The 2026 Westminster City Council election took place on 7 May 2026, as part of the 2026 United Kingdom local elections. All 54 members of Westminster City Council were elected. The election took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs.

Prior to the election, the council was under Labour majority control; they had won a majority at the previous election in 2022 which had been the first time since the modern council was created in 1965 that it had not been controlled by the Conservatives. At this election, the Conservatives retook control of the council, winning 32 of the 54 seats. The Conservative group leader, Paul Swaddle, was formally appointed as the new leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 20 May 2026.

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 formation, Westminster City Council was run by the Conservative Party until the 2022 election, which marked both the first ever Labour administration of Westminster and the first ever non-Conservative administration.

Changes since 2022 By elections in West End ward in September 2024 and Vincent Square ward in February 2025 both resulted in Conservative gains from Labour, reducing Labour's council group to 28 seats.

Two Conservative councillors, Laila Cunningham in Lancaster Gate Ward and Alan Mendoza in Abbey Road ward, defected to Reform UK in June 2025 and November 2025 respectively.

After 2022 election Before 2026 election After 2026 election Party Seats Party Seats Party Seats 31 28 22 23 24 32 0 2 0

Results summary

Ward results The following are the candidate-level results for the 7 May 2026 election. Vote shares and the majority figures are calculated on ballot papers counted, and the change column compares each candidate to the same-rank candidate of their party in the 2022 election, which was held under the same ward boundaries. Candidates of parties that did not contest the ward in 2022, or that fielded fewer candidates than in 2026, are marked N/A. Sitting councillors seeking re-election in their existing ward are marked with an asterisk (*); councillors seeking re-election for a different ward are marked with a cross (†). Three sitting Conservative councillors had changed party affiliation between the 2022 and 2026 elections: Alan Mendoza (Abbey Road) and Laila Cunningham (Lancaster Gate, the latter not seeking re-election in 2026) defected to Reform UK, while West End councillor Paul Fisher, who had been elected for Labour in 2022, defected to the Conservatives before the election.

Abbey Road

Bayswater

Church Street

Harrow Road

Hyde Park

Knightsbridge and Belgravia

Lancaster Gate

Little Venice

Maida Vale

Marylebone

Pimlico North

Pimlico South

Queen's Park

Regent's Park

St James's

Vincent Square

West End

Westbourne

References