With just days to go until the local elections, political parties across Southwark have published their manifesto pledges, detailing how they would run the council over the next four years if they win on May 7.
Across the 23 wards in Southwark, a total of 292 candidates are hoping to win one of the 63 seats. The Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, and the Conservatives each have 63 candidates, meaning they are contesting every seat in the borough. The Green Party has 61 nominees. Reform UK has 35 candidates, while four independents are also contesting seats. One Communist League candidate and one Southwark Independent Socialists candidate will also run, along with one candidate from the Build – Homes, Infrastructure, A Future organisation.
Labour’s control of Southwark Council spans two key periods: from the borough’s creation in 1965 to 2002, and again from 2010 onwards. However, there was no overall control between 2002 and 2010 after the Liberal Democrats increased their number of councillors. In the 2022 local election, 52 Labour councillors were elected, while the Lib Dems won 11 seats, making them the largest opposition group. Since then, four councillors have defected to the Greens, and three former Labour councillors now sit as independents.
Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics said Southwark is one of several boroughs that could potentially see no overall control, though if it did, Labour would likely remain the largest party. He told the BBC: “Southwark is strongly Labour-controlled, but there’s a powerful Liberal Democrat presence in the north of the borough, which the Lib Dems will be hoping to push south, while Greens will hope to win in the southern part from Labour.”
Pollsters More in Common support this analysis, suggesting Labour faces threats from both the Lib Dems and the Greens. The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has compiled key manifesto commitments from the main parties.
Conservative Party
Crime and Safety
- Double the number of Neighbourhood Watches from 200 to 400
- Establish new specialist youth clubs
- Work with police to focus on phone theft, shoplifting, and anti-social behaviour
Housing
- Work with tenants’ associations to prioritise properties most in need of repair
- Support new housing on appropriate locations, focusing on brownfield sites
- Work with the London Fire Brigade to ensure housing meets safety standards
Transport and Environment
- Conduct evidence-led review of all Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) and traffic schemes
- More funding for potholes and a reporting service for residents to track progress
- Minimise parking restrictions near shops
- Dedicated phone line for reporting fly-tipping, graffiti, and missed bin collections
- Resolve missed bin collections within 48 hours
- Work with environmental health and wildlife experts to address fox-related problems
Local Economy
- Expand Southwark Business Networks
- Hold regular meetings with local business owners
- Work with business groups to identify and remove barriers to growth
Schools
- Support high-performing schools that wish to expand
- Work proactively with schools facing falling enrolment
- Work with neighbouring boroughs to establish a new SEND school on a site facing closure
Green Spaces
- Organise regular community clean-ups
- Protect public access to parks by limiting excessive commercial use
Leisure and Culture
- Work with volunteers to support community libraries
- Increase collaboration with local sporting organisations
- Support community groups and volunteers
Social Care
- Work with community organisations to establish social care hubs
- Review policies to reduce complaints in social care
- Ensure social care services operate effectively and efficiently
- Remove barriers to accessing social care
Labour
Crime and Safety
- Double the number of community wardens and expand night-time patrols
- Implement new Neighbourhood Reporting for anti-social behaviour
- Invest in lighting, CCTV, and secure more police and warden patrols to make streets, bus stops, and stations safer for women and girls
Housing
- Build 1,500 social rent homes, including 500 new council homes
- Build affordable, rent-controlled homes for teachers, nurses, and key workers
- Establish a booking system for timed repair slots
Transport and Environment
- Tougher enforcement against fly-tippers
- Ensure e-bike providers supply dedicated parking bays and increase enforcement
- Continue campaigning for better accessibility at train stations and fund feasibility studies
- Invest in new crossings, cycle hangars, and expand walking and cycle routes
Local Economy
- New service to help 2,000 residents with barriers into good jobs
- Work with landlords and residents to prevent closure of pubs, restaurants, and nightclubs
Schools
- Guarantee work, education, or training for every school leaver
- Roll out free breakfast clubs to every school
- Guarantee a School Street for every eligible school by 2030
Green Spaces
- Raise £2.5 million with communities for local green projects
- Work to reduce flooding risks, extreme heat, and other climate impacts
