Local Elections 2026 – What’s at stake for the built environment?

In our sector, this time of year is one filled with political questions. Who will end up making their way into city halls and onto planning committees across the country? What will they think about housing? About the energy transition? About regeneration? In 2026, the stakes could be even higher, as the national government seems one crisis away from a change in leadership and anti-Westminster sentiment reaches a fever pitch. If you’re working in the built environment, we’ve pulled together what you need to know: the state of play for the parties, and what the fallout could look like come 8 May. 

The State of the Parties 

On the 7 May, voters will pick more than 4,800 councillors across England, alongside local authority mayors and two new shadow councils in Surrey. The big parties are awaiting widely divergent fates. Labour are being squeezed by Reform in the northern Red Wall and by the Greens in the inner cities and London boroughs. The party is bracing for heavy losses, with some forecasts pointing to a fall of well over 1,000 seats. The crash to earth looks particularly dramatic because most of these seats were last up for grabs in 2022, when Labour were riding high in the aftermath of partygate and the Conservatives were beginning to unravel. 

For the Tories, the problem is different. They have spent 18 months hemorrhaging votes to Reform in council by-elections across the country and could lose hundreds of seats on a bad night. Badenoch has steadied the parliamentary party to some extent, but the local picture is still bleak. In large parts of England, the Conservatives are fighting Reform on one flank and the Liberal Democrats on the other. 

The Liberal Democrats are trying to take advantage of Tory weakness and anti-development sentiment in the suburbs. Their flagship policy has been a pledge to require new or expanded GP surgeries alongside new housing. Current forecasts point to modest progress but no breakthrough, but even small gains could give the party more influence in councils under no overall control. 

Then there is Reform. The party is starting from a low base in most areas, but support is now flowing through poorer towns and traditionally Tory shires alike. The key question is whether that support can be converted into council control. Reform has had to select candidates quickly and has alienated much of the opposition. Fall short of a majority and, in many places, the other parties may simply team up to keep them out of power. 

The Greens are also heading into the elections with momentum, following their success in the Denton and Gorton by-election in February. Their growth has been driven by younger graduates, Muslim communities in major cities, and voters who feel Labour has taken them for granted. The Greens are expected to do particularly well in London, Leeds, Sheffield and Norwich, with several Labour-held urban councils looking much more vulnerable than they did a year ago. 

Forecasting the Fallout 

What happens once the dust has settled? For planning, a Reform advance would be felt first in the tone of the local debate. The party often portrays housing targets and energy projects as decisions effectively imposed by Westminster. Its national language on immigration, net zero, and public spending gives Reform councillors a ready-made message for tapping into local resistance around development. A housing scheme can become a proxy-battle about borders, pressure on services or infrastructure strain. 

Even where Reform does not control a council, larger Reform groups could push Independents, Conservatives and Labour groups towards a harder localist position against further development. Energy could become more difficult too. Reform has made opposition to net zero a central part of its national pitch, and Reform-led councils have already started moving away from climate targets in some areas. That does not mean every renewable scheme will be refused, but it does make the politics of low-carbon infrastructure harder in places where Reform gains influence. 

It’s difficult to apply one rule to Reform UK though. Their councillors are often new to politics and in some places they’ve been seen to disregard the national dogma, even supporting clean energy when local jobs can be demonstrated. 

The Greens are also tricky customers when it comes to getting things built. The party has put housing at the centre of its local election campaign, with a focus on social housing, rent controls and affordability. Green councillors are likely to push back hard on any development that does not put affordable provision front and centre. 

Their approach to energy is more complex than their environmentalist branding suggests. Green councillors tend to support the move away from fossil fuels, and many are open to renewable projects on that basis. But schemes can run into difficulty when discussion turns to land use and local impact. Large solar schemes on farmland, visible infrastructure, or proposals that feel light on biodiversity or local benefit can draw resistance even when the principle is accepted. In those cases, the fact that a project generates clean energy will not settle the argument on its own. 

In Labour councils, separation from Westminster is likely to be the order of the day. Local Labour groups will need to show that they are listening after a difficult set of elections. That could mean more emphasis on visible services, town centre renewal and local infrastructure than on meeting national housing targets. 

This creates an obvious tension. Labour councils will still be working inside a government framework that is trying to increase supply, speed up planning and push major infrastructure through the system. Local Labour leaders, however, may need to show independence from Westminster to keep their seats. That could make them more exacting on consultation, design quality, affordable housing and local infrastructure, even where they remain broadly supportive of development. This will be even more true of those Labour councils that weren’t up this time but will be in the next cycle. 

The Liberal Democrat position is less complex. Their pitch on GP surgeries and infrastructure-first development speaks to councils where voters accept some building in principle, but feel that services have been allowed to trail behind. Where the party is influential, the pressure will be felt on phasing, healthcare, school places, bus links and road capacity. Schemes that arrive with a weak answer on local services will have a harder time. 

Across the board, regeneration will also have to carry a clear local argument. Councils are under financial pressure, town centres are still struggling in many places, and residents are often sceptical when they hear that disruption today will lead to benefits later. Social value can help, but only when it is specific enough to be believed. A promise to support the local economy will not do much on its own. A clear account of who benefits, when that benefit arrives, and how it will be protected after the scheme opens will be more useful. That is likely to matter more in councils with smaller majorities or no overall control, where members need something they can defend to locally.  

It’s not all negative. The national policy environment will remain favourable to building, the country needs homes, and the clean energy transition continues apace. But the bottom line is that after the 7 May local government is likely to be more splintered than ever before with many more multi-party councils. The overriding lesson for anyone who wants to get anything built will be to take a bespoke approach. The projects that will make it through this period of uncertainty best will be those that can demonstrate what they will do for the places they’re rooted in, engaging  in a meaningful way that works for the people who live there and that demonstrates local understanding and commitment to whichever political party ends up running the council. 

Here at Font Communications, we can provide you with support through the elections and beyond across all sectors in the built environment. Please reach out if you’d like a chat.