Elections for the Council in the London Borough of Croydon are held every four years to elect 70 councillors. At the last elections, which were held in May 2018, 29 Conservative councillors and 41 Labour councillors were elected, providing a Labour majority of twelve seats.
At the 2002 local elections, 37 Labour councillors, 32 Conservative councillors and one Liberal Democrat councillor were elected, maintaining Labour control of the Council. Subsequently, one Conservative councillor defected to Labour, defected back to the Conservatives, became an independent and then a Liberal Democrat. Following the death of one Labour councillor and the resignation of two councillors, three by-elections were won by the incumbent party in each case. A 6% swing from Labour to Conservative was seen in the last two in the run-up to the 2006 elections. However, following the Conservatives' victory in 2006, a February 2007 by-election saw a large swing back to Labour.
In 2002, Labour held Croydon with a tiny majority of votes in its marginal wards - one councillor won by just eight votes - and it was inevitable that in the 2006 election the fight would be keenly fought and closely observed. In the end, the Conservatives won 43 seats on the Council, defeating the lone Liberal Democrat and taking ten Labour seats in Waddon, Addiscombe, South Norwood and Upper Norwood.
In 2010, Labour gained six seats (net) from the Conservatives, reducing the Conservative majority on the Council to four seats.
In 2016, Croydon Council requested a review of ward boundaries in Croydon. LGBCE published its final recommendations in July 2017. The new ward boundaries came into force at the 2018 local elections.
Summary of council election results (for elections including Aldermen, this table only includes Councillors):
Election | Executive control (since 2000) | Council control | Conservative | Labour | Lib Dem | Greens | Others |
2022 | Conservative | No overall control | 33 (plus Mayor) | 34 | 1 | 2 | - |
2018 | Labour | Labour | 29 | 41 | - | - | - |
2014 | Labour | Labour | 30 | 40 | - | - | - |
2010 | Conservative | Conservative | 37 | 33 | - | - | - |
2006 | Conservative | Conservative | 43 | 27 | - | - | - |
2002 | Labour | Labour | 32 | 37 | 1 | - | - |
1998 | Labour | Labour | 31 | 38 | 1 | - | - |
1994 | Labour | 30 | 40 | - | - | - | |
1990 | Conservative | 41 | 29 | - | - | - | |
1986 | Conservative | 44 | 26 | - | - | - | |
1982 | Conservative | 62 | 5 | - | - | 3 | |
1978 | Conservative | 56 | 11 | - | - | 3 | |
1974 | Conservative | 40 | 17 | - | - | 3 | |
1971 | Conservative | 30 | 27 | - | - | 3 | |
1968 | Conservative | 47 | 1 | 1 | - | 11 | |
1964 | No overall control | 21 | 21 | - | - | 18 |
The party holding the executive Mayor, and as a result executive power, is the Conservative Party. No party holds a majority of Councillors. Since the 2022 Croydon London Borough Council election the composition of the Council is as follows:
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 33 plus Mayor | |
Labour | 34 | |
Greens | 2 | |
Liberal Democrat | 1 |
There were no by-elections.[4]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Mrs M. E. Campbell | 1252 | |||
Liberal | K. H. Legge | 247 | |||
Labour | B. G. Hamblin | 116 | |||
Turnout | 14.0% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | F. R. Dubery | 2096 | |||
Liberal | C. R. Chance | 368 | |||
Labour | H. W. Robertson | 297 | |||
Independent | J. T. E. A. Waddell | 161 | |||
Turnout | 20.6% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | M. L. Bonsier | 1,752 | |||
Liberal | J. P. Callen | 552 | |||
Labour | Mrs P. A. Airey | 417 | |||
Turnout | 25.3% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | A. W. Elliott | 1,709 | |||
Labour | A. C. Lord | 1,578 | |||
Independent | J. R. Simmonds | 1,221 | |||
Turnout | 34.8% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Mrs W. M. Holt | 1,784 | |||
Conservative | R. J. Bowker | 1,240 | |||
Turnout | 27.2% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Mrs M. M. Walker | 2,161 | |||
Conservative | J. A. Arnold | 1,321 | |||
Liberal | B. F. Steggles | 790 | |||
Turnout | 38.2% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Julia A. Wood | 1,123 | |||
Labour | Audrey M. Simpson | 1,116 | |||
