The 2026 Croydon London Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2026, as part of the 2026 United Kingdom local elections. All 70 members of Croydon London Borough Council were elected; the 2026 Croydon mayoral election happened at the same time to determine the council's leader. The election took place alongside the local elections in the other London boroughs.

Prior to the election, the council was under no overall control. The largest party was Labour, but the council was led by its directly elected Conservative mayor, Jason Perry. The election saw the council remain under no overall control. Both Labour and the Conservatives lost seats, whilst the Green Party, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK all made gains. Labour remained the largest party on the council. In the associated mayoral election, the incumbent Conservative mayor Jason Perry was re-elected to provide the council's leadership.

Background

History

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.

Since its formation, Croydon has variously been under Labour control, no overall control and Conservative control. Councillors have usually been elected only from the Labour and Conservative parties, but in the most recent council election in 2022, the Green Party won two councillors and the Liberal Democrats won one. The office of Mayor of Croydon was first elected in 2022, and since then the council has been under no overall control with a Conservative mayor.

Electoral process Croydon, 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.

Croydon is one of five London councils led by a directly elected mayor; all voters across the borough vote to elect a mayor by first past the post system in addition to voting for their local councillor.

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 Seats 34 34 30 33 33 28 2 2 8 1 1 2 0 0 2

Campaign Kemi Badenoch visited Croydon before launching the Conservatives local election campaign in March 2026, and stated that shoplifting would be a major issue.

On 28 March, Nigel Farage held a rally at Fairfield Halls. He announced that Reform UK would cut council tax and said there were 21 council officers on salaries above £100,000, despite the debt crisis.

In early 2025, the local Reform branch selected Sharon Carby as their mayoral candidate, apparently unaware that she had in fact died in September 2024.

Election results

Ward results

Incumbent councillors seeking re-election are marked with an asterisk (*). Councillors seeking re-election for a different ward are marked with a cross (†).

Addiscombe East

Addiscombe West

Bensham Manor

Broad Green

Coulsdon Town

Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood

Fairfield

Kenley

New Addington North

New Addington South

Norbury and Pollards Hill

Norbury Park

Old Coulsdon

Park Hill and Whitgift

Purley and Woodcote

Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown

Sanderstead

Selhurst

Selsdon and Addington Village

Selsdon Vale and Forestdale

Shirley North

Shirley South

South Croydon

South Norwood

Thornton Heath

Waddon

West Thornton

Woodside

Notes

References