2026 Epping Forest District Council election
Local election in Epping Forest, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 Epping Forest District Council election was held on Thursday 7 May 2026, as part of the 2026 United Kingdom local elections. Eighteen of Epping Forest District Council's 54 seats were contested.
45.8%
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7 May 2026
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18 seats to Epping Forest District Council 28 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 100,065 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 45,840 45.8% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Election results by ward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.png) Council composition after the election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The council was under no overall control prior to the election, being run by a Conservative minority administration, led by Chris Whitbread. Reform UK won 12 of the 18 seats contested at this election, but the council remained under no overall control and the Conservatives remained the largest party on the council. At the subsequent annual council meeting on 28 May 2026 there was a vote of no confidence in Chris Whitbread's leadership, but it was defeated. As such, the Conservative minority administration continued.[1]
Background
The 2026 Epping Forest District Council election was held on 7 May 2026, following a period of unprecedented turmoil that has shaken the foundations of local politics in the district.
In 2025, Epping saw protests and riots erupt over the Government’s use of the Bell Hotel to house asylum seekers. Demonstrations regularly descended into confrontation, as local residents, anti-fascist campaigners, and far-right activists clashed in scenes unseen in the town for generations.[2] The unrest intensified after the sexual assault of a woman and a schoolgirl by a resident of the hotel, whose conviction and sentencing in September 2025 ignited further anger and polarised opinion across the district.
In response, the Conservative administration on the council took the unprecedented step of launching a legal challenge against the Home Office, securing a temporary High Court injunction in August 2025 to halt the placement of asylum seekers in the Bell Hotel. That victory proved fleeting: the ruling was overturned at the Court of Appeal, and the case now stands before the Supreme Court, due for a final judgment in October 2026.[3]
The crisis has fractured the Conservatives themselves. After months of mounting criticism over their handling of the Bell Hotel unrest, the group lost its majority for the first time since 2006, when two councillors resigned to join the Independents.[4] As a result, the Conservatives will enter the 2026 election defending a fragile minority administration, their dominance of the council for nearly two decades under unprecedented threat.
From December 2025 until mid-January, questions surrounded whether the 2026 district elections would proceed as scheduled. In December, the Government invited 63 councils, including Epping Forest, to request a one-year postponement of elections in light of ongoing plans for local government reorganisation, which would replace district, borough and county councils with larger unitary authorities. Following a meeting of the four political group leaders, Epping Forest District Council decided not to seek a delay. As a result, a proposed extraordinary council meeting—at which councillors could have voted on postponement—was cancelled, and the council formally confirmed that the elections would go ahead on 7 May 2026. Council leaders acknowledged concerns that holding elections could delay reorganisation but stated that maintaining democratic accountability took precedence. The decision was publicly welcomed by opposition councillors and the district’s Member of Parliament, Dr Neil Hudson, who argued that residents should retain the right to vote despite the wider structural uncertainty.
These local elections resulted in a historic realignment of Epping Forest District Council, as the incumbent Conservative administration officially lost overall control of the authority for the first time since 2006.
Reform UK emerged as the primary beneficiaries of the election, capturing 11 of the 18 seats contested on the night. This surged their total representation to 12 seats, positioning them as the joint official opposition alongside the Loughton Residents Association (LRA) immediately following the count. Concurrently, the Conservative Party suffered its worst electoral performance in the district for 27 years, seeing its total number of councillors reduced to 19. The election saw several high-profile defensive failures for the Conservatives, with multiple cabinet members losing their seats including Paul Keska and Tim Matthews, with a Planning Committee Chairman, Sue Jones, also unseated. Former Finance Cabinet Member John Philip also failed in his bid to re-enter the chamber, losing the Rural East ward to Reform UK's Karen McIvor. In one of the few prominent holds for the ruling party, Finance Cabinet Member Holly Whitbread retained her Epping West and Rural seat by a narrow margin of 32 votes in a very tight three-way vote in Epping West and Rural.
The district council results mirrored a widespread shift in the concurrent Essex County Council elections held on the same day. Within the Epping Forest district boundary, Reform UK won six of the seven county divisions. High-profile Conservative casualties at the county level included Council Leader Chris Whitbread, who lost his North Weald and Nazeing county seat to Reform UK, and Holly Whitbread, who lost her Epping and Theydon Bois county seat to Reform UK. Additionally, a boundary change in Loughton North saw veteran LRA county councillor Chris Pond lose to Reform UK. Conservative cabinet member Lee Scott was the sole survivor for his party, retaining Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill East.
