The 2026 Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2026, as part of the 2026 United Kingdom local elections. The election took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs. All seats were up for election. The Labour Party retained the Council, but lost 13 seats. Reform UK won 9 seats, its first seats in the borough. It was Reform's 2nd best performance in London in terms of seats, and 3rd best performance in terms of votes. The Green Party won 4 seats. This was the first election since 2006 in which opposition candidates were elected in a regular election, and the first time since the 2008 Chadwell Heath by-election in which a party other than Labour was elected in Barking and Dagenham. This is the fifth election in a row in which the Conservative Party failed to win a seat.
Background
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.
Barking and Dagenham has been controlled by the Labour Party since its establishment. The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, British National Party, independents and residents associations have also held seats on the borough. In the most recent four elections in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022, all fifty-one seats were won by the Labour Party. The incumbent leader of the council is the Labour councillor Dominic Twomey, who has held that position since 2024.
In September 2025, three Labour councillors left the party to join the Green Party of England and Wales. Lynda Rice, who had been elected as a Labour councillor, defected to the Conservatives later in the same month.
Electoral process Barking and Dagenham, 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. 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.
Previous council composition After 2022 election Before 2026 election After 2026 election Party Seats Party Seats Party Seats514738 39 14
Summary Ward Incumbent Results Candidates Councillors Party Firstelected AbbeyRegina RahmanLabour2022 Incumbent re-elected. Manzoor HussainLabour2010
2014 (retired)
2022Incumbent re-elected. AlibonJohn DulwichLabour2022 Incumbent Retired. Labour Hold. Dorothy AkwaboahLabour2018Incumbent re-elected. Barking RiversideJosie ChannerLabour2010 Incumbent re-elected. Cameron GeddesLabour1986 2006 (retired) 2010Incumbent re-elected.Victoria HornbyGreen2022 Incumbent lost re-election. Labour Gain. Beam Donna LumsdenLabour2018 Incumbent re-elected. Muhib ChowdhuryLabour2022Incumbent re-elected.Muazzam SandhuLabour2022Incumbent ran in Alibon. New Councillor elected. Labour Hold. BecontreeEdna FergusLabour2014Incumbent re-elected. Muhammad SaleemLabour2018Incumbent re-elected. Chadwell HeathSade BrightLabour2014 Incumbent re-elected. Simon PerryLabour2018Incumbent re-elected.Michael PongoLabour2022Incumbent re-elected. Eastbrook and Rush GreenPrincess BrightLabour2018 Incumbent lost re-election. Reform Gain. Tony RamsayLabour2010 Incumbent Retired. Reform Gain. EastburyEmily RodwellLabour2018 Incumbent Retired. Labour Hold. Mohammed KhanLabour2018Incumbent re-elected.Faraaz ShaukatLabour2014Incumbent Retired. Labour Hold. GascoigneAlison CormackLabour2022 Incumbent re-elected. Jack ShawLabour2022Incumbent retired. Green Gain.Dominic TwomeyLabour2010Incumbent ran in Eastbury. New councillor elected. Green Gain. GoresbrookPaul RobinsonLabour2018 Incumbent lost re-election. Reform Gain Irma FreebornLabour2014Incumbent lost re-election. Reform GainMoin QuadriGreen2014Incumbent ran in Gascoigne. New councillor elected. Reform Gain. HeathHarriet SpoorLabour2023 (by-election)Incumbent re-elected. Ingrid RobinsonLabour2018Incumbent