2026 Lewisham mayoral election

2026 Lewisham mayoral election

7 May 2026
The Mayor of Lewisham
First party Second party Third party   Candidate Liam Shrivastava Amanda De Ryk Peter Newman Party Green Labour Reform Last election 16.4% 51.8% Did not stand Popular vote 35,265 30,374 7,288 Percentage 40.4% 34.8% 8.4%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Candidate Josh Matthews Sylbourne Sydial Kayode Damali Party Liberal Democrats Conservative Independent Last election 11.8% 9.1% Did not stand Popular vote 6,323 4,655 2,185 Percentage 7.3% 5.3% 2.5%   Seventh party Eighth party   Candidate Jay Delaney Coward Roger Mighton Party TUSC Independent Last election Did not stand Did not stand Popular vote 721 392 Percentage 0.8% 0.4%
Mayor before election Brenda Dacres Labour Mayor Liam Shrivastava Green

The 2026 Lewisham mayoral election was held on 7 May 2026 to elect the mayor of Lewisham, on the same date as the Lewisham local council election and other local elections across the country.

Background

Main article: Mayor of Lewisham

The position of Mayor of Lewisham was created in 2002; Steve Bullock of the Labour Party won the mayoral elections in 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014. He was succeeded by fellow Labour mayor Damien Egan in the 2018 and 2022 elections.

A mayoral by-election was triggered following Egan's resignation to stand in the 2024 Kingswood by-election. It was the first mayoral election run under first past the post rather than the prior use of supplementary vote. The winning candidate, Brenda Dacres, is the first black woman to serve as a directly elected mayor in the UK.

Electoral system

The election uses the voting system of first past the post to elect the mayor, having been changed from the supplementary vote system in 2022. In first past the post, there is only one count, and the candidate with the most votes wins. The Electoral Reform Society described the move to first past the post as one lowering the bar for politicians and thus damaging British democracy.

Candidates

The mayoral election has eight candidates; the Labour Party and Green Party are seen as the strongest contenders. Incumbent Labour mayor Brenda Dacres entered the House of Lords in January 2026 and is not running for reelection as mayor.