2026 Bexley London Borough Council election

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.^[4]

Bexley has generally been controlled by the Conservatives since its creation, except for the elections of 1964, 1971 and 2002 which resulted in Labour councils, and the 1994 council election which resulted in no overall control. In the 2022 election, the Conservatives won 33 seats with 50.8% of the vote across Bexley, whilst Labour won 10 seats with 44.0% of the vote.

David Leaf, the new leader of the majority Conservative group on the council, attacked the Labour government saying the council has faced "brutal cuts" and that they were "forced to put council tax up" by 4.99%.^[11] Leaf said "what's important for us is investing in the services that matter to our residents - whether it's supporting the thousands of residents who are elderly who benefit from social care, the hundreds of vulnerable children we protect and keep safe every day, or investing in ensuring our streets are clean."^[12]

Stefano Borella, leader of the opposition Labour group, focused on the "50,000 renters in Bexley" and defending the government's Renters' Rights Act. He said that Bexley needed more affordable housing, more council housing, and more investment in roads and pavements.^[11] In the House of Commons, the 2024-intake Bexleyheath and Crayford Labour MP Daniel Francis stated that he wanted to ensure the £895,000 of government-funded pothole repair is well spent, including on Mayplace Road East in Barnehurst.^[13]

Reform UK launched its London election campaign on 29 March, with party leader Nigel Farage saying "we are seriously competitive in Croydon, in Bromley, in Bexley, in Havering, and maybe two or three others."^[14] On 8 April, Farage campaigned in Welling.^[15] Reform candidate Miles Jones said the party would cut wasteful spending, save money, fix potholes, and conduct a "real audit of council finances". However, some compare^[12] a potential Reform administration in Bexley to Kent County Council, which Reform took majority control of in 2025 including winning all six seats in neighbouring Dartford, promising not to raise tax but then raising it by 3.99% at their first budget.^[16] Nigel Farage previously led UKIP, which won 3 seats on Bexley Council in 2014.

Bexley, as is the case all other London borough councils, elects all of its councillors at once every four years, with the previous election having taken place in 2022. The election takes 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 are 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.^[17] Voting in-person at polling stations takes place from 7:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters are able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.^[17]

This election is set to break numerous records. 192 candidates will be standing across 17 wards to compete for 45 seats. This is 71% higher than the 112 candidates standing in the 2022 election. Taking into account the changes in Bexley Council's size over the years, this election will see the highest number of candidates per seats available ever, having 4.27 candidates per seats compared to the second highest 2010 which had 3.38 candidates per seat (213 candidates for 63 seats).

Three parties are standing in all 45 seats up for election: the Conservatives, Labour, and Reform UK. This will be the 16th time for the Conservatives, who have stood candidates for every seat in every election except 1964; the 17th time for Labour, who have stood candidates for every seat in every election if you include a Labour and Co-operative candidate in 1986^[18]; and the first time for Reform UK, who stood for the first time in 2022 with four candidates. Reform UK will be the first third party to stand the maximum number of candidates since 1994 when the Liberal Democrats stood a full house.^[19]

The Liberal Democrats (UK) are standing 28 candidates (in 62.2% of seats), their highest number since 2010 when they stood 40 candidates (in 63.5% of seats). The Green Party of England and Wales are standing 24 candidates (in 53.3% of seats), their highest number ever, beating their previous record of 7 candidates (in 11.1% of seats) in 2014. Five separate political parties (Conservatives, Labour, Reform, Liberal Democrats, and the Greens) will be standing at least one candidate in every ward for the first time, and standing in over half of the available seats for the first time.^[20][21]

Changes 2022-2026:

• April 2023: Felix Di Netimah (Conservative) leaves party to sit as an independent^[22]
• May 2024: Nigel Betts (Conservative) leaves party to sit as an independent^[23]
• September 2024: Daniel Francis (Labour) resigns – by-election held October 2024^[24]
• October 2024: Jeremy Fosten (Labour) wins by-election^[25]
• February 2025: James Hunt (Conservative) leaves party to sit as an independent^[26]

Statements of persons nominated were published on 9 April.^[27] Incumbent councillors are marked with an asterisk (*). Those elected are in bold.