2026 Hammersmith and Fulham 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]

Since its formation, Hammersmith and Fulham has been under Labour control, Conservative control or no overall control. The council has had a Labour majority since the 2014 election. In the most recent election in 2022, Labour extended their majority to 40 seats with 57.1% of the vote, while the Conservatives won 10 seats with 29.1% of the vote. The incumbent leader of the council is the Labour councillor Stephen Cowan, who has held that position since 2014.

Hammersmith and Fulham, like other London borough councils, elects all of its councillors at once every four years. The previous election took place in 2018. The election took place by multi-member first-past-the-post voting, with each ward being represented by two or three councillors. Electors had 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 were entitled to vote in the election. People who lived at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, were entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities.^[5] Voting in-person at polling stations took place from 7:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters were able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.^[5]