Rebecca Tully	524	18.6	+1.8
	Conservative	Afzal Akram	365	13.0	+6.2
Turnout			2,813
	Labour hold		Swing

The by-election was triggered by the death of Councillor Nadeem Ali, of the Labour Party. ^[15]

2018-2022

Hatch Lane by-election, 6 May 2021 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Afzal Akram	2,072	50.9	+3.2
	Labour	Catherine Burns	1,565	38.4	+2.3
	Green	Robert Tatam	266	6.5	-3.4
	Liberal Democrats	Henry Boyle	170	4.2	-2.0
Majority			507	12.4
Turnout			4,073
	Conservative hold		Swing

The by-election was triggered by the death of Councillor Geoff Walker, of the Conservative Party.

Grove Green by-election, 10 June 2021 ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Uzma Rasool	1,301	58.4	+4.1
	Liberal Democrats	Arran Angus	541	24.3	+0.6
	Green	Mark Dawes	205	9.2	-2.9
	Conservative	Shahamima Khan	142	6.4	-0.1
	TUSC	Kevin Parslow	40	1.8	-1.6
Majority			760	34.1
Turnout			2,229
	Labour hold		Swing

The by-election was triggered by the death of Councillor Chris Robbins, of the Labour Party.

Lea Bridge by-election, 10 June 2021 ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jennifer Whilby	1,176	50.0	-8.6
	Independent	Claire Weiss	441	18.8	+18.8
	Conservative	Sazimet Imre	436	18.6	+8.3
	Green	RoseMary Warrington	181	7.7	-9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Naomi McCarthy	116	4.9	-1.5
Majority			735	31.3
Turnout			2,350
	Labour hold		Swing

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Councillor Yemi Osho, of the Labour Party.

2022-2026

Higham Hill by-election, 26 October 2023 ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Shumon Ali-Rahman	924	57.3
	Liberal Democrats	Alex Lewis	268	16.6
	Green	Abigail Woodman	198	12.3
	TUSC	Nancy Taaffe	144	8.9
	Conservative	Moufazzal Bhuiyan	78	4.8
Majority			656	40.7
Turnout			1,612
	Labour hold		Swing

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Alistair Strathern MP, of the Labour Party.

Notes

1. The Essex and Greater London (County and London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993
2. The East London Boroughs (London Borough Boundaries) (No. 2) Order 1993
3. The Redbridge and Waltham Forest (London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993

References

1. "Council minutes". Waltham Forest Council. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
2. "London Boroughs Political Almanac". London Councils. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
3. "London Borough Council Elections 4 May 1978" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Council. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
4. "London Borough Council Elections 2 May 2002" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Authority. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
5. "The London Borough of Waltham Forest (Electoral Changes) Order 2021". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
6. "London Borough Council Elections 9 May 1968" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Council. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
7. "London Borough Council Elections 13 May 1971" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Council. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
8. "London Borough Council Elections 2 May 1974" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Council. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
9. "London Borough Council By-elections May 1990 to May 1994" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
10. "London Borough Council Elections 7 May 1998 including the Greater London Authority Referendum results" (PDF). London Datastore. London Research Centre. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
11. "London Borough Council Elections 4 May 2006" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Authority. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
12. "London Borough Council Elections 6 May 2010" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Authority. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
13. "London Borough Council Elections 22 May 2014" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Authority. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
14. "William Morris Ward By-Election Results 2017 | Waltham Forest Council". www.walthamforest.gov.uk.
15. "Brother wins by-election triggered by councillor's death". East London and West Essex Guardian Series.
16. "Local Elections Archive Project — Hatch Lane Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
17. "Local Elections Archive Project — Grove Green Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
18. "Local Elections Archive Project — Lea Bridge Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
19. "Local Elections Archive Project — Higham Hill Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2024.

External links

• Waltham Forest Council