2026 Watford Borough Council election
2026 English local government election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 Watford Borough Council election will be held on 7 May 2026, alongside the other local elections across the United Kingdom being held on the same day, to elect 12 of 36 members of Watford Borough Council.[1] The election will be held alongside the 2026 Watford mayoral election.
 | |||||||||||||||||||
7 May 2026
| |||||||||||||||||||
12 out of 36 seats to Watford Borough Council 19 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Due to ongoing local government reorganisation, this will be the final election to Watford Borough Council before it is abolished and replaced by a successor unitary authority. Elections to the successor authority are due to take place in 2027.
Background
In the 2024 local elections, the Liberal Democrats won 11 of the 12 seats up for election, including three seats gained from the Labour Party, who held their leader's seat of Holywell.[2] With their election win, the Liberal Democrats maintained their 21-year control of the council.[2][3] In the 2024 general election, the Labour Party candidate Matt Turmaine gained the Watford constituency from the Conservative Party incumbent Dean Russell.[4] In January 2026, the council was given the option to cancel the 2026 elections in preparation for local government reorganisation, however, the council decided to proceed with the elections to "allow residents the right to exercise their democratic rights".[5]
Three by-elections were held between the 2024 and 2026 elections:
| Ward | Date | Incumbent | Winner | Cause | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Councillor | Party | Candidate | ||||||
| Holywell | 1 May 2025 | Labour | Matt Turmaine | Labour | Asma Suleman | Elected as the Member of Parliament for Watford | [6][7] | ||
| Oxhey | 1 May 2025 | Liberal Democrats | Chris Newstead | Liberal Democrats | Iain Sharpe | Resigned due to moving out of area | [8][7] | ||
| Tudor | 4 December 2025 | Liberal Democrats | Charlott Saunders | Liberal Democrats | Callum Robertson | Resigned due to personal reasons | [9][10] | ||
Incumbents
| Ward | Incumbent councillor | Party | Re-standing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Callowland | Ian Stotesbury | Liberal Democrats | Yes | |
| Central | Aga Dychton | Liberal Democrats | Yes | |
| Holywell | Asma Suleman[a] | Labour | Yes | |
| Leggatts | Shafiq Ahmed | Liberal Democrats | No | |
| Meriden | Jennifer Pattinson | Liberal Democrats | Yes | |
| Nascot | Tom Osborn | Liberal Democrats | Yes | |
| Oxhey | Kennedy Rodrigues | Liberal Democrats | No | |
| Park | Peter Kloss | Liberal Democrats | Yes | |
| Stanborough | Lenny Nembhard | Liberal Democrats | No | |
| Tudor | Stephen Johnson | Liberal Democrats | No | |
| Vicarage | Nasreen Shah | Labour | Yes | |
| Woodside | Glen Saffery | Liberal Democrats | Yes | |
Candidates by ward
Callowland
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Ola Alade | ||||
| Reform | Lisa Godden | ||||
| Conservative | Zeba Laskar | ||||
| Green | Seen Wai Lavelle | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Ian Stotesbury* | ||||
Central
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | Stephen Burrows | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Aga Dychton* | ||||
| Conservative | Avi Geller | ||||
| Labour | Mo Wadud Hakim | ||||
| Reform | Xiaolei Xie | ||||
Holywell
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Michael Barrett | ||||
| Green | Jake Mitchell | ||||
| TUSC | Mark O'Connor | ||||
| Conservative | Sanjaya Pant | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Emil Anwar Rowe | ||||
| Labour | Asma Suleman* | ||||
Leggatts
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Daniel Bagley | ||||
| Green | Malcolm Bush | ||||
| TUSC | Derek Foster | ||||
| Heritage | Sarah Knott | ||||
| Conservative | Junaid Laskar | ||||
| Labour | Marius Lupu | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Monjuma Rahman | ||||
Meriden
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Mark Dixon | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Jennifer Pattinson* | ||||
| Conservative | Jennie Raperport | ||||
| Labour | Richard Smith | ||||
| Green | Alison Wiesner | ||||
Nascot
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Mick Cash | ||||
| Conservative | Ravi Kura | ||||
| Reform | Tristan Masson | ||||
| Green | Nicola Mitchell | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Tom Osborn* | ||||
Oxhey
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Carole Bamford | ||||
| Labour | Dylan Bartley-Downer | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Shirena Counter | ||||
| Green | Angela Tunstall | ||||
| Reform | Neal Webber | ||||
Park
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | John Craddock | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Kloss* | ||||
| Green | Maria Mandic | ||||
| Conservative | Arijit Mukherjee | ||||
| Labour | Helen Rice | ||||
Stanborough
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Rhoda Amezado | ||||
| Reform | Malcolm Caborn | ||||
| Green | David Gordon | ||||
| Labour | Laura Griffiths | ||||
| Conservative | Peter Williams | ||||
Tudor
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | John Dowdle | ||||
| Green | Dave Dunckley | ||||
| Labour | Diana Ivory | ||||
| Conservative | Danny Mosley | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Sean Silver | ||||
Vicarage
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Vibhor Agarwal | ||||
| Reform | David Ealey | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Sandra Mano | ||||
| Green | Sarah McMahon | ||||
| TUSC | James O'Connor | ||||
| Labour | Nasreen Shah* | ||||
Woodside
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Lola Adedoyin | ||||
| Reform | Thomas Brooks | ||||
| Labour | Anne Joynes | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Glen Saffery* | ||||
| Green | Dani White | ||||
Notes
- Elected at the 2025 Holywell by-election.