Following the declaration of all 18 seats on 8 May 2026, no single political group held an absolute majority in the 54-seat chamber, plunging the council into No Overall Control.
The political composition of the council shifted further in the weeks immediately following the election. On 28 May 2026, LRA councillor Michael Owen resigned from the LRA district group to sit as an Independent. This reduction left the LRA with 11 seats, making Reform UK the sole second-largest political group and the official opposition ahead of the annual council meeting.
Council composition and changes
| 2024 election | Before 2026 election | After 2026 election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Party | Seats | Party | Seats | |||
| Conservative | 29 | Conservative | 26 | Conservative | 19 | |||
| Loughton Residents | 13 | Loughton Residents | 13 | Loughton Residents | 12 | |||
| Reform | 0 | Reform | 1 | Reform | 12 | |||
| Liberal Democrats | 7 | Liberal Democrats | 7 | Liberal Democrats | 6 | |||
| Epping Forest Independents | 2 | Epping Forest Independents | 2 | Epping Forest Independents | 3 | |||
| Independent | 1 | Independent | 3 | Independent | 1 | |||
| Labour | 1 | Labour | 1 | Labour | 1 | |||
| Green | 1 | Green | 1 | Green | 0 | |||
Seats up for election
Council ward |
Incumbent party | Councillor up for election | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buckhurst Hill East & Whitebridge | Green | Elizabeth Gabbett | |
| Buckhurst Hill West | Conservative | Smruti Patel | |
| Chigwell with Lambourne | Conservative | Darshan Sunger | |
| Epping East | Liberal Democrats | Edward Barnard | |
| Epping West & Rural | Conservative | Holly Whitbread | |
| Grange Hill | Conservative | Rashni Chahal Holden (Not running for re-election) | |
| Loughton Fairmead | Loughton Residents | Arash Ardakani (Not running for re-election) | |
| Loughton Forest | Loughton Residents | Ian Allgood (Not running for re-election) | |
| Loughton Roding | Loughton Residents | Chidi Nweke | |
| Loughton St. John's | Loughton Residents | Graham Wiskin | |
| North Weald Bassett | Conservative | Les Burrows (Not running for re-election) | |
| Ongar | Conservative | Paul Keska | |
| Roydon & Lower Nazeing | Conservative | Ronda Pugsley | |
| Rural East | Conservative | Ian Hadley (Not running for re-election) | |
| Theydon Bois with Passingford | Conservative | Sue Jones | |
| Waltham Abbey North | Conservative | David Stocker (Not running for re-election) | |
| Waltham Abbey South & Rural | Conservative | Tim Matthews | |
| Waltham Abbey West | Independent | Shane Yerrell (Not running for re-election) | |
Summary
Election result
| 2026 Epping Forest District Council election | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidates | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
| Conservative | 18 | 19 | 0 | 10 |  10 |
35.1 | 26.3 | 11,980 | 11.9 | |
| Loughton Residents | 4 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
22.2 | 8.1 | 3,686 | 8.9 | |
| Reform | 18 | 12 | 11 | 0 |  11 |
22.2 | 40.7 | 18,522 | 30.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 13 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
11.1 | 9.0 | 4,089 | 6.7 | |
| Epping Forest Independents | 6 | 3 | 1[c] | 0 | 1 |
5.5 | 2.8 | 1,266 | 4.7 | |
| Labour | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 |  |
1.8 | 7.2 | 3,278 | 15.3 | |
| Green | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
1.8 | 5.4 | 2,442 | 1.3 | |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
1.8 | 0.3 | 158 | 3.3 | |
| English Democrat | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0.0 | 0.2 | 78 | 0.4 | |
| TUSC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 0.7 | |
By ward
| Ward | Conservative | Reform UK | Liberal Democrat | LRA | Independent inc. EFIG |
Labour | Green | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Buckhurst Hill East & Whitebridge | 19.7 | 38.0 | 8.8 | – | – | – | 33.5 | – |
| Buckhurst Hill West | 34.5 | 30.0 | 5.7 | – | 2.0 | 5.3 | 22.1 | – |
| Chigwell with Lambourne | 51.0 | 38.5 | – | – | – | 10.5 | – | – |
| Epping East | 18.6 | 33.7 | 32.3 | – | 12.5 | 2.9 | – | – |
| Epping West & Rural | 34.3 | 33.2 | 32.5 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Grange Hill | 32.5 | 26.0 | 6.2 | – | 24.3 | 11.0 | – | – |
| Loughton Fairmead | 6.1 | 40.2 | – | 34.6 | – | 7.1 | 12.0 | – |
| Loughton Forest | 15.8 | 25.6 | 2.3 | 44.0 | – | 4.0 | 7.7 | 0.0 |
| Loughton Roding | 8.8 | 35.0 | 2.8 | 35.8 | – | 5.6 | 12.0 | – |
| Loughton St. John's | 12.8 | 34.6 | 2.3 | 37.7 | – | 8.2 | 8.2 | – |
