London Local Elections 2026: Who will win in Croydon?
Voters are heading to the polls in the Labour-Conservative marginal borough of Croydon, following multiple Council bankruptcies, an increasingly split electoral map, and a hike in council tax.
In its last set of local elections in 2022, Croydon was a rare London local authority with an almost dead-heat between Labour and Conservatives.
Both parties ended up in a draw last time with 34 seats, alongside two Green councillors and one Lib Dem.
No single party currently has overall control of the council. The fresh composition of the council may come as late as Saturday at 4pm, well after most results have been announced across the country.
In the last race for the mayor position, Conservative candidate Jason Perry edged out Labour by just 589 votes, in the first election for the role after being brought in by a referendum in 2021.
There will be fresh mayoral elections in May, alongside contests for local councillors in each ward in Croydon.
With the Greens and Reform both emerging since the last election as major electoral forces in London local politics, it is tricky to see any one party picking up majority control.
Croydon has four MPs, three Labour and one Conservative. Among them is housing and communities secretary and staunch Starmer ally Steve Reed, and shadow home secretary Chris Philp.
Both of these MPs are closely associated with their respective party leaders.
Croydon Council forced into major cost cuttings
And these elections come during a torrid time for Croydon Council, which has gone bankrupt five times since 2020.
Meanwhile, council tax is expected to rise by £119 for the average Band D property.
Back in July last year, the local government minister Jim McMahon called in a government team to take control of the council.
He said that the decision was forced by “the failure of the council to adequately respond to these difficulties”, whilst the mayor Jason Perry said that the move was “the wrong decision for Croydon and its residents”.
In October, auditors issued a statutory recommendation – a kind of formal warning – to “urgently” save money.
The council has made progress with savings in the 2025 financial year, with the local authority saying that it is on track to cut costs by more than £48m.
Meanwhile, Croydon Council has reduced its request for government support from £153m to £119m as part of the council funding redistribution.
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