Waltham Forest London Borough Council elections

Waltham Forest London Borough Council in London is elected every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2022, 60 councillors have been elected from 22 wards, with 2 or 3 councillors per ward.

Council elections

Summary of the council composition after recent council elections, click on the year for full details of each election.

Year	Labour	Conservative	Liberal Democrats	Independent	Notes
Year					Notes
1964	33	3	0	9
1968	4	44	0	0
1971	39	9	0	0
1974	36	12	0	0
1978	36	21	0	0	Boundary changes increased the number of seats by 11.
1982	26	25	6	0
1986	31	16	10	0
1990	30	16	11	0
1994	27	16	14	0	Boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same.
1998	30	15	12	0	Boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same.
2002	29	18	13	0	Boundary changes increased the number of seats by 3.
2006	26	15	19	0
2010	36	18	6	0
2014	44	16	0	0
2018	46	14	0	0
2022	47	13	0	0	Boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same.
2026

By-election results

1964-1968

There were no by-elections.

1978-1982

The by-election was called following the death of Cllr Eve Halsey
The by-election was called following the death of Cllr Lilian Gurr
The by-election was called following the death of Cllr Frederick Wigg

1982-1986

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Harry Cohen

1986-1990

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Joseph Levy
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Peter Barnett

1990-1994

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Patrick Hayes.

1994-1998

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Neal Chubb.

1998-2002

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Huw Morgan-Thomas.

2002-2006

The by-election was called following the death of Cllr Mohammed Rahman.
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Martin O'Connor.
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr David Divine.
The by-election was called following the death of Cllr Mohammed Nasim.
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Ian Leslie.

2006-2010

The by-election was called following the death of Cllr Derek Arnold.
The by-election was called following the disqualification of Cllr Miranda Grell.

*No description. Candidate is a member of the Respect Party and was supported by the local branch. She was unable to use Respect as her description due to a split in the party. Current UK electoral law allows candidates to stand without any description rather than independent if preferred.
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Imran Abrahim.
The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. John M. Gover.
The by-election was called following the death of Cllr John Beanse and the resignation of Cllr John Penstone due to ill health.
The by-election was called following the death of Cllr John Walter.

2010-2014

The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Edwin Northover.

2014-2018

The by-election was triggered by the death of Councillor Nadeem Ali, of the Labour Party.

2018-2022

The by-election was triggered by the death of Councillor Geoff Walker, of the Conservative Party.
The by-election was triggered by the death of Councillor Chris Robbins, of the Labour Party.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Councillor Yemi Osho, of the Labour Party.

2022-2026

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Cllr Alistair Strathern MP, of the Labour Party.