Richmond Local Elections 2026: What Each Party Promises
With the local elections approaching on May 7, major parties in Richmond have published their manifestos outlining how they plan to transform the borough over the next four years. Voters will choose representatives for all 54 seats across 18 wards, with the winning party governing until 2030.
The Liberal Democrats, Labour, Conservatives, and the Green Party are each fielding 54 candidates, while Reform UK has put forward 45 candidates. Three independent candidates are also standing. The council has been under Lib Dem control since 2018, when they took over from the Conservatives. Currently, the authority has 49 Lib Dem councillors and five Green councillors, who form the opposition.
From housing and finance to transport and the environment, here are the key pledges from each party.
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Liberal Democrats
The Lib Dems have outlined several key policies in their manifesto, which is available on their website.
- Housing and cost of living: Launch an anti-poverty strategy; increase the pipeline of over 1,000 social and affordable homes by unlocking small and overlooked sites; continue buying back former council homes sold under Right to Buy; work with landlords to raise standards and crack down on rogue landlords; invest in early homelessness prevention; work to end rough sleeping with a new rough sleeper hub.
- Environment and transport: Launch the Richmond Community Energy Co-Operative for residents to invest in clean local power; oppose Thames Water's Teddington wastewater recycling scheme; continue resisting Heathrow expansion; make roads safer by tackling illegal e-bikes, dangerous speeding, unsafe parking, and reckless driving; fight cancellations and lobby TfL and operators to improve bus and train services, especially in areas with limited options; expand the mega skips service to two annual events per ward; fast-track retrofit schemes to help lower bills.
- Communities: Campaign for stronger local policing and oppose cuts to face-to-face police presence; invest in community centres, family hubs, and leisure facilities; tackle anti-social behaviour and crime hotspots; invest in early help for children and adults.
- Economy and finance: Improve Richmond town centre with new public spaces, activities, and events, including exploring pedestrianisation; work to bring empty shops back into use; lobby the government for fairer business rates and greater local retention; support a strong evening and night-time economy to boost footfall; work with partners to deliver local festivals, performances, markets, and cultural events; fight government cuts; transform council operations to save around £30 million a year by 2029.
Green Party
The Green Party's manifesto, available on their website, includes the following pledges.
- Housing and cost of living: Build new stock for social rent with direct investment; streamline planning to unlock and retrofit empty homes; create a borough-wide service to finance insulation and renewable energy for every home; support zero-carbon construction for domestic renovations and extensions.
- Environment and transport: Ban bee-killing pesticides; support public ownership of water companies; stop the Teddington direct river abstraction scheme; reduce air and noise pollution everywhere; oppose Heathrow expansion; restore rivers, wetlands, parks, biodiversity corridors, and other natural spaces; keep the Travel Pass; fund free travel for under-22s; fix roads and pavements to improve accessibility; increase protected cycle lanes, safer junctions, crossings, and child-friendly neighbourhoods; encourage smaller, cleaner modes of transport and end the dominance of larger vehicles.
- Communities: Invest in youth centres and mental health support for children and young people; set up citizens' assemblies to influence policy at every level; add better lighting, public toilets, and facilities for disabled people and families; turn empty or underused buildings into community assets for creative connection; enable everyone to benefit from a sustainable digital economy; evaluate the council's use of resources, including its staff-sharing agreement with Wandsworth.
- Economy and finance: Offer tax reliefs; provide stronger advice networks and a fairer safety net for low-income households; adopt a prevention-first approach to reduce demand for costly acute care.
Conservatives
The Conservatives have not published a local manifesto for Richmond but have set out national priorities for local elections.
- Housing and cost of living: Launch a Cheap Power Plan to cut energy bills; scrap stamp duty on family homes.
- Environment and transport: Mandate police to stop e-bikes being ridden on pavements; fix potholes.
- Communities: Hire 10,000 new police officers; triple stop and search to remove knives and drugs from neighbourhoods; instruct police to stop public drug smoking; launch Immediate Justice sentences for offenders to repair damage; deliver better public services; run better schools.
- Economy and finance: Abolish business rates; back businesses and high streets; cut Britain's welfare bill.
Labour
Labour has not published a manifesto for Richmond, but candidates have made the following pledges.
- Housing and cost of living: Campaign for more affordable housing.
- Environment and transport: Support improvements in the environment and sustainability of the borough.
- Communities: Tackle and reduce anti-social behaviour by investing in youth provision; improve young people's mental and physical health; expand positive activities and safe spaces; hold the administration to account by putting local people first.
- Economy and finance: Provide practical support for local businesses; campaign for cleaner, safer, and better-connected town centres; deliver thriving local high streets; push for fairer parking; improve partnerships between the council and local traders; boost footfall through community events, clearer signs, and better business skills.
Reform UK
Reform UK has made the following pledges for Richmond.
- Environment and transport: End the 'war on motorists'; increase parking options across the borough.
- Communities: Prioritise hard-working local people; make the borough's streets safe again; tackle crime and protect residents everywhere, not just in a 'safe space tent'; focus on road safety, not 20mph speed restrictions on main roads.
- Economy and finance: Introduce robust scrutiny of council finances; stop 'virtue-signalling vanity projects'; focus on excellence and value for money in core services.
