Green Party Takes Control of Three London Councils from Labour in Local Elections

The Green Party of England and Wales posted strong results in former Labour areas of south London, where Sir Keir Starmer's party lost control of Lewisham and Lambeth councils.

Green leader Zack Polanski hailed the Lewisham outcome, where his party secured a majority. He said the Greens were "replacing" Labour.

In Lambeth, the Greens picked up 27 seats to emerge as the largest party, though short of an overall majority.

Across England, the party added more than 440 councillors and elected its first mayors ever in Hackney and Lewisham. The victories gave the Greens control of three councils in London, including Waltham Forest and Hackney in the northeast.

Labour had dominated Lewisham since 1968 as the largest party. The Greens overturned that majority with 40 seats to take the council. In the previous 2022 election, Labour swept every seat.

The Greens' 27 gains in Lambeth ended Labour rule there for the first time since 2006.

Friday's results showed further Green advances in Hackney and Islington, where Labour clung to power amid the surge.

Beyond London, the party's top performance came in Norwich, where it ousted Labour from city council control, and Hastings, previously without a majority party.

The Greens also won seats in Salford, Oxford, Southampton, Exeter and Manchester. In Manchester, they took 17 of the 32 contested city council seats.

In Wales, the party elected its first two members to the Senedd. The Scottish Greens claimed their initial Holyrood constituencies.

Polanski said Friday that two-party politics was "dead and buried." He called the new divide "Green Party versus Reform."

Green advances trailed those of Reform UK but marked the party's strongest election showing to date.