Liberal | William H. Pitt | 466 | |||
Turnout | 29.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | David L. Congdon | 2,119 | |||
Labour | Sinnathamby Supiramaniam | 1,303 | |||
Liberal | Alan R. Mead | 423 | |||
Turnout | 35.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James J. Nea | 2,225 | |||
Labour | Barry V. Bulled | 1,756 | |||
National Party | William H. Porter | 442 | |||
National Front | John A. Fisher | 329 | |||
Liberal | Roger W. Stephens | 221 | |||
Independent | Charles J. De Val | 118 | |||
Turnout | 41.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Martin A. Levie | 1,502 | |||
Liberal | Herbert C. E. Lovejoy | 1,009 | |||
Labour | Roger M. Burgess | 163 | |||
Turnout | 23.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Christopher B. Wesson | 1,634 | |||
Labour | Ralph W. Attoe | 1,519 | |||
National Front | Roland Dummer | 234 | |||
Turnout | 30.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Michael D. Wunn | 1,943 | |||
Labour | Barry V. Bulled | 1,592 | |||
Liberal | Patricia M. Boreham | 164 | |||
National Party | William H. Porter | 154 | |||
National Front | Roland Dummer | 124 | |||
Turnout | 33.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Audrey F F Cutbill | 2,035 | 59.6 | +0.2 | |
Liberal | Anthony R Phillips | 1,036 | 30.3 | +10.1 | |
Labour | David L Davies | 346 | 10.1 | -10.3 | |
Majority | 999 | 29.3 | -9.7 | ||
Turnout | 43.1 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | -5.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Christine A. Prentice | 1,539 | 54.2 | ||
Liberal Democrats | John P. Callen | 1,087 | 38.3 | ||
Labour | Ian G. Payne | 213 | 7.5 | ||
Turnout | 29.1 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Susan T. Taylor.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Graham J. Bass | 1,680 | 73.1 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Pamela A. Randall | 395 | 17.2 | ||
Labour | Valerie Shawcross | 224 | 9.7 | ||
Turnout | 20.4 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. David L. Congdon.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Patrick T. Ryan | 1,306 | 55.1 | ||
Conservative | Guy L. Harding | 986 | 41.6 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Jonathan R. Cope | 79 | 3.3 | ||
Majority | 320 | 13.5 | |||
Turnout | 2,371 | 37.0 | |||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing |
The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. John D. P. Yaxley.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Stuart Collins | 1,972 | 74.6 | ||
Conservative | Patricia F. L. Knight | 528 | 20.0 | ||
Liberal Democrats | David A. Holmes | 143 | 5.4 | ||
Majority | 1,244 | 54.5 | |||
Turnout | 2,643 | 30.2 | |||
Labour gain from Labour | Swing |
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Anthony J. Slatcher.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Charles E. Burling | 1,389 | 43.7 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Henry J. Norton | 772 | 24.3 | ||
Conservative | Patricia F. L. Knight | 728 | 22.9 | ||
Independent Resident | Peter J. Collier | 213 | 6.7 | ||
Green | Phillip D. Duckworth | 79 | 2.5 | ||
Turnout | 31.6 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Ann A. Allan.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Hugh D. Malyan | 1,338 | 63.2 | ||
Conservative | Michael D. Fisher | 625 | 29.5 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Christopher M. Pocock | 132 | 6.2 | ||
Green | Bruce J. Horner | 21 | 1.0 | ||
Majority | 713 | 33.7 | |||
Turnout | 2,116 | 33.2 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Sherwan H. Chowdhury.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Eric Shaw | 1712 | 52.6 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Gavin T. Howard-Jones | 970 | 29.8 | ||
Labour | Michael P. J. Phelan | 528 | 16.2 | ||
Green | Richard J. Hamlyn | 32 | 1.0 | ||
Ind Green Soc Dem | John S. Cartwright | 15 | 0.5 | ||
Majority | 742 | 22.8 | |||
Turnout | 3,257 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. Bruce T. H. Marshall.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Paula M. Shaw | 1,812 | 63.7 | ||
Conservative | John L. Tooze | 690 | 24.2 | ||
Liberal Democrats | John Fraser | 282 | 9.9 | ||
Green | Mario S. G. G. Barnsley | 38 | 1.3 | ||
