Local elections profile: Lambeth

Ahead of the local elections on Thursday 7 May, we have produced short guides to London's 32 boroughs.

Where is it? The London Borough of Lambeth is in south London and is bordered by five other boroughs and the River Thames to the north. Its neighbouring boroughs include Southwark, Bromley, Croydon, Merton and Wandsworth.

What's it like? Lambeth stetches from the artistic South Bank down to suburban Streatham and Norwood. It is home to landmarks such as Lambeth Palace, the London Eye, and Brixton Academy and has a vibrant mix of residential neighbourhoods, which are home to people from more than 40 countries of birth with some 130 languages being spoken.

Neighbourhoods: The borough includes the neighbourhoods of Brixton, Clapham, Vauxhall, Kennington, Oval, Herne Hill, Streatham, West Dulwich, Waterloo and Gipsy Hill.

Places of interest: Lambeth is home to numerous interesting places, including the Imperial War Museum, the National Theatre, BFI Southbank, Lambeth Palace, Oval Cricket Ground and Brixton Village.

Pub quiz fact: The first pineapple grown in Britain was cultivated in Lambeth in the 17th Century.

Population: There were an estimated 316,920 people living in Lambeth in 2024 according to ONS data.

Demographics: According to the 2021 census, 55% identify as white, 7.3% as Asian, 24% as black, 8.1% as mixed race and 2.7% as another ethnic group.

Average property price: According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average house price in Lambeth in December 2025 was £538,500.

Average monthly rent: The ONS reported that the average monthly rent in January 2026 in Lambeth was £2,522.

Council tax: Band D council tax in the borough for 2026/27 is 2,047.11.

Transport: Lambeth has 10 Tube stations, two Overground stations and approximately 560 bus stops. It also has 12 National Rail stations.

Local history: Lambeth was part of the historic county of Surrey.

It wassparsely populated until the 18th Century and was connected to boroughs north of the river in 1750, when Westminster Bridge opened.

The borough was an important manufacturing centre by the 18th Century. These waterfront industrial areas were heavily bombed during World War Two and some commercial and government offices were later built in the area, near to Waterloo station.

The borough became the historic heart of the Windrush generation in London when it welcomed a large number of arrivals from the Caribbean.

What is the electoral history of the borough? Lambeth was established in 1965 when the former metropolitan boroughs of Lambeth and part of Wandsworth were brought together.

Despite its reputation in the 1980s as a bastion of left wing politics, Lambeth has actually been in no overall control three times since 1982. It even had a brief spell with the Conservatives in charge at the end of the 1960s.

However, since 2006 it has been under Labour control and since 2014 with minimal opposition.

What happened in 2022? The turnout was 31.5% and there was a 1.5% swing from Labour to the Greens.

Labour: 58 seats (+1)

Lib Dems: 3 seats (+3)

Greens: 2 seats (-3)

Conservative: 0 seats (-1)

Since the election the Greens have won a by-election and a Labour councillor who was suspended joined the Greens. A councillor who was suspended by Labour sits as an independent, and another Labour councillor defected to the Liberal Democrats.

Professor Tony Travers, of the London School of Economics, said Lambeth is currently strongly Labour-held but with threats from the Liberal Democrats in some parts of the borough, particularly for example at Oval.

Elsewhere, the Greens are likely to win seats from Labour as well. Overall it's hard to imagine Labour not being the biggest party, but possible that they could lose control.

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