What do the 2026 London local election results mean for cycling in London? This video answers that question.
London’s 32 borough councils control the majority of streets in the city — including having responsibility for cycle lanes and low traffic schemes.
The election results will have big implications, some good, some not so good.
If you like what the channel is doing, you can contribute to the London Cycle Routes Patreon below. It really helps keep the channel going:
http://patreon.com/londoncycleroutes
Here’s a map of all the different cycle routes on this channel for you to browse, showing off new and existing infrastructure in London
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1h9Hxm57fPvZmcuSXajM_Wu0G0s6f_bs&ll=51.505213496092054%2C-0.1285238120117249&z=12
I also highly recommend the Safe Cycle London map for planning routes in the city
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1XlpvN9R-Wg7qZHyezO8y-eVlftr4e0WX&hl=en&ll=51.516975804561255%2C-0.21828576419061996&z=11
38 Comments
So depressed about Westminster 😭 Was literally relying on the Hamilton Terrace lanes. How can one borough pull all the strings for infrastructure in most of central London? Something feels off there.
Great video, thank you.
Would it be possible to keep us up to date, say once a quarter with the progress of these schemes mentioned plus any new ones that come?
sad about westminister, that place needs to be car free in the tourist areas for sure (speaking from someone who lives in Seattle but visits London frequently) and of course there are residents there in non tourist areas that benefit from all kinds of low traffic schemes. it's just so simple to see the liveability of modern transportation planning. tories don't like any change but maybe they change their minds a bit given on the ground realities??
fantastic video and analysis! thanks!
i think cycleway 37 will happen in tower hamlets in the next term despite aspire running our council, also the westminster result is very horrible as much as i don't like labour 😬
U.S. citizen here. I'm a hardcore conservative and have voted Republican since Ronald Reagan. I'm also a life-long cyclist and supporter of bicycle infrastructure because nothing is more conservative than cycling. How do I come to that conclusion? Nothing makes a dollar, or a Pound, go further than cycling. If you want people to be financially self-supporting, you need to give them the option to save money by cycling to work and to the shops. Be aware that there are more cyclists who are politically conservative than you might be aware of. Obviously, not all conservatives are pro-cycling, but I always explain how cycling is conservative to my fellow conservatives when the subject comes up. BTW, the word 'conservative' does have a slightly different meaning in the U.S. than it has elsewhere. Just adapt as required.
If you are on the Left and you support cycling infrastructure, you should want to convince Right leaning people to support it too. You can gain traction with them as long as you stick to this subject in your conversation. Don't risk losing this fight by mentioning any of your other Leftist ideas. Just explain how cycling really is a conservative activity, and be sure to emphasize the family aspects of cycling. But ultimately, if the economy is in the tank and you want to spend a lot of tax money on converting roads over to bike lanes to serve a small minority of people, you will have an uphill fight. That means you need to pick your projects carefully. Put your weight behind the projects that give the greatest return for the least cost. I am sure that those projects have already been completed. Work on whatever project fits that formula the best at any given moment.
Thanks for compiling this. Sad news about Westminster. Hope they don’t stupidly rip up anything already in place. Was shocked by the Lewisham change, like you mention Labour in that borough were weak on cycling in the past but have improved lately (the new cycle lane on Deptford church st is fantastic). I can’t see the Green administration not continuing that momentum. Also, apart from Havering, which barely counts as London and didn’t have cycling infrastructure anyway, it’s a relief to see London largely rejected the almost rabidly anti cycling Reform party
Love the content thanks – gives an interesting insight into council workings which I wouldn't normally be interested in. Hope the greens are good for cycling but hard to know. I'm very interested in the Myatt’s Fields LTN and hope that it goes ahead.
Thanks, I had been wondering. Cycling should not be a political issue. I am extremely concerned about the levels of mass migration and the impact on our culture, women and animals, I'm just not happy about any of it. But I didn't vote Right well mainly because this week Rupert Lowe spoke against a cycle lane 🤷🏻♀️ and I got grief from a cab driver on polling day and I did wonder if it was a sign of things to come 🫤 I'm in Chelsea so yes the trouble was once again at worlds end 🙄 I usually inch my way between the parked cars and 4x4s but with the Albert bridge being shut and gridlock to turn on to Battersea for the first time at the bluebird I scooted down the RHS back in at the red lights for which a cab driver chased me for several blocks screaming obscenities. I need to get a GoPro 😢x
A really excellent deep dive into things. Thanks for the upload. I think that when Reform win the next general election, they will become authoritarian and seek to force local authorities to do certain things such as be completely pro car (ULEZ is toast) and essentially outlaw all new infrastructure and even reduce what exists. A good percentage of their (declared) funding comes from people with large oil and gas interests and you just can't fight that lot. Let's all enjoy what we currently have, but we need to be realistic and recognise that nobody really wants this stuff to expand. Even people without cars can't see the benefits.
I noticed the former West Central Assembly Member who actively hates on active travel (always the wrong cycle lane scheme) was elected as a councillor in Westminster
I fear he will return to posting photos of (momentarily) empty TfL cycle lanes and demanding they be ripped out.
An excellent review!
£$%*$!
Extremely disappointed about the reelection of the Croydon Tory mayor on a ‘motoring manifesto’ to end the war on the motorist no less, following his bungled handling of the council’s LTN schemes which will cost the taxpayer £10M to remove, following a high court legal challenge funded by an astroturfing group deeming them illegal, due to his mishandling.
Great video Jon. I cycle between Paddington to Wembley very frequently, The Harrow Road is still maybe the most disappointing main corridor in London for cycling?! I'm glad TfL are doing the work over the A406, though I fear it will just be an oasis in a desert.
