YOUR LOCAL GUIDE TO MAY ELECTIONS
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames elections will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026.
All 54 seats of the Council will be up for election across the borough’s 18 wards.
As of today the council is made up of:
- Liberal Democrats: 49 councillors
- Green Party: 5 councillors
- Conservatives: 0 councillors
- Total seats: 54
Key points
- The Liberal Democrats overwhelmingly control the council and have done so since 2018.
- The Green Party forms the official opposition with a small group of 5 councillors.
- The Conservatives lost their final seat in a 2024 by-election, so currently have no representation.
The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Monday 20 April.
You can register to vote in less than five minutes. You will need to have your National Insurance number to hand.
Vote in person
Don’t forget you will now need to provide original voter ID to vote at polling stations on Thursday 7 May.
All voters will need to take an approved form of photo identification to the polling station to vote. Polls will be open between 7am and 10pm. If you do not have an accepted form of photo ID, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate until 5pm on Tuesday 28 April.
If you do not wish to show ID at a polling station or are away on polling day, you can apply to vote by post or vote by proxy.
Vote by post
The deadline to register to vote by post in these elections is Tuesday 21 April at 5pm. You will need your date of birth, a copy of your signature and your National Insurance number. Postal voters will not be affected by voter ID and will be issued with their postal ballot papers as usual.
Postal vote arrangements must now be renewed every three years. We will contact you to let you know when your postal vote needs to be renewed.
Vote by proxy
The deadline to register to vote by proxy in these elections is Tuesday 28 April at 5pm. Your chosen proxy must be registered to vote themselves and can only act as a proxy for a limited number of people – up to two voters registered in the UK, or four voters in total if two are registered overseas and two domestically.