What you need to know as Waltham Forest heads into local elections

The turnout was 33.1% and there was a 0.3% swing from the Conservatives to Labour.

Labour: 47 seats (+1)

Conservative: 13 seats (-1)

Since the election, three Tory councillors have defected to Reform UK and three Labour councillors now sit as independents.

Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics said: "Waltham Forest is strongly Labour-controlled at the moment but has Conservative elements, it's been a Conservative/Labour borough ever since its creation.

"The Conservatives are not doing as well in the polls as they'd want to, Labour are not doing at all well, so it looks there as if we might see some Green successes.

"Waltham Forest is right on the edge between Labour holding control and possibly going no overall control with Labour as the biggest party."

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 the mayor in five boroughs: Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets.

All candidates in the Waltham Forest Council election 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 Waltham Forest on the borough's website.

The London Borough of Waltham Forest is in north-east London and is bordered by Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to the south-west, Newham to the south-east, and Redbridge to the east.

The borough also shares a northern border with the county of Essex.

What's it like? Waltham Forest is an outer London borough with a mix of older homes and newer blocks of flats and is well connected to central London. It has extensive green spaces including Epping Forest and Walthamstow Wetlands.

Neighbourhoods: The borough's neighbourhoods include Chingford, Walthamstow and Leyton.

Places of interest: The borough is home to Walthamstow Wetlands, Walthamstow Market, parts of Epping Forest, Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge and the William Morris Gallery in Lloyd Park.

Pub quiz fact: The first British four-wheeled motor car with an internal combustion engine was built and driven in the borough in 1892.

Population: An estimated 279,737 people were living in Waltham Forest in 2024, according to ONS data.

Demographics: According to the 2021 census, 52.8% identify as white, 19.9% as Asian, 15% as black, 6.5% as mixed race and 2.2% as another ethnic group.

Average property price: According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average house price in Waltham Forest in December 2025 was £525,738.

Average monthly rent: The ONS reported that the average monthly rent in January 2026 in Waltham Forest was £1,748.

Council tax: Band D council tax in the borough for 2026/27 is £2,386.96.

Transport: Waltham Forest has four Tube stations, eight Overground stations and about 500 bus stops, according to Transport for London.

More information about Waltham Forest borough can be found here.

Waltham Forest was dominated by its countryside woodland and waterways until the railway was built in the mid-19th Century.

As its population began to grow, so did the industrial areas in the borough, with large factory sites used for manufacturing.

It is home to Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, built in 1543 for Henry VIII and renovated by order of Elizabeth I, and what is said to be London's oldest house, which is in Walthamstow.

Remnants from the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman Britain have been found in Walthamstow.

It is the birthplace of two recent England men's football captains, David Beckham and Harry Kane, who attended the same local school, although not at the same time.

Waltham Forest was one of six London boroughs to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.

And in 2019, it became the first London Borough of Culture.

The borough was established in 1965 when Chingford, Leyton, and Walthamstow were brought together.

Control of Waltham Forest has switched eight times since its formation between Labour, the Conservatives and no overall control.

What was a typical marginal borough has been in Labour hands for the last 16 years with the party increasing the size of its majority at each election.

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