London local election 2022: how many councillors are there, number of seats being voted on, party in power

Ballot papers are at the ready as the city of London gears up for the local elections in the capital.

Over 6,000 candidates are vying for almost 2,000 seats available with Labour hoping to once again emerge the happier of the parties.

As well as the local elections, mayoral elections are also happening in five of the 32 London boroughs. They are: Hackney, Lewisham, Tower Hamlets, Newham and Croydon, who are electing a mayor for the very first time.

When is the local election?

Local elections will be occurring up and down the country today, Thursday, 5 May 2022. Polling stations are to open at 7am, and close at 10pm.

How many councillors are there?

London consists of 32 boroughs, with each single borough having their own council and election in early May.

Currently, there are 1,817 councillors in London across all of the boroughs.

What is the number of seats being voted on?

It’s usually commonplace for a portion of the seats to be voted on, with the trend being usually ⅓ of the seats.

But, in London, every single seat in every single borough is up for grabs, meaning that every vote is crucial in the upcoming local election.

Below is a breakdown of each individual borough, and how many seats they have.

• Barking and Dagenham - 51 seats
• Barnet - 63 seats 
• Bexley - 45 seats
• Brent - 57 seats
• Bromley - 58 seats
• Camden Town - 55 seats 
• Croydon - 70 seats
• Ealing - 70 seats 
• Enfield - 63 seats
• Royal Borough of Greenwich - 55 seats
• Hackney - 57 seats
• Hammersmith & Fulham - 50 seats
• Haringey - 57 seats 
• Harrow - 55 seats 
• Havering - 55 seats
• Hillingdon - 53 seats
• London Borough of Hounslow - 62 seats
• Islington - 51 seats 
• Kensington and Chelsea - 50 seats
• Kingston upon Thames - 48 seats
• Lambeth - 63 seats
• Lewisham - 54 seats
• Merton - 57 seats
• Newham - 66 seats
• Redbridge - 63 seats 
• Richmond upon Thames - 54 seats 
• Southwark - 63 seats
• Sutton - 55 seats 
• Tower Hamlets - 45 seats 
• Waltham Forest - 60 seats 
• Wandsworth - 58 seats
• Westminster - 54 seats

How did 2018 turn out?

2018 was a hugely successful year and election for Labour, who had their best performance in the capital since way back in 1971.

Labour seized control of the majority of the boroughs in London.

And since the last elections in 2018, we have had to contend with the coronavirus pandemic, and more recently the ‘partygate’ scandal and the widely publicised cost of living crisis, with all of these political points likely to play a big role in the voting process.

Which party is currently in power?

This is a political breakdown of the parties in power of every single London borough. As mentioned, Labour gained control of 21 boroughs in 2018, with the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats gaining control of the remaining boroughs.

This is the result of the 2018 local elections.

• Barking and Dagenham - Labour 
• Barnet - Conservative
• Bexley - Conservative
• Brent - Labour 
• Bromley - Conservative
• Camden Town - Labour
• Croydon - Labour
• Ealing - Labour
• Enfield - Labour
• Royal Borough of Greenwich - Labour
• Hackney - Labour
• Hammersmith & Fulham - Labour
• Haringey - Labour
• Harrow - Labour 
• Havering - No overall control - Conservative/Independent coalition 
• Hillingdon - Conservative
• London Borough of Hounslow - Labour
• Islington - Labour
• Kensington and Chelsea - Conservative
• Kingston upon Thames - Liberal Democrats
• Lambeth - Labour
• Lewisham - Labour 
• Merton - Labour
• Newham - Labour 
• Redbridge - Labour
• Richmond upon Thames - Liberal Democrats
• Southwark - Labour
• Sutton - Liberal Democrats
• Tower Hamlets - Labour 
• Waltham Forest - Labour 
• Wandsworth - Conservative
• Westminster - Conservative