Full Breakdown
London Faces Nine By-Elections After Green Party Vetting Failures
5/23/2026, 4:09:48 AM
The Triggering Event: Ineligible Winners Prompt By-Elections
Nine by-elections are scheduled for the summer to fill council seats vacated after the 7 May London local elections. Eight of the vacancies involve Green Party councillors who were later found ineligible, while one vacancy was created by a Labour councillor who stepped down for personal reasons. The vacancies arise from election-rule disqualifications and the statutory prohibition on holding a mayoral office and a council seat simultaneously.
Background: Rules Governing Eligibility and Dual Mandates
Under the Local Government Act 1972, a person is disqualified from standing as a councillor if they are a teacher, among other criteria. Additionally, elected mayors must resign any council seat they win, triggering a by-election for the council position. These provisions applied to newly elected Green mayors Zoë Garbett (Hackney) and Liam Shrivastava (Lewisham), who relinquished the council seats they also won.
Key Figures and Parties
- Green Party: Zoë Garbett (Hackney mayor), Liam Shrivastava (Lewisham mayor), councillors James Tilden (Hackney Central), Muhammad Naser (Camden Regent’s Park), Joanna Eaves (Lambeth Clapham Park), Simon Anthony (Ealing Acton North), Jayon Henriques (Haringey Northumberland Park).
- Labour Party: Hasret Bozdogan (Haringey Woodside) and the winning candidate in Streatham St Leonard’s ward, Saiqa Ali, who was suspended over alleged antisemitic posts.
- Council Officials: Representatives from Ealing, Camden, Lambeth, Hackney, Haringey, and Lewisham councils.
Data & Statistics: Seats, Costs, and Scale
- The Green Party secured 297 seats across London in the May elections.
- Eight Green seats and one Labour seat are now vacant.
- The total estimated cost of the nine by-elections is ? £250,000.
- Individual cost estimates: Ealing Council ? £35,000; Camden and Lambeth ? £30,000 each; Hackney, Haringey, and Lewisham did not disclose figures.
Official Statements & Responses
Labour officials argued that the vacancies reflect “Green candidates … were elected despite never being qualified to stand in the first place,” and warned that taxpayers will bear the financial burden of the by-elections. Green Party representatives countered that the number of resignations represents “a very small proportion of the 297 seats the party won across London.” Council spokespeople provided cost estimates where available and confirmed compliance with statutory requirements for by-elections.
Criticism & Opposition
Opposition parties have criticised the Green Party’s candidate-vetting procedures, citing the multiple disqualifications as evidence of systemic oversight failures. Labour’s commentary framed the issue as “the Greens’ incompetence,” while the Green Party emphasized the limited scale of the problem relative to its overall electoral success.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Cost figures vary between councils, and Hackney, Haringey, and Lewisham have not released their projected expenses. Reasons for resignations differ: some councillors cited ill health (Joanna Eaves, Simon Anthony), while others were ineligible by rule (James Tilden, Muhammad Naser). The precise timing of the Green Party’s awareness of Jayon Henriques’s ineligibility remains unclear.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Taxpayers are now being forced to pick up the bill for the Greens' incompetence.” — Labour Party spokesperson
- “were elected despite never being qualified to stand in the first place” — Labour Party spokesperson
- “ A Green Party spokesperson said the numbers standing down were a "very small proportion" of the 297 seats the party won across London.” — Green Party spokesperson
- “Ealing Council told the BBC the expected cost of its by-election would be around £35,000.” — Ealing Council
- “The Local Government Act 1972 A person is disqualified from standing as a councillor if they: The cost of holding by-elections varies according to the size of the electorate, the number of polling stations needed, the cost of sending out postal votes and polling cards and staffing.” — Article source