re-elected. LongbridgeRocky GillLabour2006 Incumbent re-elected. Faruk ChoudhuryGreen2014Incumbent re-elected.Lynda RiceConservative2010Incumbent lost re-election. Green Gain. MayesbrookSummya SohaibLabour2023 (by-election) Incumbent ran in Northbury. New Councillor elected. Labour Hold. Kashif HaroonLabour2014Incumbent re-elected.Ade OluwoleLabour2018Incumbent Retired. Labour Hold. NorthburySaima AshrafLabour2010Incumbent re-elected. Val MassonLabour2024 (by-election)Incumbent ran in Longbridge. New Councillor elected. Labour Hold.Giasuddin MiahLabour2014Incumbent re-elected. ParsloesChris RiceLabour2010 Incumbent retired. Reform Gain Elizabeth KangetheLabour2010Incumbent lost re-election. Reform GainHardial RaiLabour2022Incumbent retired. Reform Gain. Thames ViewLucy LeeLabour2025 (by-election) Incumbent re-elected. Sabbir ZameeLabour2022Incumbent re-elected. ValenceJane JonesLabour2014Incumbent re-elected. Maureen WorbyLabour1988 (by-election) 2006 (retired) 2010 Incumbent ran in Eastbury. New Councillor elected Reform GainSyed GhaniLabour2014Incumbent re-elected. VillageJulia WilliamsLabour2024 (by-election) Incumbent re-elected. Ajanta RoyLabour2024 (by-election) Incumbent re-elected.Phil WakerLabour2004 (by-election)Incumbent re-elected. WhaleboneRubina SiddiquiLabour2025 (by-election) Incumbent re-elected. Andrew AchilleosLabour2018Incumbent re-elected.Mukhtar YusufLabour2022Incumbent re-elected.
Results by party
Close races
The party named after the vote margin is the party which came closest to winning the seat.
Seats where the margin of victory was under 1 percentage point (5 seats):
Northbury 3rd, 0.36% (10 votes) - Green Valence 2nd, 0.86% (29 votes) - Reform Barking Riverside 3rd, 0.93% (22 votes) - Green Alibon 2nd, 0.96% (11 votes) - Reform Eastbury 3rd, 0.97% (34 votes) - Green
Seats where the margin of victory was between 1 and 5 percentage points (11 seats):
Mayesbrook 3rd, 2.19% (72 votes) - Reform Valence 3rd, 2.19% (74 votes) - Labour Longbridge 3rd, 2.32% (94 votes) - Labour Gascoigne 2nd, 3.12% (78 votes) - Labour Mayesbrook 2nd, 3.23% (106 votes) - Reform Abbey 2nd, 3.46% (43 votes) - Green Parsloes 3rd, 3.63% (134 votes) - Labour Gascoigne 3rd, 3.80% (95 votes) - Green Northbury 2nd, 4.14% (114 votes) - Green Eastbury 2nd, 4.63% (180 votes) - Reform Mayesbrook 1st, 4.84% (159 votes) - Reform
The tipping point seat was Village 3rd, which had a 15.46% margin for Labour over Reform.
Ward results 6 incumbents lost re-election
Victoria Hornby (Green, Barking Riverside), first elected as Labour in 2022 lost to Marion Lesley Hull
Princess Bright (Labour, Eastbrook and Rush Green, first elected in 2018 lost to Ron Emin
Irma Freeborn (Labour, Goresbrook), first elected in 2014 lost to George Miller
Paul Robinson (Labour, Goresbrook), first elected in 2018 lost to Caleb Van Ryneveld
Lynda Rice (Conservative, Longbridge), first elected as Labour in 2010 lost to Faruk Choudhury
Elizabeth Kangethe (Labour, Parsloes), first elected in 2010 lost to Billy Edmunds
Abbey
Alibon
^Elected in Beam ward in 2022
Barking Riverside
^Incumbent, elected as Labour in 2022
Beam
Becontree
Chadwell Heath
Eastbrook and Rush Green
Eastbury
^ Elected in Gascoigne ward in 2022 " Elected in Valence ward in 2022
Gascoigne
^Elected as Labour in Gorsebrook in 2022
Goresbrook
Heath
^Elected in a 2023 by-election
Longbridge
^Elected as Labour in 2022
Mayesbrook
Northbury
^Elected in a 2023 by-election
Parsloes
Thames View
^Elected in a 2025 by-election
Valence
Village
^Elected in a 2024 by-election
Whalebone
^Elected in a 2025 by-election
By-elections between 2026 and 2030 None yet
Notes
References