| North Weald Bassett | 30.0 | 49.4 | 13.0 | – | – | 7.7 | – | – |
| Ongar | 22.3 | 57.3 | 5.6 | – | 9.0 | 5.9 | – | – |
| Roydon & Lower Nazeing | 37.4 | 47.3 | – | – | – | 15.5 | – | – |
| Rural East | 33.8 | 51.0 | – | – | – | 12.6 | – | 2.5 |
| Theydon Bois with Passingford | 30.7 | 44.8 | 19.6 | – | 2.2 | 2.7 | – | – |
| Waltham Abbey North | 22.6 | 52.8 | – | – | 8.2 | 16.4 | – | – |
| Waltham Abbey South & Rural | 29.4 | 50.2 | 10.5 | – | – | 9.7 | – | – |
| Waltham Abbey West | 28.2 | 46.8 | 10.5 | – | – | 14.5 | – | – |
Close seats
Seats won with winning margins under 5.0%.
- Loughton Roding, 0.8% (20 votes)
- Epping West & Rural, 1.1% (32 votes)
- Epping East, 1.4% (43 votes)
- Loughton St. John's, 3.1% (82 votes)
- Buckhurst Hill West, 4.4% (116 votes)
- Buckhurst Hill East & Whitebridge, 4.5% (128 votes)
Ward results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | James Small | 1,060 | 38.0 | N/A | |
| Green | Elizabeth Gabbett | 932 | 33.5 | | |
| Conservative | Joanna Farmer | 547 | 19.7 | 3.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Naomi Davies | 244 | 8.8 | N/A | |
| Majority | 128 | 4.5 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,783 | 48.0 | 15.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Reform gain from Green | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Smruti Patel* | 891 | 34.5 | 1.6 | |
| Reform | Yvonne Hrusa | 775 | 30.0 | N/A | |
| Green | Dewole Aradeon | 572 | 22.1 | 1.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ish Singh | 149 | 5.7 | 7.6 | |
| Labour | Alain Laviolette | 139 | 5.3 | 11.5 | |
| EFIG | Ceejay Ubah | 53 | 2.0 | 11.7 | |
| Majority | 116 | 4.4 | |||
| Turnout | 2,579 | 50.0 | 16.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Darshan Sunger* | 1,366 | 51.0 | 5.6 | |
| Reform | Kieran Emery | 1,030 | 38.5 | N/A | |
| Labour | Tony Casaluci | 279 | 10.5 | 10.7 | |
| Majority | 336 | 12.5 | |||
| Turnout | 2,675 | 35.0 | 3.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Karen Batley | 1,007 | 33.7 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Edward Barnard* | 964 | 32.3 | 12.4 | |
| Conservative | Ian Roberts | 557 | 18.6 | 1.7 | |
| EFIG | Cherry McCredie | 364 | 12.5 | N/A | |
| Labour | James Murchison | 88 | 2.9 | 7.7 | |
| Majority | 43 | 1.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,980 | 54.0 | 19.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Reform gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Holly Whitbread* | 986 | 34.3 | 1.8 | |
| Reform | Andrew Smith | 954 | 33.2 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Alex Frost | 929 | 32.5 | 8.5 | |
| Majority | 32 | 1.1 | 0.2 | ||
| Turnout | 2,024 | 55.0 | 16.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jamie Braha | 727 | 32.5 | 3.1 | |
| Reform | Yair Cohen | 580 | 26.0 | N/A | |
| EFIG | Erika Skingsley | 379 | 17.3 | 17.5 | |
| Labour | Syed Sadaf | 247 | 11.0 | 9.5 | |
| Independent | Debbie Rye | 158 | 7.0 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Richard Griffiths | 140 | 6.2 | 2.9 | |
| Majority | 147 | 6.5 | |||
| Turnout | 2,231 | 36.0 | 5.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Natalie Wilding-Barrett | 837 | 40.2 | N/A | |
| Loughton Residents | David Wixley | 721 | 34.6 | 29.3 | |
| Green | Joseph Downie | 246 | 12.0 | N/A | |
| Labour | Tom Ayre | 148 | 7.1 | 4.9 | |
| Conservative | Shivaje Karari | 129 | 6.1 | 8.0 | |
| Majority | 116 | 5.5 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,081 | 38.0 | 14.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Reform gain from Loughton Residents | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loughton Residents | Richard Cohen | 1,173 | 44.0 | 13.9 | |
| Reform | Jon Bryan | 685 | 25.6 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Mari-Louise Whitbread | 424 | 15.8 | 1.3 | |
| Green | Hannah Lovell | 208 | 7.7 | N/A | |
| Labour | Elizabeth Marsh | 109 | 4.0 | 9.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Glenn Hernandez | 64 | 2.3 | 6.1 | |
| TUSC | Scott Jones | 5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | |
| Majority | 488 | 18.2 | |||
| Turnout | 2,668 | 50.0 | 15.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Loughton Residents hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loughton Residents | Chidi Nweke* | 806 | 35.8 | 1.1 | |
| Reform | Neil Carlsson | 786 | 35.0 | N/A | |
| Green | Chris Hill | 269 | 12.0 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Manraj Atwal | 198 | 8.8 | 3.3 | |
| Labour | Debbie Wild | 127 | 5.6 | 8.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Sinfield | 63 | 2.8 | N/A | |
