North London residents will head to the polls in just five days as one of the most unpredictable local elections in a generation approaches. On Thursday, 7 May, all six North London boroughs, Barnet, Brent, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, and Islington, will elect their full councils, with Labour facing its toughest fight in decades on multiple fronts.
Polling stations open at 7 am and close at 10 pm on 7 May. Voters must bring a valid photo ID. Those without an accepted form of ID should have already applied for a free Voter Authority Certificate. Postal votes have also closed. If you are registered, show up and vote.
Labour enters the election in a deeply uncomfortable position. The party currently controls all six North London boroughs but is polling at around 20% nationally. A YouGov MRP model, which surveyed more than 4,500 Londoners between late March and late April, projects significant losses for Labour across the capital, with multiple North London boroughs now genuinely uncertain. LSE Professor Tony Travers has warned Labour could face a “political earthquake” in London, and North London sits at the very epicentre.
The Greens, under new leader Zack Polanski, are the most potent challenge in inner North London. YouGov’s model projects Labour and the Greens within five points of each other in both Brent and Hackney, meaning either party could top the poll. Haringey and Islington are similarly tight, with the Economics Observatory warning that Labour risks losing control of both boroughs to a Green surge. The Greens are campaigning heavily on housing, rent controls, and the abolition of the leasehold system, issues that resonate strongly with younger voters and renters across North London’s inner boroughs. The party has also raised hopes of winning the directly elected mayoral position in Hackney.
In Barnet and Enfield, the picture is different. Barnet is projected to be a tight contest between Labour and the Conservatives. Enfield is shaping up as a three-way fight between Labour, the Greens, and the Conservatives. Pro-Gaza independents and candidates endorsed by Your Party, which is backing 250 candidates nationally, are also expected to mount challenges in several North London wards with significant Muslim populations, particularly targeting seats where Labour’s support has weakened over Gaza.
The stakes for North London could not be higher. Councillors control billions of pounds in annual spending across housing, planning, transport, local services and community safety. With knife crime continuing to claim young lives, housing costs pushing families out of their communities, and ongoing concerns about antisemitic attacks across North West London, voters have no shortage of issues to weigh up before Thursday.
Whatever the result, 7 May will tell North London a great deal about the political direction its communities want to take.
