Hackney mayoral race 2026: Labour vs Greens in Hackney

Key Points

• Local elections for Hackney Council and the mayoralty will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026, with results expected on Friday 8 May.
• Hackney has only ever had a directly elected Labour mayor since the role was created, but the Green Party is now targeting the borough as a potential takeover seat.
• Five candidates are standing for the mayoralty: Vahid Almasi (Reform UK), Zoë Garbett (Green Party), Tareke Gregg (Conservative), Eva Steinhardt (Liberal Democrat), and Caroline Woodley (Labour, incumbent).
• The mayor chairs the council cabinet, sets strategy, proposes the budget and oversees key services such as housing, regeneration, planning and waste collection.
• Caroline Woodley took office after a by‑election in November 2023 and is seeking her first full four‑year term.
• Zoë Garbett, a Dalston councillor and London Assembly member, came second in the 2023 mayoral contest and is now the principal challenger, with the Greens branding Hackney as a top London target.
• Cost‑of‑living pressures and housing affordability are repeatedly cited by both Woodley and Garbett as central issues for voters.
• Local residents interviewed by BBC London have also highlighted concerns about community facilities, youth services and traffic and road‑closure impacts.

uk/local/hackney/">Hackney (East London Times) April 15, 2026. The outcome could mark a historic shift: Hackney has only ever elected a Labour mayor since the post of directly elected mayor was introduced, but the Green Party is now openly targeting the borough as a key London gain.

What is at stake in the Hackney mayoral race?

The mayoral role in Hackney carries wide‑ranging powers over local services, strategy and finances. The mayor chairs the council cabinet, sets the council’s policy direction, proposes the budget and oversees areas such as housing, including regeneration schemes and affordable‑housing targets, planning decisions and waste collection.

They also appoint a cabinet of elected councillors, each responsible for a portfolio such as finance, community safety and children’s services.

Hackney is one of only five London boroughs with a directly elected mayor, giving the post a distinct profile compared with councils led by a council leader chosen by councillors.

All wards across the borough vote for the mayor under a first‑past‑the‑post system, meaning the result reflects the wider political mood of Hackney rather than isolated pockets.

Who are the mayoral candidates?

The 2026 mayoral race features five candidates, listed in reports by outlets including the BBC, East London Times and local civic sites. They are:

• Vahid Almasi (Reform UK) – Almasi is described in coverage by Hackney Citizen and East London Times as a new entrant to the mayoral race, positioning himself as an outsider critical of the current council establishment.
• Zoë Garbett (Green Party) – As noted by the BBC, East London Times and Hackney Citizen, Garbett is the main challenger to Labour, having placed second in the 2023 mayoral contest and serving as a Dalston councillor and London Assembly member. Election‑watching outlets have highlighted that she is aiming to become the first non‑Labour directly elected mayor of Hackney.
• Tareke Gregg (Conservative) – Gregg, who has stood in recent by‑elections in De Beauvoir and Stoke Newington, is standing again for the Conservatives, according to Hackney Citizen and East London Times.
• Eva Steinhardt (Liberal Democrat) – Coverage by East London Times and Hackney Citizen notes Steinhardt is seeking to return the Liberal Democrats to Town Hall representation for the first time since 2018.
• Caroline Woodley (Labour) – As reported by the BBC, Hackney Citizen and East London Times, Woodley has been serving as Hackney’s mayor since winning a by‑election in November 2023, following the resignation of former mayor Philip Glanville. She is now standing for her first full four‑year term.

How are cost‑of‑living pressures shaping the Hackney mayoral campaign?

Both Woodley and Garbett have told reporters that the cost of living is the dominant issue when they speak to voters.

As reported by Lucy Fisher of the BBC, Garbett said housing is one of the most frequent concerns raised door‑to‑door, including among residents in housing association blocks who have seen service charges rise to levels that feel unaffordable.

Garbett, quoted by the BBC, said:

“I’ve heard people say that their service charge has increased to a level where it makes it unaffordable for them – and they’re saying ‘well if I can’t afford to live here, where can I live?’”

She has linked this to broader worries about security of tenure and the impact of regeneration on existing communities.