Monster Raving Loony | John S. Cartwright | 25 | 0.9 | ||
Majority | 1,122 | 39.5 | |||
Turnout | 2,847 | 29.8 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Alison J. Roberts.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Christopher Ward | 755 | 59.8 | -10.6 | |
Conservative | Robin Sullivan | 367 | 29.1 | -0.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | Mark B. Goodrich | 97 | 7.7 | +7.7 | |
United Democratic Party | Paul T. Burgess | 29 | 2.3 | +2.3 | |
Monster Raving Loony | John S. Cartwright | 15 | 1.2 | +1.2 | |
Majority | 388 | 30.7 | |||
Turnout | 1,263 | 15.2 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Geraint R. Davies.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Louisa P. Woodley | 1,033 | 58.1 | -8.8 | |
Conservative | George A. Filbey | 623 | 35.0 | +1.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Hilary J. Waterhouse | 102 | 5.7 | +5.7 | |
Monster Raving Loony | John S. Cartwright | 21 | 1.2 | +1.2 | |
Majority | 410 | 23.1 | |||
Turnout | 1,779 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Louisa P. Woodley.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Brenda P. Kirby | 1,073 | 49.4 | -12.3 | |
Conservative | John R. Miller | 882 | 40.6 | +2.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | George W. Schlich | 153 | 7.1 | +7.1 | |
Monster Raving Loony | John S. Cartwright | 62 | 2.9 | +2.9 | |
Majority | 191 | 8.8 | |||
Turnout | 2,170 | 26.8 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Valerie Shawcross.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Nanoo Rajendran | 1,935 | 50.7 | -20.9 | |
Conservative | John L. Tooze | 631 | 16.5 | -6.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Ejnar Sorensen | 581 | 15.2 | +15.2 | |
UKIP | James R. Feisenberger | 328 | 8.6 | +3.0 | |
Green | Shasha Khan | 257 | 6.7 | +6.7 | |
Monster Raving Loony | John S. Cartwright | 44 | 1.2 | +1.2 | |
Independent | Robin J. M. Sullivan | 42 | 1.2 | +1.1 | |
Majority | 1,304 | 34.2 | |||
Turnout | 3,818 | 37.1 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Alexander Burridge.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Simon A. Hall | 993 | 52.4 | -13.0 | |
Conservative | Anthony Pearson | 714 | 37.6 | +3.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Simon E. Hargrave | 136 | 7.2 | +7.2 | |
UKIP | Lynnda Robson | 47 | 2.5 | +2.5 | |
Monster Raving Loony | John S. Cartwright | 6 | 0.3 | +0.3 | |
Majority | 279 | 14.8 | |||
Turnout | 1,896 | 28.0 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. Mary M. Walker.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Vidhhyacharan R. Mohan | 1,459 | 54.0 | +7.8 | |
Labour | Peter N. Horah | 871 | 32.3 | -3.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | Michael T. A. Bishopp | 223 | 8.3 | -4.1 | |
Green | Bernice C. Golberg | 82 | 3.0 | +3.0 | |
The People’s Choice | Holly M. Edmonds | 34 | 1.3 | +1.3 | |
Monster Raving Loony | John S. Cartwright | 31 | 1.1 | -4.2 | |
Majority | 588 | 21.7 | |||
Turnout | 2,700 | 28.1 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Audrey-Marie M. Yates.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Alison Butler | 1683 | 61.7 | ||
Conservative | Roger Taylor | 617 | 22.6 | ||
Green | Shasha Khan | 240 | 8.8 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Christina Tyree | 126 | 4.6 | ||
UKIP | James R Feisenberger | 40 | 1.5 | ||
Monster Raving Loony | John S. Cartwright | 15 | 0.5 | ||
The People's Choice | Mark Samuel | 9 | 0.3 | ||
Majority | 1066 | 39 | |||
Turnout | 2730 | 26.0 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Paula M. Shaw.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Clare Hilley | 1,462 | 46.0 | +2.7 | |
Labour | Ian Payne | 1,222 | 38.5 | +0.7 | |
BNP | Charlotte Lewis | 157 | 4.9 | +4.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Patricia Gauge | 150 | 4.7 | -2.7 | |
Green | Mary J. Davey | 115 | 3.6 | -5.4 | |
UKIP | Kathleen Garner | 48 | 1.5 | +1.5 | |
The People's Choice! Exclusively For All | Mark R. L. Samuel | 13 | 0.4 | +0.4 | |
Monster Raving Loony | John S. Cartwright | 11 | 0.3 | +0.3 | |
Majority | 240 | 7.5 | |||
Turnout | 3,178 | 28.6 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
The by-election was called following the death of Cllr. Jonathan M. Driver.
