Green gains see Labour lose control of Lewisham and Lambeth

3 hours ago

Becky MortonPolitical reporter

News image — In Lewisham, Green Party supporters celebrated gaining 40 seats

EPA Green Party supporters clap as they celebrate a win in Bellingham, Lewisham. — In Lewisham, Green Party supporters celebrated gaining 40 seats

The Green Party of England and Wales has made huge gains in former Labour strongholds in south London, with Sir Keir Starmer's party losing control of Lewisham and Lambeth.

Hailing the result in Lewisham, where the Greens won a majority, leader Zack Polanski said his party was "replacing" Labour.

In Lambeth, the Greens gained 27 seats to become the largest party, although they fell just short of an overall majority.

Overall the party gained more than 440 councillors across England and won its first-ever elected mayors in Hackney and Lewisham.

A new political landscape for London has emerged

It means the Greens have won control of three councils in the capital, along with Waltham Forest and Hackney in north-east London.

In Lewisham - where Labour have been the largest party since 1968 - the Greens toppled a huge majority, winning 40 seats to gain control of the council.

The last time the council was up for election in 2022, Labour won every single seat.

In Lambeth, the Greens gained 27 seats, pushing Labour out of power in the borough for the first time since 2006.

In results on Friday, the party also made big gains in Hackney and Islington, where Labour held on to power despite a Green surge.

Map showing council control in London after the 2026 elections. Labour 9 Conservative 5, Lib Dems 3, Green Party 3, Reform Uk 1, Aspire 1, No party majority 9.

Outside the capital, the Green Party's best result has been in Norwich, where it took control of the city council from Labour, and Hastings, where no single party was previously in control.

It has also picked up seats in places like Salford, Oxford, Southampton and Exeter, as well as Manchester, where it made 17 gains among the 32 seats up for grabs on the city council.

In Wales, the party saw its first two members elected to the Senedd, while the Scottish Greens also won their first-ever constituencies in Holyrood elections.

On Friday Polanski said two-party politics was "dead and buried", as he argued the "new politics is Green Party versus Reform".

While Green gains were more modest than those of Reform UK, they still represented the party's best election result ever.