Thursday, May 7th Local Elections

We are recommending ‘tactical voting’ but a tactical vote only works at ward level. Unfortunately, there is no polling data at ward level to guide you. If votes are split across all the parties in a ward, the party you least favour can get in by a narrow squeak. The margins are fine, almost any party could secure enough councillors to form a majority overall. On the basis of the data available, the most likely to do this is Labour. 

Some information to help you make an informed decision

To find out about your ward look at the last council election:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Enfield_London_Borough_Council_election

YouGov produces London-wide polls. Here is their most recent [April 22, 2026] data

Yougov gathered information from 4,500+ adults in London between 27 March to 21 April. That’s about 6 adults per ward, so that the study did not represent the likely impact of Enfield Community Independents who field far fewer candidates than the national parties and yet came second to Labour in Edmonton Green in 2022. They are a significant electoral presence in Eastern Enfield. The map visualises the proportion of votes for each of the parties in each 32 London boroughs. In Enfield, both the Greens and Conservatives are within five points of Labour. 

Enfield is described by YouGov as a “three way contest” between the Conservatives, Greens and Labour. 

PollCheck provides more ward-level projections. This is from May 2, 2026

PollCheck does not do ward level surveys but uses other methods of working out what could happen. They use national polling data, local election history and the demographics of each ward (age, ethnicity, income, education, deprivation, housing type etc). 

Unlike the previous guide, the potential fortunes of Enfield Community Independents are reflected in the last, “Other” column below. They actually came second in Edmonton Green in 2022. These figures are a guide not a prediction and Individual ward results will vary from these estimates.

The column labelled “seats” tells you how many votes you will have [the number of dots] and what PollCheck suggests could happen. You can use this to help you to decide which party to vote for to get the result you want in your ward. This is tactical voting. If the results turn out exactly like this no party will have a majority, but the parties that have promised to save our green spaces and do everything they can to stop Crews Hill & Chase Park New Town, and focus their investment in the east of the borough instead of the already affluent west, will together outvote Labour. 

Why Crews Hill and Enfield’s countryside need your vote. Please think before you vote

Enfield RoadWatch is a non‑political community group that has spent more than a decade standing up for the borough’s countryside, green spaces, and the Golden Mile of Garden Centres at Crews Hill. Our purpose has always been simple: Brownfield first, and homes built in the right places — not at the expense of the countryside.

Yet Enfield’s Labour‑run council has put forward a vast stretch of Green Belt at Crews Hill and the countryside known as Chase Park for a possible 21,000‑home new town. This single proposal has shaken residents across the borough and has caused deep concern amongst the wider community. This proposal would permanently change the character of Enfield, remove a much‑loved asset, and threaten the garden centres, horticultural businesses, and hundreds of jobs that make Crews Hill unique.

As a community group, we have never supported any political party. But we do believe that residents (wherever you live in the borough) should understand the consequences of your  vote at the upcoming local elections on Thursday, May 7.   There is a real and serious danger that split votes amongst parties that oppose Green Belt development could allow the Labour group to remain in control – the very same Labour group, who put Crews Hill and Chase Park forward for development.

This is not a normal election. This is not a moment for party loyalty. This is a moment for tactical voting.

Tactical voting means disregarding party affiliation and choosing the candidate who:

a) you trust to represent your interests, and

 b) whose policies align with your priorities — even if they are not your usual party of choice.

For the first time, several parties are contesting seats in each ward. Here is a snapshot of where political parties stand on the proposed 21,000‑home new town and on protecting Crews Hill and Enfield’s Green Belt:

Conservatives:   Regardless of how the party has performed nationally, on a local level the Conservatives have consistently opposed Green Belt development in Enfield and have publicly committed to protecting Crews Hill and Whitewebbs . They have a track record to back this up. They also promise to do whatever they can to stop the proposed New Town. The Conservatives are the only party with enough candidates to remove the Labour Group from control.

Reform UK: Reform in Enfield have committed to: Protecting Our Green Belt, No to building on Whitewebbs, Absolute protection for undeveloped Green Belt and to withdraw from the New Town process immediately.

Labour : The current Labour Council has created a significant threat to the Green Belt and Crews Hill, having already initiated the process to release these areas through the Local Plan and by submitting the proposal for a 21,000‑home new town.  This is all against the majority of the community and residents across the borough who have clearly and loudly said no to developing on our countryside and Crews Hill. Labour’s track record has been appalling on all these issues.

The Green Party: Supports the protection of  green spaces, and it is a priority in their manifesto.

Enfield Community Independents:   This group of committed independent candidates have also pledged to protect the Green Belt and could give Labour candidates a run for their money in the east of the borough.

Liberal Democrats:  Their manifesto states that they will protect Green Belt land and green spaces by stopping unnecessary plans such as the proposed Crews Hill development and the sale of Whitewebbs..

Enfield RoadWatch will never tell you how to vote. But we will say this:

The future of Crews Hill and the countryside that defines Enfield will be shaped by the choices residents make at the ballot box.

This is a moment that will echo for generations. Once our countryside is gone, it is gone forever. Once thriving horticultural businesses are uprooted, they do not return. Once a precious landscape is lost, a community loses part of itself and its heritage.

Whatever your politics, whatever your background, we urge you all to vote with clear eyes, full information, and a deep understanding of what is at stake.  This is not a time for party loyalty and contributing to a split vote!

You have to ask yourself – Is Crews Hill worth fighting for? Is our countryside worth fighting for?

If the answer is yes, then this election may be your last chance to protect it. Your vote will set the how the borough looks for the next generations. Use your vote wisely.

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Conservative party manifesto [click on the image]

Enfield Community Independents  [click on the image]

Green Party manifesto [click on image]

.The Greens also provided the following statement about the Green Belt:

The Green Belt is vital to London. Its hills feed our streams. Its trees clean our air. Its views refresh our soul. And it cools the planet.

Enfield’s Green Belt is not optional. So we are against building a ‘new town’, actually a suburb, at Crews Hill and the leasing of Whitewebbs Park Golf Course to a football club. As the party of the environment we have, and seek, no other choice.

This is not to prioritise nature over people. Enfield needs more housing, especially council housing. But it should prioritise bringing more empty homes back into use. And it should build new homes on the many brownfield sites in our borough.

Labour Party manifesto [click on image]

Liberal Democrat manifesto [click on image

The Liberal Democrats also provided the following statement:

Reform UK manifesto [click on image]

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

TUSC also provided the following statement:

Enfield Dispatch provides good background on why this election is so important and will cover the campaign extensively.

Here is the Dispatch preview of what’s to come in the upcoming local election .

Dispatch reports that: as well as the Tories, the Liberal Democrats, Greens, Reform UK and Enfield Community Independents have all pledged to save the Green Belt from development should they win power in May. That leaves Labour as the only party pushing for Green Belt development.

Dispatch outlines what the parties are promising this year.

Please follow Dispatch for more informative articles as the elections draw closer.