What you need to know as Lambeth heads into local elections

The turnout was 31.5% and there was a 1.5% swing from Labour to the Greens.

Labour: 58 seats (+1)

Lib Dems: 3 seats (+3)

Greens: 2 seats (-3)

Conservative: 0 seats (-1)

Since the election the Greens have won a by-election and a Labour councillor who was suspended joined the Greens. A councillor who was suspended by Labour sits as an independent, and another Labour councillor defected to the Liberal Democrats.

Professor Tony Travers, of the London School of Economics, said Lambeth is currently strongly Labour-held but with threats from the Liberal Democrats in some parts of the borough, particularly for example at Oval.

Elsewhere, the Greens are likely to win seats from Labour as well. Overall it's hard to imagine Labour not being the biggest party, but possible that they could lose control.

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 Lambeth 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 Lambeth on the borough's website.

The London Borough of Lambeth is in south London and is bordered by five other boroughs and the River Thames to the north. Its neighbouring boroughs include Southwark, Bromley, Croydon, Merton and Wandsworth.

What's it like? Lambeth stetches from the artistic South Bank down to suburban Streatham and Norwood. It is home to landmarks such as Lambeth Palace, the London Eye, and Brixton Academy and has a vibrant mix of residential neighbourhoods, which are home to people from more than 40 countries of birth with some 130 languages being spoken.

Neighbourhoods: The borough includes the neighbourhoods of Brixton, Clapham, Vauxhall, Kennington, Oval, Herne Hill, Streatham, West Dulwich, Waterloo and Gipsy Hill.

Places of interest: Lambeth is home to numerous interesting places, including the Imperial War Museum, the National Theatre, BFI Southbank, Lambeth Palace, Oval Cricket Ground and Brixton Village.

Pub quiz fact: The first pineapple grown in Britain was cultivated in Lambeth in the 17th Century.

Population: There were an estimated 316,920 people living in Lambeth in 2024 according to ONS data.

Demographics: According to the 2021 census, 55% identify as white, 7.3% as Asian, 24% as black, 8.1% as mixed race and 2.7% as another ethnic group.

Average property price: According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average house price in Lambeth in December 2025 was £538,500.

Average monthly rent: The ONS reported that the average monthly rent in January 2026 in Lambeth was £2,522.

Council tax: Band D council tax in the borough for 2026/27 is 2,047.11.

Transport: Lambeth has 10 Tube stations, two Overground stations and approximately 560 bus stops. It also has 12 National Rail stations.

Lambeth was part of the historic county of Surrey.

It wassparsely populated until the 18th Century and was connected to boroughs north of the river in 1750, when Westminster Bridge opened.

The borough was an important manufacturing centre by the 18th Century. These waterfront industrial areas were heavily bombed during World War Two and some commercial and government offices were later built in the area, near to Waterloo station.

The borough became the historic heart of the Windrush generation in London when it welcomed a large number of arrivals from the Caribbean.

Lambeth was established in 1965 when the former metropolitan boroughs of Lambeth and part of Wandsworth were brought together.

Despite its reputation in the 1980s as a bastion of left wing politics, Lambeth has actually been in no overall control three times since 1982. It even had a brief spell with the Conservatives in charge at the end of the 1960s.

However, since 2006 it has been under Labour control and since 2014 with minimal opposition.

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