A YouGov poll for Sky News says the Green Party will uproot Labour in the May local elections, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter
The Green Party has been projected to win in Waltham Forest in a shock YouGov poll.
The poll, produced for Sky News, shows Zack Polanski’s left-wing party uprooting Labour in the north-east London borough in the May local elections.
This would mark the end of Labour’s 16 year grasp on the town hall, in what would also be the worst year for the party since the 1970s.
Sky’s poll projects a further three wins for the Greens – in Hackney, Lewisham and Lambeth – and also shows Reform taking control of three councils, including nearby Havering in the east.
The total number controlled by Labour will drop from 21 to 15, the data suggests.
Robyn Page, the Greens’ candidate for William Morris ward, said it reflected what campaigners had been “hearing loud and clear on the doorstep” and voters are “fed up with Labour’s inability to get the basics right or be fully transparent about what the council is doing”.
She added: “It also shows that Greens can win, because residents know we’ll deliver a new kind of council that puts them at the heart of decision-making.
“Because after 16 years of Labour controlling Waltham Forest Council, we’re hearing that residents are ready for change.”
Waltham Forest Labour, in turn, has dismissed the poll as “speculative”.
A spokesperson said: “This poll is a speculative snapshot. It is residents who will decide who runs our council and they face an important choice on 7th May.
“We are proud of our track record as Waltham Forest Labour. Our work on climate and active travel is London-leading, we are fourth in the UK for building council homes, working with police we have cut serious crime, and our children, adults and social housing services are highly rated.
“Local elections are about who runs the council and only Labour will stand up for residents, protect vital services and put our values into action,” they said.
Nearly 300 candidates are standing in the local elections on 7th May and all 60 seats, spread across 22 wards, will be up for grabs.
Labour and the Tories are each fielding a full 60 candidates, while the Greens have put forward 53.
Reform and the Liberal Democrats are standing more than 40 each.
A further 31 candidates are representing smaller parties such as the Trade Unionist Socialist Coalition, the Independent Waltham Forest Socialists, and Chingford & Woodford Green Community Independents.
The last round of local elections, held in 2022, saw Waltham Forest Labour boost its majority by one and win 47 of 60 available seats.
Labour has won the majority of votes in every election since 1965, except for when the Conservatives won in 1968.
The Tories have comfortably formed the opposition in every election, seeing firm wins in the north of the borough, where they hope to fend off Reform.
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