| Majority | 20 | 0.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,249 | 39.0 | 12.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Loughton Residents hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loughton Residents | Graham Wiskin | 986 | 37.7 | 27.8 | |
| Reform | Adam Riches | 904 | 34.6 | N/A | |
| Conservative | David Saunders | 336 | 12.8 | 6.9 | |
| Green | Joe Fellows | 215 | 8.2 | N/A | |
| Labour | Alastair Smith | 108 | 8.2 | 12.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ralph Cox | 62 | 2.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 82 | 3.1 | |||
| Turnout | 2,611 | 48.0 | 18.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Loughton Residents hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Jay Gupta | 1,209 | 49.4 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Andy Irvine | 731 | 30.0 | 2.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Tom Addenbrooke | 316 | 13.0 | N/A | |
| Labour | Ann Huish | 188 | 7.7 | 13.1 | |
| Majority | 478 | 19.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,445 | 49.0 | 18.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Reform gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Annie O'Neill | 1,652 | 57.3 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Paul Keska* | 642 | 22.3 | 38.4 | |
| EFIG | Tony Sweetman | 250 | 9.0 | N/A | |
| Labour | Ron Huish | 171 | 5.9 | 16.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Monica Richardson | 164 | 5.6 | 11.2 | |
| Majority | 1,010 | 35.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,879 | 50.0 | 23.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Reform gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Phil Dawkins | 1,118 | 47.3 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Ronda Pugsley | 880 | 37.4 | 18.2 | |
| Labour | Alex Drummond | 364 | 15.5 | 14.1 | |
| Majority | 238 | 9.9 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,362 | 43.0 | 17.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Reform gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Karen McIvor | 1,559 | 51.0 | 37.9 | |
| Conservative | John Philip | 1,035 | 33.8 | 0.7 | |
| Labour | Dale Walker | 388 | 12.6 | 3.8 | |
| English Democrat | Robin Tilbrook | 78 | 2.5 | 6.7 | |
| Majority | 524 | 17.1 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 3,060 | 49.0 | 19.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Reform gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Geoff Shaw | 1,249 | 44.8 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Sue Jones | 856 | 30.7 | 3.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Rahim Hussein | 548 | 19.6 | 27.5 | |
| Labour | Christine Mortimer | 76 | 2.7 | 5.1 | |
| EFIG | William Ayrton | 58 | 2.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 393 | 14.1 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,787 | 54.0 | 18.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Reform gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Paul Kelleher | 1,060 | 52.8 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Andrew Crowley | 454 | 22.6 | 10.1 | |
| Labour | Kevin Hind | 329 | 16.4 | 18.8 | |
| EFIG | Amber Badyari | 162 | 8.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 606 | 30.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,005 | 38.0 | 14.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Reform gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | James Abbott | 1,038 | 50.2 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Tim Matthews* | 607 | 29.4 | 29.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Paul Tippett | 218 | 10.5 | N/A | |
| Labour | Sean Voitov | 201 | 9.7 | 31.6 | |
| Majority | 431 | 20.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,064 | 38.0 | 14.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Reform gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Josh Webb | 1,019 | 46.8 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Fraser Scott | 614 | 28.2 | 27.3 | |
| Labour | Angela Ayre | 316 | 14.5 | 30.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Paul Ward | 228 | 10.5 | N/A | |
| Majority | 405 | 18.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 2,177 | 39.0 | 16.0 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Reform gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
By-elections (district and parish)
Below are by-elections that took place from the local elections in 2024 at both district level, and parish council level, including town councils.
