Camden elections 2026 – manifesto promises of parties standing

Camden Council has historically been a Labour stronghold, with the party maintaining control of the North London borough for all but four years in the last five decades. In 2022, Labour won 47 of the 55 ward seats.

This could all be about to change as voters prepare to head to the polls on 7 May.

Five major parties are standing in almost all electoral wards: the Conservatives, the Greens, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK. Minor parties including the National Housing Party and the Camden People’s Alliance are also fielding candidates in some wards.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has assembled the key manifesto pledges that each of the main parties say they will honour if they win or retain control of the council.

Camden People’s Alliance

The Camden People’s Alliance is standing in two wards: King’s Cross and St Pancras & Somers Town. The party’s full list of promises can be read on their website.

Housing

• Use public investment to set up a council-led building programme
• Oppose intermediate rents and homes for sale on public land
• Restore planned cyclical repairs programmes to social housing

Communities

• Create tenant-run community spaces and halls
• Expand protections for marginalised groups and migrants
• Divest funds from companies linked to human rights abuses and violations of international law

Crime

• Invest in violence prevention and community safety especially violence against women and girls

Children and education

• Reverse school cuts and reduce class sizes
• Deliver universal free school meals

Health

• Provide free nutritious food for elderly residents
• Invest in mental health services for young people

Conservative Party

Here are some of the key pledges put forward by Camden’s Conservative party. You can read their full manifesto on their website.

Housing

• Place the council’s housing maintenance in special measures to ensure real improvement
• Reverse trend of driving families out of the borough by building 1-2 bedroom apartments

Communities

• Oppose the extension of late night licensing hours

Crime

• Demand funding for greater police presence on Camden’s streets
• Back the use of CCTV to catch phone snatchers

Children and education

• Fight to keep schools, health centres and libraries open

Environment and transport

• Introduce a weekly free car parking period in new high streets to support shopkeepers and commercial premises
• Scrap the fee for garden waste removal

Green Party

Below are the Greens’ key policies they will implement in Camden if they win control of the council. Their full manifesto is available to read on their website.

Housing

• Employ more in-house building surveyors and managers to make housing repairs more efficient and cost-effective
• Prioritise building genuinely affordable homes that go beyond mandated quality standards

Communities

• Protect historic markets and traders from cost increases
• Strengthen partnerships with LGBTQI+ organisations
• Divest from companies profiting from genocide and human rights abuses

Crime

• Target root causes of crime by taking a cross-departmental and multi-agency approach to crime prevention
• Take a public health approach to serious violence including knife and gun crime

Children and education

• Cut the high numbers of suspensions and permanent exclusions in schools
• Adopt early intervention public health approach to loneliness to support Camden’s youth

Health

• Work with NHS partners to collate, publish and act on ethnicity‐specific health data, treating disparities as acute public health issues
• Foster a wellbeing economy to prioritise health, happiness and security of people and the planet

Environment and transport

• Set up a climate change task group within the council
• Prioritise renovation and retrofitting buildings over demolition
• Support community initiatives to increase biodiversity and wildlife corridors
• Plan better, safer public transport including a joined-up cycling network across Camden.

Labour Party

Labour’s manifesto is available to read in full on the party’s website. Below are the key pledges the ruling party has made should it stay in control of the council.

Housing

• Expanding landlord licensing to enforce private tenants’ rights and improve housing quality
• Invest £670mn in housing repairs and major works, including for fire safety works and lift renewals
• Build 1,400 new homes including 700 affordable homes

Communities

• Support pubs and community buildings through Asset of Community Value designation
• Deliver “warm spaces” for residents in colder months
• Provide grant programmes to voluntary and community organisations

Crime

• Double the size of the council’s community safety team
• Invest in Safety Bus service for residents
• Expand CCTV monitoring

Children and education

• Invest £11mn to open two new children’s homes
• Provide an extra after-school club in every Camden school
• Use data for free school meal auto-enrolment

Health

• Invest up to £15mn extra in social care
• Pay care workers London Living Wage
• Introduce a new dementia strategy

Environment and transport

• Identify locations for new parks and plant more trees
• Introduce new bus lanes and increase the number of zebra crossings in the borough
• Install 800 new electric vehicle charging points

Liberal Democrats

The Lib Dems’ full manifesto is available to read on the party website. Below are the key promises the party is making at this election:

Housing

• Set up a taskforce to make the most of existing council homes, to review best practice and take action on void turn-arounds and under-occupation
• Change policies to limit conversion of family homes into small flats
• Sell the Crowndale Centre and use the funds on temporary accommodation to cut homelessness

Communities

• Promote the borough as a welcoming place for refugees, immigrants and other visitors and reaffirm Camden’s status as a Borough of Sanctuary
• Work with partners to deliver local festivals, performances, markets and cultural events, from farmers’ markets to craft and community events

Crime

• Boost the size of community safety teams and those supporting substance misusers
• Pressure the Met Police to stop sending neighbourhood police officers on other assignments
• Invest in preventing violence against women and girls through partnerships with schools, sports clubs, arts and community groups

Children and education

• Work to ensure parents of children with special educational needs are kept informed about how government reforms will affect them
• Help young people into skilled work in local town centres through SEND internships and apprenticeships and meaningful jobs

Health

• Increase support for blind and partially sighted people by expanding the council’s Sensory Team
• Deliver accessibility improvements, including step-free access, dropped kerbs, tactile paving, better crossings, seating and clear signage

Environment and transport

• Pressure TfL to tackle dirt, noise and neglect on Finchley Road
• Launch a Rewilding Fund to support community-led greening projects
• Require all new developments to include solar panels and battery storage

Reform UK

Reform UK is standing candidates in every electoral ward in Camden, but has not released a manifesto. The LDRS contacted the party’s local branch to ask about its pledges for the borough, but at the time of publication had not received a response.

The party’s key national policies include:

• Immediately leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
• Scrapping indefinite leave to remain for immigrants and rescind existing awards
• Cutting energy bills by ending net zero policies
• Limiting welfare benefits to British citizens
• Rebuilding the UK armed forces

Local elections take place on Thursday 7 May 2026

You will need a photo ID to vote at a polling station. Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm. More information: Camden local elections 2026.

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