London borough councils are the principal authorities in Greater London and have responsibilities including education, highways, social services, libraries, recreation, waste, environmental health, housing development and revenue collection. Some of the powers are shared with the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London, which also manage passenger transport, police and fire.
Harrow voted in a Conservative council in its first election in 1964, and (excluding a brief three-year period of no overall control) Harrow remained Conservative-controlled till 1994. In that year, the Liberal Democrats became the biggest party on the council, although the council had no overall control. In 1998, Labour won a majority on Harrow Council for the first time.
Labour lost their majority in 2002 and the Tories retook the council in 2006, only to lose it to Labour again in 2010. Although there was a brief period of no overall control, Labour won majorities in 2014 and 2018.
In 2022, the Conservatives won a majority on Harrow Council, with 31 seats, while Labour were reduced to 24,[1] defeating the incumbent Labour administration of twelve years, which had held a majority for eight of those years.
Both the Tories and Labour stood 55 candidates each in 2022, while the Liberal Democrats stood 28 candidates, Greens stood 14 candidates, and Reform stood 3 candidates. 9 candidates stood as independents.
The Conservatives took control of Harrow Council from Labour in 2022
In June 2023, Labour suspended a councillor, Phillip O'Dell, who became an independent.[2] That same year, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, expanded the Ultra-Low Emission Zone to outer London (ULEZ). This was challenged in court by Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon councils, although the court challenge was defeated.[3]
On 4 July 2024, the 2024 United Kingdom general election resulted in a massive Labour majority, as Labour ended up on 411 seats, and the Tories collapsed to a historic low of 121 seats, the lowest in their history, resulting in Keir Starmer becoming Prime Minister. However, Labour had won this landslide on less than 35 percent of the vote, and a rapid collapse in Labour (and also Conservative) polling combined with the surge of Reform UK, has led to some political commentators suggesting that the two-party system has ended or has come close to ending.[4][5][6]
Council control of the London Borough of Harrow. The black line represents the majority line.
A new party, Arise, was formed in August 2025 with the backing of Jeremy Corbyn.[7] This party is led by Pamela Fitzpatrick,[7] a Labour councillor between 2014 and 2021, then an independent councillor until 2022, and an independent candidate for Harrow West in the 2024 general election. They have announced that they intend to target Marlborough ward.
Campaign
This leaflet tells people to vote Conservative for one hour of free parking in Harrow
The Conservatives are led by Paul Osborn[8] and Labour is led by David Perry.[9] The Lib Dems are chaired by Joseph Gaunt[10] and Reform is chaired by Savitha Prakash.[11]
Harrow Conservatives have launched a campaign focusing on free parking in Harrow and other issues relating to public roads and streets.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Harrow Labour, meanwhile, is focusing on more social issues, such as children's provisions.[20][21][22][23][24] Reform UK has campaigned on scrutinising council spending, tough-on-crime and cost of living issues.[25][26]
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and shadow chancellor Mel Stride came to Harrow in early January.[27] Badenoch and Stride also came at the start of February.[28] The Conservatives have mainly campaigned in North Harrow, Greenhill, Kenton West and Rayners Lane.[29][30][31][32]
Labour has campaigned in Marlborough, Wealdstone North and West Harrow.[33]
Reform UK has campaigned in Rayners Lane and Harrow on the Hill.[34][35][36]
Electoral system for borough council elections
London borough councils elect all of their councillors at once every four years. The previous election took place in 2022. The election will take place by multi-member first-past-the-post voting, with each ward being represented by two or three councillors. Electors will have as many votes as there are councillors to be elected in their ward, with the top two or three being elected, depending on the ward.
Seats needed for a majority
28 seats are needed for a majority on Harrow Council. The Conservatives currently enjoy a majority.[37] Labour need an increase of 4 seats from their previous result to gain a majority. The narrowest Labour defeats in 2022 were North Harrow, by 5 votes, Rayners Lane, by 15 votes, North Harrow, by 39 votes, and Edgware, by 49 votes.[37] (North Harrow and Rayners Lane each have two councillors and Edgware has three.) The only two parties to stand in all wards in 2022 were Labour and the Conservatives.
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