Caroline Woodley, speaking to the BBC, described the “number one thing” she hears from residents as “just the cost of everything”, pointing to national measures such as rises in the minimum wage, expansion of employment rights, support for energy bills and the lifting of the two‑child benefit cap. She added:

“Seeing the national minimum wage go up, living wage go up, seeing more employment rights brought in, seeing energy bills being supported, the lifting of the two‑child benefit cap – this is the moment when people start to feel the difference that Labour made,”

according to the BBC’s report.

What are Hackney residents saying about local issues?

As detailed in BBC London’s coverage, some local residents have emphasised concerns beyond party politics, highlighting community facilities, youth provision and the impact of road closures and traffic management. For example, the BBC noted that residents have raised questions about the availability of safe spaces for young people and the effect of road‑closure schemes on access and congestion.

Zoë Garbett, in interviews relayed by East London Times and the Local Democracy Reporting Service, has argued that where Greens have already been elected – including in some wards of Hackney – voters have seen them as harder working and more aligned with left‑wing values. As quoted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service coverage summarised by Fitzrovia News, she said:

“Where people have got Greens elected, they want to see more Greens elected. They see how hard we work and see our values. But of course that comes within a context of people looking for an alternative and feeling like the Labour Party has left them.”

How is Labour responding to Green pressure in Hackney?

Labour’s incumbent mayor has pushed back against the idea that Hackney is a natural Green gain. As reported by the BBC, Caroline Woodley said:

“Bring it on, bring it on,”

when asked about the Green challenge. She went on to question why Green Party deputy leader Zack Polanski, who has publicly discussed Hackney as a target, would focus on Hackney rather than the more right‑wing Reform UK.

According to the BBC, Woodley added:

“I think, why would Zack Polanski choose Hackney – a progressive council, one of the most progressive councils in the country, rather than go after Reform?”

She framed this as a “cynical” tactic, suggesting the Greens are singling out an already progressive Labour borough rather than other parts of London.

Hackney’s changing political landscape

The political backdrop to the 2026 race is shaped by earlier results. Hackney Citizen’s analysis notes that in the 2022 council elections, Labour won 50 seats (down two), the Conservatives held five and the Greens gained two seats, while the Liberal Democrats and independents trailed.

The same outlet and Wikipedia’s election table show that in the 2023 mayoral by‑election, Caroline Woodley won 18,474 votes (about 49.8 per cent), while Zoë Garbett took 9,075 (around 24.5 per cent).

Hackney is now voting for all 57 council seats and the mayor at the same time, after a series of recent by‑election losses by Labour to Greens and Conservatives at local level.

Recent polling cited by Fitzrovia News, via the Bombe research group, suggests the Greens could take control of up to nine London councils, with Hackney mentioned as one of the potential targets.

Hackney’s local authority website confirms that polling for the 2026 local and mayoral elections will run from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 7 May, with the count and results scheduled for Friday 8 May. All registered British, Commonwealth, Irish and qualifying EU citizens living in the borough are eligible to vote.

Background of the Hackney mayoral development

The directly elected mayor of Hackney was created to give the borough a single, high‑profile political leader, similar to the London mayor model but at council level. Since the role was introduced, the mayoralty has remained in Labour hands, with Woodley’s 2023 win marking a continuation of that tradition despite a noticeable tightening of the Green vote.

Hackney has long been seen as a left‑leaning, inner‑London borough, combining relatively affluent areas with pockets of high need and social housing. National debates over austerity, housing and welfare, as well as controversies around regeneration and estate redevelopments, have shaped local politics and voter sentiment over the past decade.

The 2026 mayoral race reflects both that long‑standing context and the immediate impact of the cost‑of‑living crisis and energy‑price pressures on households.

Prediction: How this mayoral race could affect Hackney residents

If the Greens were to win the Hackney mayoralty, it could result in a shift in emphasis on housing and planning, with a greater focus on limiting private‑tenure‑based regeneration and strengthening support for social‑tenure options, based on the party’s stated housing platform in London. Such a change might also see more emphasis on environmental measures such as low‑traffic neighbourhoods and active‑travel schemes, building on existing work but potentially intensifying local debate over road‑closure and traffic‑management policies.