2026 Havering London Borough Council election

The 2026 Havering London Borough Council election will take place on 7 May 2026 to elect all 55 members of Havering London Borough Council. The elections are due to take place alongside the rest of the local elections in London boroughs. It will take place as a part of the 2026 United Kingdom local elections.

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.^[1]

Following the 2022 election, the Conservatives were the largest group on the council but five seats short of a majority. The Havering Residents Association (HRA) entered into a leadership coalition with the Labour Party, with Ray Morgon (HRA, Hacton) as council leader.^[2] John Tyler (HRA, Cranham) did not join the HRA group and sat as an independent.^[3] The Harold Wood Hill Park Residents Association, who were no longer affiliated with the HRA, formed the three-member East Havering Residents Group. Following the July 2022 Wennington wildfire, in September 2022, Sarah Edwards, Sue Ospreay and Jackie McArdle (all Conservative, Rainham and Wennington) defected to the HRA.^[4] The May 2023 death of Linda Hawthorn (HRA, Upminster) led to the 2023 Upminster by-election and the election of Jacqueline Williams (also HRA).^[5][6] In February 2024, Robby Misir (Conservative, Marshalls and Rise Park) joined the HRA and Philip Ruck (HRA, Cranham) left the party to sit as an independent.^[7] John Tyler and Philip Ruck then formed the two-member Residents Association Independent Group. In May 2024, John Crowder (Conservative, Havering-atte-Bower), Philippa Crowder (Conservative, Marshalls and Rise Park) and Christine Smith (Conservative, Hylands and Harrow Lodge) joined the HRA.^[8] Paul McGeary (Labour, Gooshays) also joined the HRA.^[9] The HRA–Labour coalition came to an end in June 2024 and the HRA then formed a minority administration.^[10] In July 2024, Jackie McArdle (HRA, Rainham and Wennington) rejoined the Conservatives.^[11] In October 2025, Keith Prince (Conservative, Squirrels Heath) defected to Reform UK.^[12] Two further councillors defected from the Conservatives to Reform in February 2026.^[13]

Key council policies and events since the last election in May 2022 were:

• Response to the 2022 Wennington wildfire^[14]
• Climate emergency declaration^[15]
• Opposition to the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone^[16]
• Approval of the Romford town centre masterplan^[17]
• Plans to sell six council car parks to be used for housing^[18]
• Temporary modular homes plan approved for the demolished Waterloo estate site^[19]
• A tribunal appeal made in 2024 not to publish a diversity report originally produced in 2020, that showed the authority to have normalised sexism and racism, was overturned and the document was published^[20]
• A judicial review overturned the 2024 council decision not to record the Launders Lane illegal landfill as contaminated, that would have exempted the council from having to clean it up^[21]
• Proposal for a data centre on Metropolitan Green Belt land using a local development order^[22]
• New waste and recycling supplier with recycled waste service expanded to include more categories of glass and plastics^[23]
• Delay to the start of the weekly food waste collection service past the March 2026 statutory deadline^[24]
• £237 million of borrowing from UK government to avoid Section 114 notice. Made up of £32.5 million bailout loan for 2024/25, £88 million for 2025/26 and £77 million for 2026/27.^[25][26][27]
• Three library branches closed^[28]

Ward boundaries established in 2022 will be used for the second time. 55 councillors will be elected from 19 wards. Each ward returns either two or three councillors. Polling will take place on 7 May 2026.^[29]

Havering, as is the case for all London borough councils, elects all of its councillors at once every four years, with the previous election having taken place in 2022. The election will take 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.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in London aged 18 or over will be 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.^[30] Voting in-person at polling stations will take place from 7:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters will be able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.^[30]

• Council composition following the 2022 election