The 2026 Wokingham Borough Council election was held on 7 May 2026, alongside the other local elections across the United Kingdom being held on the same day, to elect 19 of 54 members of Wokingham Borough Council.
The election saw the council remain under Liberal Democrat majority control.
As Wokingham is already a unitary authority. It will not be affected by the ongoing local government reorganisation that is happening in some areas of the country.
Council composition After 2024 election After 2026 election Party Seats Party Seats 27 29 19 19 8 5 0 0 0 1
The composition of the council before the election was as follows: + ↓ 28 5 1 1 19
After the election, the composition of the council became:
+ ↓ 29 5 1 19
Changes 2024–2026: October 2024: Sarah Bell (Labour) resigns – by-election held December 2024 November 2024: Paul Fishwick (Liberal Democrats) dies – by-election held February 2025 December 2024: Jackie Rance (Conservative) gains by-election from Labour Alex Freeney (Labour) suspended from party February 2025: Chetna Jamthe (Liberal Democrats) wins by-election March 2025: Norman Jorgensen (Conservative) dies – by-election held June 2025 June 2025: Mike Smith (Liberal Democrats) gains by-election from Conservatives September 2025: Majid Nagra (Labour) leaves party to sit as an independent March 2026: Majid Nagra (Independent) joins the Green Party March 2026: Jordan Montgomery (Liberal Democrats) stands down due to ill health
Summary
Background In 2026, Wokingham Borough Council remained under control of the Liberal Democrats
There were a total of 67,400 votes cast with a total of 159 spoiled ballots.https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/council-and-meetings/elections-and-voting/local-government-and-pcc-election-results-2026
Incumbents
Ward IncumbentcouncillorParty Re-standing Barkham & Arborfield George Evans No Bulmershe & Coronation Yusra Salman Yes Emmbrook Basit Alvi Yes Evendons Adrian Mather No Finchampstead Peter Harper Yes Hawkedon Melanie De Jong Yes Hillside Caroline Smith Yes Loddon Alex Freeney No Maiden Erlegh & Whitegates Andy Siu-Hong Ng Yes Norreys Nagi Nagella Yes Shinfield Vishal Srinivasan Yes South Lake Carol Jewell Yes Spencers Wood & Swallowfield Stuart Munro No Thames Katrin Harding Yes Twyford, Ruscombe & Hurst Martijn Andrea Yes Wescott Chris Cooke Yes Winnersh Chetna Jamthe Yes Wokingham Without Séona Turtle Yes Wokingham Without Jordan Montgomery No
Candidates & Results Sitting councillors standing for re-election are marked with an asterisk (*).
Barkham & Arborfield
Barkham & Arborfield was formed in 2024 from the former single-member wards of Barkham and Arborfield, plus the western part of Finchampstead South centred on Arborfield Green, and a very small part of the former Swallowfield ward.
The Reform UK candidate, Christopher Bowring, had previously sat as a Conservative councillor for Wokingham Without.
Bulmershe & Coronation
Bulmershe & Coronation contains almost all of the former Coronation ward, the part of the former Sonning ward which was in the parish of Woodley, and much of the Bulmershe part of the three-member Bulmershe and Whitegates ward. In 2024, these areas were merged to make the Bulmershe & Coronation ward.
The Labour Councillor, Andy Croy, has previously been a Councillor for the former Bulmershe and Whitegates ward.
Emmbrook
Emmbrook ward has not had any boundary changes in recent years, and Councillor Basit Alvi was an incumbent Councillor for the Liberal Democrats and was successfully re-elected.
Evendons
Evendons was not affected by any recent boundary changes. In this election, the incumbent Liberal Democrat councillor, Adrian Mather, was standing down, and Richa Singh was successfully elected in his place.
Finchampstead
Finchampstead was formed in 2024 by merging Finchampstead North with most of Finchampstead South. This excluded the western part of the ward centred on Arborfield Green, which is now part of Barkham & Arborfield.
Peter Harper was one of three incumbent Conservative councillors for Finchampstead ward.
Hawkedon
Hawkedon ward has had no recent changes and this ward was won by Melanie De Jong, who is the incumbent Liberal Democrat councillor.
Hillside
From 2024, Hillside ward included much of the area of the Reading University campus, previously part of the former Maiden Erlegh ward. Caroline Smith was the incumbent Liberal Democrat councillor who retained her seat in this election.
Nick Kilby has previously been a Conservative councillor for Kingston.