Leisure and Culture
- Establish a culture pass for residents to access theatres, galleries, sports clubs, and nightclubs
- Invest £7.1 million in 15 playgrounds and sports centres
- Support local artists with affordable workspaces and creative grants
Social Care
- Remove barriers for young people leaving care with travel, clothing, meals, and childcare support
- Build a new nursing home in Peckham
- Strengthen supported housing quality and supply
Liberal Democrats
Crime and Safety
- Install more cycle hangars and lockers to prevent bike theft, keeping fees low
- Open five new youth clubs across the borough
- Guarantee working security doors on all council estates that request them by 2028
- Double community safety wardens from 30 to 60 and invest in street lighting
- Use more mobile CCTV units to tackle crime, ASB, and fly-tipping
Housing
- Ensure half of all new homes on private developments are genuinely affordable
- Appoint an affordable housing tsar to challenge developers
- Implement a 10-day disrepair enforcement guarantee for private leaseholders
- Provide a portal for residents to report empty properties
Transport and Environment
- Make every train station in the borough accessible for disabled people
- Invest in a tram for Southwark
- Roll out 25 km of new cycle lanes and expand Santander Cycles further south
- Guarantee an EV charging point within 200 metres of every home
- Consider cash incentives for recycling
- Work with businesses to manage commercial waste and integrate recycling into streets
Local Economy
- Freeze council tax for the poorest households
- Launch a rates relief fund to support local businesses
- Expand the cost of living fund for grants to those in financial difficulty
Schools
- Open schools, community centres, and places of worship after school for safe spaces
- Build more affordable family homes to prevent school closures
- Open a new SEND school
Green Spaces
- Open eight new parks and green spaces
- Plant 130,000 more trees over four years
- Limit use of parks for commercial events in summer
- Upgrade all council play spaces, parks, and green spaces by 2030
Leisure and Culture
- Build on strategies to support ethnic minority and faith residents
- Develop an LGBTQ+ Action Plan to tackle homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia
- Support LGBTQ+ community spaces and venues
Social Care
- Back Ed Davey’s national campaign to fix social care
- Create a Child Poverty Office and offer free baby boxes to new parents
Green Party
Crime and Safety
- Improve street lighting where residents feel unsafe
- Introduce High Street Task Forces to tackle shoplifting
- Address serious violence and knife crime through high-intensity early intervention
Housing
- Demand at least 35% affordable housing in all developments, prioritising sustainable buildings
- Build more council homes and support co-operative housing
- Take on rogue landlords with enforcement and strong licensing
- Campaign for rent controls, secure tenancies, and repair rights
- Bring empty homes back into use and tax empty properties and second homes at the highest rate
Transport and Environment
- Tackle fly-tipping with free bulky waste collections, community skip days, and stronger rules for landlords
- Make Southwark the first inner London borough to recycle 50% of its waste
- Introduce food waste collection for all properties
- Strengthen enforcement of fly-tipping and commercial waste dumping
- Pilot free bus travel for under-22s
- Campaign for more east-west bus routes and reopening Camberwell train station
- More public drinking water points and public toilets
Local Economy
- Require landlords to bring empty shopfronts back into use
- Work with small businesses and BIDs on crime, cleaning, and transport
- Support job creation through affordable workspace hubs
Schools
- Support youth centres and after-school clubs
- Establish a Southwark Baccalaureate with a 45-day placement
- Cut school uniform costs through second-hand exchanges
- Seek funding to expand free healthy school meals to all pupils
Green Spaces
- Protect green spaces from over-development and over-commercialisation
- Bring derelict sites back into use as parks, nature reserves, or community growing spaces
- Protect and invest in Southwark’s 65 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation
Leisure and Culture
- Expand Free Swim and Gym for all residents
- Provide discounted theatre, music, and art via the Southwark Presents Pass
- Make it easier for pubs, bars, and restaurants to secure licences for cultural events
Social Care
- Give fair parking permits to carers and campaign for properly funded care
- Bring care services and care homes in-house
- Bring all care homes to ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ ratings
- Prioritise disabled adaptations for older people to remain at home
Reform UK
Reform UK has not published a local manifesto for Southwark. The LDRS contacted the party but received no response. Nationally, the party has pledged to keep council tax low, place migrant detention centres in areas that vote Green, and make it mandatory for schools to display the Union Flag and a picture of the King.
