Camden Council elections are nearly here and voters will soon head to the polls to pick their representatives for the next four years.
The council and mayoral elections on Thursday 7 May will undoubtedly be an indicator of the current government’s popularity, as well as a suggestion as to which parties – old and new – could be vying for future general election success.
Here’s our guide to everything you need to know about the upcoming election in Camden…
Where is Camden?
Camden – famed for being a cultural nucleus with a range of music venues, museums, theatres, green spaces and iconic market – is a north London Borough consisting of 20 wards with 55 Councillors who meet at the Camden Town Hall.
The northern end features Highgate and Hampstead – home for celebrities like Harry Styles and Jude Law – with the major transport hubs of Euston, Kings Cross and St Pancras International edging into the city centre and the bustling Covent Garden in the south.
It is no surprise the average house price is £794,000, one of the highest across the city.
Camden is bordered by the boroughs of Barnet and Haringey in the north, Islington in the east, plus the City of London and Westminster in the south, and Brent in the west.
What happened in the last election?
Labour has been in overall control of the council since 2010, and in the last election in 2022 they gained four seats.
Labour: 47 (+4)
Lib Dems: 4 (-3)
Conservatives: 3 (0)
Green: 1 (0)
In 2024 there were three by-elections to replace Councillors Beales, Gould and Hatton – who had become Labour MPs in the general election- and all three seats were won by Labour representatives.
The 2026 West Hampstead by-election, however, saw a Liberal Democrat gain of one.
What are the local issues?
We Make Camden is an initiative led by the council to involve the community in working to fix issues highlighted in an annual State of the Borough Report which draws together data from the Good Life Camden (GLC) framework.
GLC is a question based measurement framework centered on nine themes: safety, equality, health, housing, income and affordability, life-long learning, social connections and community, environment and empowered citizenship.
We Make Camden highlighted key missions to tackle the most prominent challenges in their 2026 report.
This includes diversifying the leaders of local organisations including the Council, improving the health of estate residents, food poverty particularly for children and economic opportunities for young people.
Camden has the second-highest crime rate in London, with theft being the largest category.
Although the general rates have decreased over the past 10 years according to crimerate.co.uk, theft is still at 12 times the national average.
The poverty rate at 42% is also high compared to other London boroughs, which average 26%.
Average rent in Camden is £2,624 a month according to ONS Data, compared to a national average of £1,374.
What are locals saying?
Kristina Armonaite-Ashton, a resident of Highgate West Hill for 15 years, is the co-chair of the Residents’ Association and revived the group to tackle the negative effects of an increase in traffic on the community.
She said: “In general, there needs to be much better communication.
“There are willing residents groups to inform the council about the issues they deal with everyday.
“It’s a total sham to pay high council taxes and then be landed with projects that just do not reflect the reality and the problems you have to deal with.”
The group has been left feeling disenfranchised after prologoned periods of road works, subsequent pollution from higher traffic volume, and has reported resulting damage to gas and water leaks from pipes under the road from damage caused by heavy vehicles.
Residents of Haverstock Hill in Belsize Park have also shared their concerns for Camden Council’s transport strategy, in particular the cycle lane layouts which they claim are affecting parking and safety of cyclists, drivers and pedestrians.
Camden Council were contacted for comment.
Who are the candidates?
Labour, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Reform UK have candidates in all 20 wards, whilst the Green Party are represented in all but two wards where the new Camden People’s Alliance stand, according to a deal made between the pair.
The National Housing Party is standing in Holborn and Covent Garden, Regents Park, Kings Cross and St Pancras and Somers Town.
Michael Britton is an independent candidate in Camden Square and Kentish Town North has candidates representing the Labour and Co-operative Party.
The 2026 elections also feature a new left-wing political party called Camden People’s Alliance who are focussed on homelessness, affordable housing, and child and food poverty and oppose services funding cuts and austerity.
They stand in the two wards where Green are not – King’s Cross and St Pancras and Somers Town.
A full list of candidates can be found on Camden Council’s website.
Predictions
YouGov’s London council MRP suggests a Labour hold on Camden with a prediction of 37% of the vote share.
Professor Tony Travers- London School of Economics- told the BBC: “Camden is strongly Labour-held at the moment, but it’s one of the boroughs where the Greens are hoping to do really well.
“Judging by what we’ve seen in by-elections in London and other parts of the country, certainly Labour are going to lose seats to the Greens.
“The only question is which of those parties remains the biggest but it’s likely Camden will go to no overall control.”
Interesting facts about Camden
Camden has a population of 216,943 with a median age of 33 years old, according to ONS data.
Along with the iconic Camden Market, noteworthy attractions include the Knowledge Quarter where the Francis Crick Institute, Google, British Library, Wellcome Trust and 11 higher education institutions are based.
Regents Park Zoo, British Museum, Kenwood House, Highgate Cemetery, the BT Tower, Parliament Hill Lido, and the Dominion Theatre can all be found in the borough as well.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer is MP for Holborn and St Pancras in the south of the borough, while Labour front-bencher Tulip Siddiq is MP for Hampstead and Highgate.
Feature image: Angela Wilson
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