Grange Hill
Below is the breakdown of the results from the 2024 parish council election to the Grange Hill ward on Chigwell Parish Council - the boundaries of which mirror those at the district level. The below table is for comparison with the Grange Hill by-election result.
| 2024 parish election results - Grange Hill ward | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | Seats
before |
Seats
after |
± | |
| Conservative | 4,505 | 55.9 | 5 | 3 | 2 | |
| EFIG | 3,081 | 38.3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | |
| Green | 473 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | | |
| Turnout | 1,852 | 30.0 | ||||
| Electorate | 6,142 | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EFIG | Erika Skingsley | 357 | 57.4 | 19.2 | |
| Conservative | Shivaje Singh Karari | 265 | 42.6 | 13.3 | |
| Majority | 92 | 14.7 | |||
| Turnout | 622 | 10.0 | |||
| EFIG gain from Independent | |||||
Change in vote share is based on the ward-wide results achieved at the 2024 parish council election.
Buckhurst Hill West
Below is the breakdown of the results from the 2024 parish council election to the Buckhurst Hill West ward - the boundaries of which mirror those at the district level. The below table is for comparison with the Buckhurst Hill West by-election result.
| 2024 parish election result - Buckhurst Hill West ward | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | Seatsbefore | Seatsafter | ± | |
| Conservative | 4,340 | 61.4 | 5 | 5 | | |
| Green | 1,657 | 23.5 | 1 | 1 | | |
| EFIG | 1,071 | 15.1 | 0 | 0 | | |
| Turnout | 1,754 | 34.0 | ||||
| Electorate | 5,198 | |||||
| 2025 parish by-election result - Buckhurst Hill West ward | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | ±% | Seatsbefore | Seatsafter | ± | |
| Reform UK | 976 | 33.4 | N/A | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Conservative | 768 | 26.2 | 25.0 |
5 | 3 | 2 | |
| Green | 682 | 23.3 | 0.2 |
1 | 1 | | |
| EFIG / Independent | 320 | 11.0 | N/A | 0 | 0 | | |
| Liberal Democrat | 180 | 6.2 | N/A | 0 | 0 | | |
| Turnout | 1,516 | 29.0 | |||||
| Electorate | 5,196 | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Kieran Emery | 493 | 33.4 | N/A | |
| Reform | Natalie Wilding Barrett | 483 | |||
| Conservative | Colette Fox | 417 | 26.2 | 25.0 | |
| Green | Kathryn Radley | 355 | 23.3 | 0.2 | |
| Conservative | Selina Seesunkur | 351 | |||
| Green | Joanna Garbaty | 327 | |||
| Independent | Casta Littlewood | 187 | 11.0 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Rahim Hussein | 180 | 6.2 | N/A | |
| EFIG | Lyubka Mihailova | 70 | |||
| EFIG | Malachi Fontenelle | 60 | |||
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | 1,516 | 29.0 | |||
| Reform gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| Reform gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Shelley
Notes
- EFIG - Cllr Tom Bromwich (North Weald Bassett), Cllr Maria Markham (Waltham Abbey South and Rural), Cllr Lisa Morgan (Grange Hill), Cllr Shane Yerrell (Waltham Abbey West); Loughton Independent - Cllr Stephen Murray (Loughton Roding)
- EFIG - Cllr Tom Bromwich (North Weald Bassett), Cllr Maria Markham (Waltham Abbey South and Rural), Cllr Lisa Morgan (Grange Hill); Loughton Independent - Cllr Stephen Murray (Loughton Roding)
- Seat not gained at the election, but via a councillor crossing the floor in 2025 from the Conservatives.