Loddon
Loddon had elected three Labour councillors in 2024, but Alex Freeney was suspended from the Labour party and did not stand again in this election. Majid Nagra has now joined the Green Party and sits as the only Green Party member on Wokingham Borough Council. Currently, Greg Bello is the one remaining Labour Party councillor in Loddon.
David Bragg is also a Conservative councillor for Woodley Town Council.
Maiden Erlegh & Whitegates
The Maiden Erlegh & Whitegates ward was formed in 2024 from most of the former Maiden Erlegh ward and part of the former Bulmershe & Whitegates ward.
The comparison data here was taken from the June 2025 by-election, caused by the death of the former Conservative councillor, Norman Jorgensen.
Andy Ng Siu-Hong was one of three incumbent Liberal Democrat councillors, and had previously been a councillor in Hong Kong.
Norreys
Norreys ward is the only ward in the Wokingham parliamentary constituency to include sitting Labour councillors. Nagi Nagella is an incumbent Labour councillor who retained his seat in this election.
Shinfield
The data comparison for the Shinfield ward is from the Shinfield by-election held in December 2024. Vishal Srinivasan was the incumbent Conservative councillor who held this seat. This ward was unusual for having an independent candidate in Edward Shaw.
South Lake
The reorganisation of 2024 saw South Lake increase in size to include parts of the former wards of Bulmershe & Whitegates (including Woodley town centre) and Loddon ward. South Lake kept the same name but the number of members increased from two to three. The 2026 election was won by one of the two Liberal Democrat incumbents, Carol Jewel, the current Mayor of Wokingham Borough Council.
Spencers Wood & Swallowfield
In 2024 the Spencers Wood and Swallowfield ward was created from the former Swallowfield ward and part of the former Shinfield South ward to make a single three member ward. Catherine Glover and Chris Johnson were incumbent councillors for Shinfield South, whilst Stuart Munro was the incumbent councillor for Swallowfield. Catherine Glover, Dave Edmonds and Stuart Munro were returned in 2024; Stuart Munro retired as a councillor in 2026.
Anthony Pollock, who stood as the Conservative candidate in 2026, was a former Conservative councillor for Shinfield South.
Thames
Thames ward comprised the parishes of Charvil, Sonning, Remenham and Wargrave. Charvil and Sonning, which were previously single-member wards prior to 2024, although the Sonning ward did not strictly follow the parish boundary and included a small part of North Woodley. Remenham and Wargrave had previously been part of the two-member ward of Remenham, Wargrave & Ruscombe. Ruscombe is now part of the new Twyford, Ruscombe & Hurst ward.
Katrin Harding was the only incumbent Liberal Democrat councillor for Thames ward, but lost her seat in this election to Leon Cook, the Conservative candidate.
Twyford Ruscombe & Hurst
Twyford, Ruscombe & Hurst was created in 2024 from the parishes of Hurst, Ruscombe and Twyford.
Graham Howe is a former Conservative councillor for the former Remenham, Wargrave and Ruscombe ward. Martijn Andrea is an incumbent Liberal Democrat councillor who retained this seat.
Wescott
Wescott gained part of the Norreys ward in 2024 as a result of the boundary review. Wescott ward was previously a two-member ward, but is now a three-member ward.
Chris Cook was an incumbent Liberal Democrat councillor for this ward who retained his seat.
Winnersh
Data for the Winnersh ward is being compared with the February 2025 by-election, which was a result of the death of Liberal Democrat councillor, Paul Fishwick.
Chetna Jamthe won the by-election for the Liberal Democrats and retained her seat in this election.
Wokingham Without
Wokingham Without had to elect two councillors at the 2026 election. This was due to the resignation of Liberal Democrat Jordan Montgomery, who had been suffering ill-health. Conservative councillor Seona Turtle was also up for election this year.
David Davies had previously been a previous Conservative councillor for Wokingham Without ward.
The election returned Seona Turtle (Conservative) and Roberta Brooks (Liberal Democrat), which means there is no change in the political representation of this ward.
Council Membership by party after each election 2010–2026
Election results 2010–2026Party20102011201220142015201620182019202120222023202420252026 4345434447474231312622191919 000111343358651191075581618232627282900121113221011Total Seats5454545454545454545454545454
References Statement of Persons Nominated – Wokingham Borough Council 10th April 2026https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/council-and-meetings/elections-and-voting/current-elections