Some councillors in Camden have missed more than 30% of Full Council meetings since 2022.
Camden does not publish accessible records of councillor attendance, while most other London boroughs do.
Voters have no clear way to see if their councillor has attended key meetings.
Patrick Stillman, who stood here in 2023 for the Lib Dems, is now standing in West Hampstead May 7th.
Only one of Camden Labour's three councillors in South Hampstead is re-standing.
Tommy Gale, elected in a 2023 by-election, and a No.10 Adviser since January, is standing down. Nina De Ayala Parker also not re-standing.
Tow of three councillors changing within a single term.
Reconstructing councillor attendance in Camden requires reviewing individual meeting records over time.
There is no single published overview available to residents, so voters have no way to see how often councillors attend key meetings, including Cabinet and scrutiny committees.
One thing largely missing from the Camden elections conversation: councillor attendance.
Unlike the majority of London boroughs, Camden does not publish this in a clear, accessible format.
As a result, voters have no simple way to assess how consistently councillors attend key meetings.
Holborn & Covent Garden has 17 candidates, one of the most crowded contests in Camden.
Interestingly, not every published list includes all of them.
One ward, multiple parties, and even candidate round ups can miss names.
That in itself says something about how complex the 2026 ballot is.
Candidates for Camden Council local elections 2026
Every council seat across the London Borough of Camden’s 20 electoral wards is being contested at the upcoming local elections on Thursday 7 May 2026. Labour has historically held a firm grip on the council, having maintained control for all but…
Next: which wards are most crowded, and where this fragmentation could actually change results.
#Camden #CamdenCouncil #CamdenElection #LondonPolitics
9/9
The headline:
Camden hasn't just added candidates.
It has become a more fragmented, competitive political environment.
That changes how seats are won, and lost.
8/9
In 2022, many wards were relatively straight forward contests.
In 2026, several look far more crowded, and potentially volatile.
7/9
More candidates = more vote splitting.
And that makes outcomes much less predictable, especially in those tighter wards. (Coming to that later).
6/9
Why this matters:
Camden uses multi-member wards.
You don't just win, you fight for the last seat - often won by a small number of votes.
5/9
At the same time:
- Independents have almost disappeared
- Smaller 2022 parties have dropped out
- The ballot is now dominated by powerful party machines
4/9
What is driving this increase in candidates running in Camden?
- Major parties running near full slates again
- The Green Party expanding sharply across the borough
- Reform UK entering most wards
- New local groups like Andrew Feinstein's Camden People's Alliance
3/9
This isn't just "more names on the ballot".
It is a notable structural shift in Camden politics.
More parties. More slates. More competition from the same seats.
2/9
Camden's 2026 council elections are already telling a story, before a single vote is cast.
In 2022: 187 candidates
In 2026: 268 candidates
That is a 43% increase.
Same 55 seats. Very different battlefield.
1/9
With nominations now closed, Camden’s final candidate lists reveal:
– significant turnover in some wards
– candidates moving across the borough
– smaller parties standing more widely
The election now shifts to how these contests play out locally.
Full Conservative candidate list by ward: www.hampsteadandhighgateconservatives.org.uk/news/your-co...
With nominations now closed in Camden, the Conservatives are first to publish a full slate of 55 candidates across all wards.
Full candidate lists from other parties are still emerging. No change as yet on their numbers posted yesterday.
Front page of the Camden New Journal:
Former Labour councillor Sue Vincent urging residents to vote Green, alongside criticism of Labour’s local leadership.
A significant intervention as Camden's nominations close today.
With nominations closing at 4pm today, current Camden candidate lists suggest:
Labour 48
Lib Dem 14
Conservative 14
Green 8
Camden Peoples Alliance 6
Still short of full slates in several wards.
Seven by-elections in Camden since 2022.
Three were triggered by councillors becoming MPs. Another followed Sian Berry stepping down in Highgate in 2023.
That's an unusually high level of turnover in a short period, with national politics reshaping the council mid-term.
Labour's Camden list has ticked up again over the weekend, now 48 candidates.
Still short of 55 needed for a full slate.
One remains unassigned to a ward.
Some wards, including Fortune Green, previously represented by council leader Richard Olszewski, not yet fully filled.
Selections ongoing.
In an interview reported in The Times, Green councillor Lorna Jane Russell is talking up the party's chances in Camden ahead of May, citing a possible "backlash against Keir".
A different perspective emerging as parties set out their positions across the borough.
thetimes.com/article/712b54
Kilburn shows how turnout has shifted over time in Camden.
In 2010 it was 59.15%. 2022 it had fallen to around 30%, w Labour councillors elected on roughly 1400–1600 votes each.
2024 by-election, turnout just 13.1%, with around 500 votes enough to win.
Same councillors are now re-standing in May.
Candidate movement between wards is emerging across Camden Labour selections ahead of May.
Francesca Reynolds is now standing in South Hampstead after contesting West Hampstead in 2025, while John Carr is standing in Highgate after running in Frognal in 2022.
A pattern starting to take shape.
Camden Labour’s ward-by-ward rollout now includes Holborn & Covent Garden, where the council leader is standing in May, having previously represented Fortune Green.
Fortune Green, where councillors are standing down, has yet to be announced.
Notable candidate shift from Primrose Hill into Camden Town following a retirement, another example of how movement between wards is shaping the picture ahead of May 7th election.
West Hampstead is already drawing significant attention ahead of May.
A Labour fundraiser brought together the Attorney General, Lord Hermer, alongside Tulip Siddiq and local campaign figures, months after a Lib Dem by-election gain in the ward.
Early signs this could become a key battleground.
Primrose Hill in Camden is shaping up as one of the more interesting wards ahead of May elections 2026.
With multiple councillors not re-standing and candidate movement between wards, all three seats here are effectively in play.
Less predictable than it might first appear.