Green Party Becomes Largest in Lewisham and Lambeth Councils

The Green Party of England and Wales has become the largest party in two south London boroughs that were previously Labour strongholds, according to results from local elections held this week. In Lewisham, the Greens won 40 seats to secure outright control of the council.

Labour had held the largest share of seats there since 1971 and won every seat in the 2022 election. The result marks the first time in more than five decades that Labour has lost control of the borough. In Lambeth, the Greens gained 27 seats to become the largest party, although they fell short of an overall majority.

The outcome ends continuous Labour control of the borough since 2006.

The party has now taken control of three councils in the capital, joining Waltham Forest and Hackney in north-east London. Overall, the Greens gained more than 440 councillors across England and won its first-ever elected mayors in Hackney and Lewisham.

In Hackney and Islington, the party made significant gains on Friday although Labour retained power in both boroughs. The results indicate a shift in parts of London where the Greens have historically had limited representation.

It picked up seats in several other English cities including Salford, Oxford, Southampton and Exeter. In Wales, the party won its first two seats in the Senedd, while the Scottish Greens secured their first-ever constituencies in Holyrood elections.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said his party was "replacing" Labour in Lewisham. He added that two-party politics was "dead and buried" and argued that the "new politics is Green Party versus Reform". While the gains were more modest than those recorded by Reform UK, they represented the party's best local election result to date.