There were no by-elections.[13]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Callton Young | 3,136 | 64.7 | +2.0 | |
Conservative | Scott Roche | 989 | 20.4 | +3.0 | |
Green | David Beall | 289 | 6.0 | -2.5 | |
UKIP | Ace Nnorom | 145 | 3.0 | -5.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Geoff Morley | 140 | 2.9 | -0.5 | |
Independence from Europe | Peter Morgan | 77 | 1.6 | N/A | |
English Democrat | Winston McKenzie | 70 | 1.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 2,147 | 44.3 | |||
Turnout | 44 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Councillor Emily Benn to pursue a job in New York City, United States[14]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Patsy Cummings | 1,671 | |||
Conservative | Becca Natrajan | 475 | |||
Liberal Democrats | Claire Bonham | 388 | |||
Green | Peter Underwood | 218 | |||
UKIP | Michael Swadling | 78 | |||
Majority | |||||
Turnout | |||||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Leila Ben-Hassel | 1,379 | 64.5 | ![]() | |
Conservative | Tirena Hilary Gunter | 324 | 15.2 | ![]() | |
Independent | Mark James Gerard O'Grady | 162 | 7.6 | ![]() | |
Green | Rachel Mary Chance | 91 | 4.3 | ![]() | |
Independent | Malgorzata Maria Roznerska | 72 | 3.4 | ![]() | |
Liberal Democrats | Guy Michael Clinton Burchett | 70 | 3.3 | ![]() | |
UKIP | Kathleen Garner | 40 | 1.9 | ![]() | |
Majority | 1,055 | ||||
Turnout | 2,145 | 25.3 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
The by-election was caused following the death of Councillor Maggie Mansell.
There are 24 wards which represent Croydon Council. All Croydon Council seats were up for re-election for the first time since the 2002 elections, during the election on 4 May 2006. Previously Labour held control of the council. In the election, the Conservatives took 10 seats from Labour and one from the Liberal Democrats. Since the election, Cllr Mike Mogul defected from Labour to the Conservatives adding another Conservative councillor, whilst Cllr Enley Taylor left the Conservative Group and Cllr Jonathan Driver, the Mayor at the time, died.
In the 2010 elections Labour gained six seats from the Conservatives, giving the council's political composition as:
Ward | Council members |
Addiscombe | Patricia Hay Justice (Lab) |
Mark Watson (Lab) | |
Sean Fitzsimons (Lab) | |
Ashburton | Adam Kellett (Con) |
Eddy Arram (Con) | |
Avril Slipper (Con) | |
Bensham Manor | Raj Rajendran (Lab) |
Donna Gray (Lab) | |
Alison Butler (Lab) | |
Broad Green | Stuart Collins (Lab) |
Mike Selva (Lab) | |
Manju Shahul-Hameed (Lab) | |
Coulsdon East | Christopher Wright (Con) |
Justin Cromie (Con) | |
Terry Lenton (Con) | |
Coulsdon West | David Osland (Con) |
Jeet Bains (Con) | |
Ian Parker (Con) | |
Croham | Maria Gatland (Con) |
Michael Neal (Con) | |
Jason Perry (Con) | |
Fairfield | Vidhi Mohan (Con) |
Susan Winborn (Con) | |
David Fitze (Con) | |
Fieldway | Simon Hall (Lab) |
Carole Bonner (Lab) | |
Heathfield | Margaret Mead (Con) |
Helen Pollard (Con) | |
Jason Cummings (Con) | |
Kenley | Jan Buttinger (Con) |
Steve O'Connell (Con) | |
Steve Hollands (Con) | |
New Addington | George Ayres (Lab) |
Tony Pearson (Con) | |
Norbury | Maggie Mansell (Lab) |
Shafi Khan (Lab) | |
Sherwan Chowdhury (Lab) | |
Purley | Graham Bass (Con) |
Badsha Quadir (Con) | |
Donald Speakman (Con) | |
Sanderstead | Lynne Hale (Con) |
Timothy Pollard (Con) | |
Yvette Hopley (Con) | |
Selhurst | Timothy Godfrey (Lab) |
Toni Letts (Lab) | |
Gerry Ryan (Lab) | |
Selsdon and Ballards | Dudley Mead (Con) |
Sara Bashford (Con) | |
Phil Thomas (Con) | |
Shirley | Janet Marshall (Con) |
Richard Chatterjee (Con) | |
Mike Fisher (Con) | |
South Norwood | Kathy Bee (Lab) |
Wayne Lawlor (Lab) | |
Jane Avis (Lab) | |
Thornton Heath | Pat Clouder (Lab) |
Matthew Kyeremeh (Lab) | |
Louisa Woodley (Lab) | |
Upper Norwood | Alisa Flemming (Lab) |
Pat Ryan (Lab) | |
John Wentworth (Lab) | |
Waddon | Tony Harris (Con) |
Clare Hilley (Con) | |
Simon Hoar (Con) | |
West Thornton | Paul Smith (Lab) |
Bernadette Khan (Lab) | |
Humayun Kabir (Lab) | |
Woodside | Karen Jewitt (Lab) |
Tony Newman (Lab) | |
Paul Scott (Lab) |