The thirty-two London boroughs were established in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. They are the principal authorities in Greater London and have responsibilities including education, housing, planning, highways, social services, libraries, recreation, waste, environmental health and revenue collection. Some of the powers are shared with the Greater London Authority, which also manages passenger transport, police and fire.[4]
In 2022, the Labour Party suspended Canning Town South councillor Belgica Guana for offensive social media posts.[5]As of July 2025[update], Guana sits as an independent councillor for Canning Town South.[6]
In the 2023 Boleyn by-election, Mehmood Mirza ran as an independent candidate and was elected on 13 July 2023.[7] At the 2023 Plaistow North by-election, Sophia Naqvi, standing as an independent, gained the seat from Labour.[8] The defection of Zuber Gulamussen of Plashet ward from Labour in November 2023 gave the Newham Independents group the role of the principal opposition over the Green Party.[9]
The Newham Independents Party registered as a political party on 3 June 2024.[10] In July 2024 Areeq Chowdhury, representing Canning Town North, defected from the Labour Party to the Green Party. This put both the Newham Independents and the Green Party equal as opposition.[11] Labour lost a further councillor in May 2025, when Lewis Godfrey left the party to sit as an independent.[12]
The Newham Independents gained a further seat in September 2025 at the Plaistow South by-election.[13] In November 2025 Nur Begum of Little Ilford joined the Newham Independents, but left the group in January 2026 to sit as an independent.[14][15]
Electoral process
Newham, like other London borough councils, elects all of its councillors at once every four years. The previous election took place in 2022. The election took place by multi-member first-past-the-post voting, with each ward being represented by two or three councillors. Electors had as many votes as there are councillors to be elected in their ward, with the top two or three being elected.
All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in London aged 18 or over were entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, were entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities.[16] Voting in-person at polling stations took place from 7:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters were able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.[16]
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