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\t\tBarking and Dagenham is up for grabs in the local elections.\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tThursday 23 April 2026 1:55 am
\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\tWednesday 22 April 2026 3:54 pm\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\tBarking and Dagenham is up for grabs in the local elections.\t<\/p>\n
Labour will take the fight to Reform in its defence of Barking and Dagenham as it looks to continue its long-running hold on the borough.<\/p>\n
In 2022 Barking and Dagenham was painted a unanimous red.<\/p>\n
All 51 seats in the 232,747 strong borough went to Labour<\/a> in a clean sweep, though turnout was 24.5 per cent \u2013 the lowest in all of London.<\/p>\n Since then, streaks of blue and green have begun to seep through. Three councillors have defected from Labour to the Greens over concerns on foreign policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Moin Quadri, Victoria Hornby and Faruk Choudhury said they had become uncomfortable with Labour \u201crefusing to take a principled stand on Gaza\u201d and \u201cadopting divisive anti-immigration rhetoric\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n But they weren\u2019t the only councillors fancying a change, with the Conservatives also picking up a Labour defector.<\/p>\n Barking and Dagenham \u2013 the subject of the Ramz hit from 2018 boasting the hook \u2018I might link my ting from Barkin\u2019 \u2013 has a highly diverse population, with around 16 per cent identifying as black African and 17 per cent as Bangladeshi or Pakistani. Around 46 per cent identify as white.\u00a0<\/p>\n Barking and Dagenham\u2019s fast-growing population<\/p>\n The area is also quickly growing with the population increasing 17.7 per cent in the 2021 census \u2013 the second-highest in all of the capital. It is in the Band D council tax for the 2026\/27 financial year at \u00a32,198.<\/p>\n The council\u2019s Labour leader, Dominic Twomey, is now facing pressure over a decision to raise council taxes<\/a> by five per cent in order to fill funding gaps.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tLondon local elections 2026: Who will win in Barnet?<\/a><\/p>\n Labour has controlled the borough since its creation in the \u201860s, though faces a challenge in keeping that grip from the insurgent Greens and flocking of voters to the Conservatives.<\/p>\n Reform UK is also expected to make a play for the area too as part of its bid to knock down some of the traditional red walls.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the targets includes Eastbrook and Rush Green, which is in the east of the borough.<\/p>\n Scandal has already surrounded the party\u2019s bid for power as Lewis Holmes, who was a vocal critic of the incumbent council, turned his guns back on Reform and pledged to run as an independent under the banner of \u2018Barking and Dagenham first\u2019. Campaign groups have accused Holmes of promoting far-right content.\u00a0<\/p>\n The area has long been a key battleground for radical versus centreground politics. For example, the far-right British National Party\u2019s Nick Griffin fought against former Labour MP Baroness Hodge in 2010, and lost.\u00a0<\/p>\n Twomey too fears the council could turn. He has warned that the party should not be \u201ccomplacent\u201d about Reform UK\u2019s possible takeover of the council after a poll suggested it would be lost by Labour.<\/p>\n Regardless of who manages to break through and leave their mark on the borough, the solid red is already facing splatters from all shades of party colour palettes.<\/p>\n City AM is previewing local election votes taking place in every London borough. Click here for a full overview of May 7.<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n