What you need to know as Brent heads into local elections

The turnout was 30.7% with a 3% swing from Labour to Conservatives.

Labour: 49 seats (-10)

Conservative: 5 seats (+2)

Lib Dems: 3 seats (+2)

Boundary changes reduced the number of seats by six in 2022.

Since the election, five Labour councillors defected to the Greens and one Labour councillor defected to the Conservatives.

Professor Tony Travers, of the London School of Economics, saidLabour is well in control in Brent, but they're losing slightly to the Conservatives in the north of the borough.

They could lose to Greens in other parts of the borough as well, there have been previous defections. So, although Labour are likely to hold on, it will likely be with a reduced majority.

At the moment, Labour are dominant in London - they have 21 of its 32 councils, a record-equalling high.

The Conservatives run just five - having lost their former "crown-jewel" councils of Wandsworth and Westminster to Labour at the last borough elections in 2022.

The Liberal Democrats run three councils in south-west London and will be looking to gain Merton from Labour.

The Aspire Party run Tower Hamlets and two boroughs are currently in no overall control.

Nick Bowes, insight director from the London Communications Agency, said: "These are likely to be the most consequential elections in London, certainly for the past 20 years - possibly since the first borough elections in 1964."

He added: "The ways things are fragmenting in the polls it's very difficult to predict exactly what's going to happen but it does look like being a very bad night for Labour and the Conservatives in London."

More than six million Londoners can vote in the council elections on Thursday 7 May 2026.

All 32 London boroughs are up for election.

There are also elections for Brthe mayor in five boroughs: Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets.

All candidates in the Brent Council election are are listed on the borough's website.

Use our tool to see what elections are being held in your area.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday 20 April 2026.

The deadline to apply for a postal vote is Tuesday 21 April 2026 at 17:00 BST - you must be registered to vote before you can receive a postal vote.

The deadline to change existing postal or proxy voting arrangements is also Tuesday 21 April 2026 at 17:00.

The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is Tuesday 28 April 2026 at 17:00.

Photographic voter ID is required to vote at a polling station - if you do not have valid Voter ID, the deadline to apply for photo ID to vote (called a Voter Authority Certificate) for this election is Tuesday 28 April 2026 at 17:00.

Election Day: Thursday 7 May 2026 from 07:00 to 22:00.

You can find more information about voting in Brent on the borough's website.

The London Borough of Brent is in north-west London and bordered by Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Barnet, Camden, Westminster and Ealing.

What's it like? Brent is one of the most ethnically diverse local authorities in the UK, a mix of urban districts in the east and suburban neighbourhoods in the west. It is also home to England's national football stadium.

Neighbourhoods: Kenton, Kilburn, Willesden, Wembley, Harlesden, Stonebridge, Kingsbury, Kensal Green, Neasden, Sudbury Park, Cricklewood, Queen's Park.

Places of interest: Wembley Stadium, Welsh Harp Reservoir, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, Willesden Gallery, Kiln Theatre, Fryent Country Park, Chalkhill Open Space, Mapesbury Dell.

Pub quiz fact: Brent is the only London borough named after a river.

Population: (2024 estimate) 352,976.

Demographics: According to the 2021 census, 34.6% of people in Brent identified their ethnic group as white, 32.8% identified as Asian, 17.5% identified as black, 5.1% as mixed race and 10% as other.

Brent has the highest percentage of non-UK born residents in England and Wales, with 56% of its population born outside the UK.

Average property price: According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average house price in Brent in December 2025 was £568,000.

Average monthly rent:The ONS reported that the average monthly rent in January 2026 in Brent was £1,933.

Council tax: Band D council tax in the borough for 2026/27 is £2,235.

Transport:According to TfL, there are 21 Tube stations in the borough, 12 London Overground stations and around 600 bus stops.

More information about Brent can be found here.

The area that is now Brent has been settled since prehistoric times, with Roman activity found in Kingsbury and Dollis Hill.

Wembley was an area of rural hamlets and farmland until the arrival of the railways in the mid-19th century. It was later developed as suburban housing, known as Metroland, and hosted the British Empire Exhibition in 1924, resulting in the development of Wembley Stadium.

Willesden went from an area producing apples, pears and vegetables for the city of London to a major centre for factories, especially car manufacturing, and the expansion of working class housing.

During the Second World War, Willesden suffered severe bomb damage due to the heavy concentration of munitions and other defence industries.

After the war, both suburbs attracted immigrants from Ireland, India and the Caribbean.

The creation of Brent in 1965 came about by the merger of Wembley and Willesden. The new local authority was named after the river that separated the two Middlesex boroughs. It has mostly been run by Labour, with several periods of no overall control and a brief period of Tory rule in the late 1960s.

Correction 2 April: An earlier version of this article incorrectly featured a photo of BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. This has been replaced with a photograph of The Neasden Temple.

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