Waltham Forest (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Waltham Forest Council’s Labour leader says she expects the Reform Party to overtake the Conservatives as the borough’s main opposition in 2026.
Every four years, around halfway through the parliamentary cycle, council members are chosen, and the elections are seen as gauges of public opinion toward the national parties. Reform won around 700 seats in recent county council elections outside of London, taking control of twelve authorities throughout the United Kingdom. Since the four-year cycle ends in May 2026, there were no elections in London this year.
Councillor Grace Williams, Leader since 2021, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS):
“I’m under no illusions that, in next year’s election, Reform could do quite well in the north of the borough. If they do, they will be the opposition facing us as Labour.
And as Labour councillors, we need the support of our community to push back against division and hate, and irresponsible choices being made in the town hall.”
Currently, the Conservatives form the official opposition in the council chamber with 12 seats. Historically, the north of the borough has been held by the Tories. Though she referred to Reform as the next opposition, the Labour Group Leader said “nothing is sure, nothing is certain” amid a “volatile and unpredictable” time in politics.
She claimed there was a “very clear choice” between Reform and Labour, adding:
“A vote for other parties, like the Greens and the independents, just helps Reform.”
Councillor Emma Best, Leader of the Waltham Forest Conservatives, says the battleground is much more diverse. She said:
“Everyone knows the situation is Conservatives, Labour, [the] independents and Reform in the north.”
She added:
“For the first time, Labour could lose in the south. I didn’t think I would see it in my lifetime but the big battle in Waltham Forest is between Labour and the left wing parties in the south.”
Labour, the Green Party, or Your Party, the new left-wing organization started by former Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, might split the vote in Walthamstow, Leyton, and Leytonstone, she added.
“We’ll be honest with the electorate about the choice at this election,” the Endlebury ward member told the LDRS. I advise the council leader to follow suit.
21 members of the Leyton and Wanstead Labour Group recently resigned, which has damaged Labour’s reputation in the borough. They were not chosen as council members.
Cllr. Williams described the evacuation as a “shame” but admitted that she had “no idea” about it and “couldn’t answer for them” when questioned.
The former members claimed in a letter of resignation that Labour’s leadership had “abandoned” its core values, veered to the right, and incorrectly backed Israel in its conflict with Hamas.
Additionally, they charged that Labour, which won a landslide victory in July of last year, was doing “next to nothing to address unprecedented levels of inequality and poverty” throughout the nation. When Your Party formally debuts, the majority are anticipated to join.
What are Reform UK’s current seats and vote share in Waltham Forest?
Currently, Reform UK does not have any council seats in Waltham Forest, but the party’s vote share has increased in recent elections. In the 2024 UK Parliamentary General Election, Reform UK achieved approximately an 8-9% vote share in several constituencies including parts of Waltham Forest as well as neighbouring constituencies Old Bexley and Sidcup, and Bexleyheath and Crayford.
The rise in vote share will enable Reform UK to be raised to a rising source, and a potential contender to overthrow the Conservatives, claiming the title of the main opposition party in the local 2026 elections in the borough.
Reform UK, while they have not yet been successful in obtaining a council seat in Waltham Forest, does appear to have gained a modestly significant vote share which would suggest they might have an increasing effect in the borough, possibly committing a disruption of traditional party lines in Waltham Forest.