What you need to know as Richmond-upon-Thames heads into local elections

Richmond had the highest turnout in London at 47.7% and there was an 8.2% swing from the Conservatives to the Lib Dems.

Lib Dems: 48 seats (+9)

Conservatives: 1 seat (-10)

Greens: 5 seats (+1)

Since the election, the Lib Dems took the Tories' only seat in a by-election.

Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics said "Richmond is now the safest London borough in terms of Liberal Democrat control".

"The Conservatives, not doing well in the polls, would be their natural opponents there. They're not going to do particularly well.

"It looks as if only the Greens could possibly take one or two seats from the Liberal Democrats in Richmond, but Richmond will stay Liberal Democrat controlled."

At the moment, Labour are dominant in London - they have 21 of its 32 councils, a record-equalling high.

The Conservatives run just five - having lost their former "crown-jewel" councils of Wandsworth and Westminster to Labour at the last borough elections in 2022.

The Liberal Democrats run three councils in south-west London and will be looking to gain Merton from Labour.

The Aspire Party run Tower Hamlets and two boroughs are currently in no overall control.

Nick Bowes, insight director from the London Communications Agency, said: "These are likely to be the most consequential elections in London, certainly for the past 20 years - possibly since the first borough elections in 1964."

He added: "The ways things are fragmenting in the polls it's very difficult to predict exactly what's going to happen but it does look like being a very bad night for Labour and the Conservatives in London."

More than six million Londoners can vote in the council elections on Thursday 7 May 2026.

All 32 London boroughs are up for election.

There are also elections for the mayor in five boroughs: Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets.

All candidates in the Richmond-upon-Thames Council election are listed on the borough's website.

Use our tool to see what elections are being held in your area.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday 20 April 2026.

The deadline to apply for a postal vote is Tuesday 21 April 2026 at 17:00 BST - you must be registered to vote before you can receive a postal vote.

The deadline to change existing postal or proxy voting arrangements is also Tuesday 21 April 2026 at 17:00.

The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is Tuesday 28 April 2026 at 17:00.

Photographic voter ID is required to vote at a polling station - if you do not have valid Voter ID, the deadline to apply for photo ID to vote (called a Voter Authority Certificate) for this election is Tuesday 28 April 2026 at 17:00.

Election Day: Thursday 7 May 2026 from 07:00 to 22:00.

You can find more information about voting in Richmond on the borough's website.

The London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames is in south-west London and is bordered by five London boroughs: Hounslow, Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth, Kingston upon Thames, and Merton.

It is also bordered by the Surrey borough of Elmbridge.

What's it like? Richmond-upon-Thames is a leafy residential borough with protected views of London's skyline. It has extensive parklands and waterways, with 57% of the borough being open space.

Neighbourhoods: The borough includes Barnes, East Sheen, Hampton, Kew, Mortlake, Richmond, Teddington and Twickenham.

Places of interest: Richmond-upon-Thames is home to the Unesco-listed Kew Gardens, Hampton Court Palace, Twickenham Stadium and Richmond Park, which has free-roaming deer.

Pub quiz fact: Richmond-upon-Thames is theonly London borough spanning both sides of the River Thames.

Population: According to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, the estimated population was 196,678 people in 2024.

Demographics: According to the 2021 census, 80% identify as white, 8.9% as Asian, 1.9% as black, 5.5% as mixed race and 3.3% as another ethnic group.

Average property price: According to the ONS, the average house price in Richmond upon Thames in December 2025 was £777,000.

Average monthly rent: The ONS reported that the average monthly rent in January 2026 in Richmond upon Thames was £2,254.

Council tax: Band D council tax in the borough for 2026/27 is £1,975.59.

Transport: Richmond-upon-Thames has two Tube stations, two London Overground stations and approximately 490 bus stops, according to Transport for London. It also has 14 National Rail stations.

The area of Richmond was long popular with the royals and gained its name by royal command in the reign of Henry VII, who was Earl of Richmond in Yorkshire. He had Richmond Palace built in the area in the early 16th Century.

The borough is also home to Hampton Court Palace, the Grade I listed former home of Henry VIII, Mary II and other royals from around 1500 to the first half of 18th Century.

Kew Gardens was founded in 1759 by Princess Augusta, mother of King George III, and grew to become a national botanical garden in 1840. It became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2003.

In the mid-18th Century, a bridge was built across the Thames at Kew, later followed by a bridge at Twickenham. The population rose significantly from this point, and continued into the 19th Century, when railways arrived.

The borough was established in its current form in 1965 with the merging of Barnes, Richmond and Twickenham.

From its creation in 1965 until 1982, Richmond was a Conservative-run borough.

It then fell into no overall control and since 1986 it has been either Lib Dem (previously the Liberal/SDP Alliance) or Conservative controlled. The Lib Dems have been in charge since 2018.

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