This highlights the importance of delivering infrastructure quicker, get it done before a change of governance can change the plan!
Fingers crossed Harringay finally pull their finger out and build cycling infrastructure to catch up with neighbouring Camden, Islington, and even Enfield!
0:37: Just a quick disclaimer that this video is not an endorsement of any particular party in any borough.
15:30: Don't expect anything to happen in Kensington and Chelsea, the perpetual waste of space. […] It's going to remain firmly Tory and firmly anti-cycling.
Let's be clear: Kensington and Chelsea is the Slytherin of London boroughs.
another issue when it comes to voting decisions … if your ward is a contest between a Labour councillor who is indifferent to cycling … and a Tory who is actively against cycling …
it becomes the lesser of two evils!
This is excellent, thanks very much. I’m an almost daily cycle commuter in Enfield, and am very glad it’s not a Conservative majority here (although for Mini-Holland bidding years ago, it was a cross party initiative). I do think the current Labour administration has become highly complacent on meaningful enforcement against drivers blocking pavements & cycle lanes, so it feels a bit like ‘you reap what you sow’. I presume it will now largely be 4 years of a stupid stalemate with little to no advancements in active travel infrastructure – I hope I am incorrect.
The problem with the Labour tenure in Westminster which we just had is that they were wholly unprepared to win (based on people I know who are in the know) and that really is well demonstrated by a variety of things but notably how long it took to get some of these cycle schemes off the ground… to the point where they won't even need to be torn up by the Tories because they haven't actually started construction at all! It was only when Max Sullivan took over the transport brief that things took off, but that was far too late…
Lovely too how they are going to spend our council tax on a pointless legal challenge against the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street… wonder if the boundaries for the MDA will be revised as quite a bit of the traffic management is reliant on Westminster (and Camden) on making complementary changes for the scheme to work. Whilst a Labour Westminster was (after a bit of complaining) set to be pragmatic, if the Tories are going as far as legal challenges I doubt they'd be very cooperative on these necessary works to make pedestrianisation work.
One other thing I'd say we have to watch for is increased NIMBYism for electoral purposes as previously safe wards are now extremely marginal. Don't underestimate candidates/councillors from all parties having to pander to NIMBYism in the hopes of getting a few dozen extra votes which could prove pivotal to winning a seat nowadays (see the entire debacle over the first try at pedestrianisation Oxford Street being derailed by an extremely low-turnout by-election which caused the ruling-Tories who were previously supportive to get cold feet about the idea).
Brents leader (Cllr Butt) is a bit of a moron. I wouldn't expect any infra to change and just hope no one dies.
This was excellent, thanks!
(*cries in Bexley)
Does the recent English Devolution Bill have any part to play in the mayor of London and tfl being able to ‘push ahead’ with joined up infrastructure projects across boroughs?
The Labour council in Barnet has been a joke when it comes to developing the cycleway on the A1000. I doubt that the solitary Green councillor will be able to make the difference, but would love to be proven wrong!
Any cycling infrastructure at all in Barnet would be nice!
Great video, thanks. A solid and comprehensive analysis that reminds me that there are good reasons to look at YouTube.
please do an episode connecting all the regional youtubuers
If TFL own certain roads in London, why can’t it mandate lanes are built on those roads overulling local councils? At the very least we would have a connected network of main roads
Lovely video, nice to have some grounding objective coverage in times like this.
Westminster's ruined, another K & C again , now 🥲🥲🥲 Tower Hamlets also in the bin , ridiculous results ..
Council governance nerdy point (sorry!) – for most boroughs getting stuff through won't rely on a majority for individual decisions as they'll be taken by Cabinet Members. Opposition cllrs will be able to use scrutiny as a delaying tactic but can't block decisions in the same way as in parliament. They will of course be able to cause chaos at budget time which could get interesting…
Portland Place is part of my commute and a couple of weeks ago I did see some construction works at the northern end at the junction with Park Crescent. I didn't manage to catch who dug it up or why but it was the painted cycle lane that was dug up which I'm taking as a positive sign of the beginnings of the construction of the new cycle lane.
What's wrong with the Tories? Cycle lanes shouldn't even be a political issue. It's psychotic to make it one.
Why do you want protected lanes on main roads. It’s horrible cycling next to traffic. Emission modelling shows it’s a lot cleaner cycling one road in from main road.
Plus a lot safer
Greens also won the Council in Lewisham with a large majority
Just a passing thought ….
There's one killer argument for cycling infrastructure which might weigh with pro-car authority types with finite budgets to worry about …
I take it there's no argument here that cycling is a great way of moving shedloads of people very efficiently (and in terms of this report, if you can't prove this in Westminster, you may as well switch to pogo sticks or rollerblades) therefore …
Cycling infrastructure makes space for "essential" (I know) car usage, reducing ongoing road repair costs and increasing average car speeds (yes … but then so is most of the rest of the pro-car argument and this one can at least be demonstrated on paper).
Most actual maintenance, once a well designed cycle lane is constructed – often with part funding from non-LA sources) is likley to be in the form of repairs to inevitable utilities works and vehicular crossing points, i.e. someone else's budget.
Of course, the big holdup is deciding what colour cycle lanes ought to be …
Another 4 year wave of absolute DISASTER incoming…..!!
Thanks, that was very comprehensive, I feel that if the media had put as much effort into covering each borough as you did in this video the results may have been different. Pretty sure Hackney would have a new mayor either way, Caroline was not enthusiastic when communicating and we had become used to a very vocal mayor previously.
Is there anything more Tory than taking plans that have been thoroughly researched and prepared and throwing them out the window