Major parties set out how they will transform Wandsworth

Major parties in Wandsworth have set out how they would transform the borough over the next four years, with the local elections around the corner.

Voters will head to the polls on Thursday (May 7) to pick the councillors they want to represent them in their area until 2030. All 58 seats on Wandsworth Council are up for grabs across the 22 wards in the borough.

Labour has run the council since 2022, when it won control of the authority from the Conservatives for the first time in 44 years.

Labour, the Conservatives, Lib Dems and Reform UK are each standing 58 candidates in the local elections this time round, while The Green Party has put forward 53 candidates. A total of six Independents are also battling for a seat.

You can see a full list of candidates standing in Wandsworth, broken down by ward in our separate dedicated article. See below for the manifesto pledges of each party.

Labour

Below are some of the key policies Labour has pledged in Wandsworth. You can read the full manifesto on their website.

Housing and cost of living

Build another 1,000 new council homes, on top of the 1,000 council properties already being delivered
Campaign for rent caps
Drive out rogue landlords
Step up street homelessness prevention action
Make it faster and easier for tenants to report repairs
Support leaseholders with a better deal for major works bills with longer interest-free repayment periods
Create an online tool with a breakdown of service charges
Extend the Cost of Living Fund
Exempt care leavers from council tax until the age of 25

Environment and transport

Keep weekly bin collections and double street cleaning on residential roads
Roll out “same day sweep” so any litter left after waste collection is picked up on the same day
Increase crackdown on fly-tipping with more enforcement, fines and CCTV
Expand mega skip days
Bring all pavements up to a good standard by 2030
Remove street clutter and 1,000 unnecessary road signs
Deliver a parks improvement programme
Plant 1,000 new trees a year
Connect up the Wandle River trail
Invest £1million every year for new green corridors
Deliver better lighting along public walkways and parks
Make all bridges and tunnels lighter, brighter and safer
Continue to campaign for the reopening of Hammersmith Bridge and Albert Bridge

Communities

Introduce neighbourhood wardens in all of the borough’s town centres
Invest in landmark violence against women and girls prevention programmes in schools
Run more listening exercises in town centres
Oppose new betting and vape shops on high streets
Invest in more school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
Auto-enrol all children in libraries
Roll out e-reader tablets to young people
Free swimming lessons for all children eligible for Access for All
Bring back Tooting Food Festival

Economy and finance

Keep the same low council tax
Launch a new Wandsworth Card to provide discounts around the borough
Maintain strong financial reserves
Only borrow to deliver smart long-term assets for the borough
Require ethical investment by the council, including the pension fund
Create a growth plan for every high street
Work with high street businesses to extend opening hours and attract night-time footfall
Embed targeted support for those at risk of not being in employment, education or training

Conservatives

Below are some of the key policies the Conservatives have pledged for Wandsworth. You can read the full manifesto on their website here: https://www.wandsworthconservatives.co.uk/rising-challenge-wandsworth-conservatives-manifesto-better-borough.

Housing and cost of living

Give more renters a chance to own their home
Restore service levels for tenants and leaseholders on council estates
Hold housing associations to account for poor service standards
Encourage private homes to be built in the borough
Cancel Labour’s plans for the Ashburton and Lennox estates
Support the completion of Nine Elms’ regeneration
Offer generous major works repayment terms for owner-occupier leaseholders
Deliver better service charge transparency
Complete a full stock condition survey

Environment and transport

Zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping, graffiti, dog mess and dirty streets
Protect weekly bin collections and take tougher action on missed collections
Improve recycling with clearer signs, better bins and more consistent collections
Retender waste and recycling contracts to secure better value
Protect parks and commons by putting community use first
Invest in well-maintained parks, safer play areas and protected sports pitches
Begin negotiations to buy Springfield Park
Rule out the introduction of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs)
Partner with Transport for London (TfL) to improve bus journey times
Expand Wandsworth’s quiet cycle routes
Introduce a “fair use charter” for e-bike and e-scooter operators
Deliver an increase in bike hangars

Communities

Fund extra police officers using developer levies
Introduce more street wardens
Crackdown on anti-social behaviour on estates
Expand the CCTV network and control room
Toughen council’s approach to excessively disruptive protests
Continue cross-party work to prevent violence against women and girls
Ensure footways are properly lit at night

Economy and finance

Keep council tax as low as possible
Restore value for money and cut all unnecessary spending
Bring down the council’s planned debt
Protect core services
Adopt AI technology to improve services and reduce spending
Set up a business and family-friendly high streets fund to improve safety, accessibility and appearance of town centres and parades
Reduce the number of long-term empty commercial properties
Reinstate and expand pedestrianised schemes, including on Northcote Road and Battersea High Street

Lib Dems

Below are some of the key policies the Lib Dems have pledged for Wandsworth. You can read the full pledges on their website here: https://www.wandsworthlibdems.uk/priorities.

Housing and cost of living

Establish a tenants’ champion to fight for tenants and leaseholders and improve housing conditions
Support the national campaign to abolish leasehold tenures for all properties, scrap ground rents on existing leases and cap service and management charges

Environment and transport

Fix pavements and potholes, including resurfacing broken roads instead of temporarily patching up potholes
Stand up for Wandsworth’s parks and green spaces
Stand firm against the over-commercialisation of parks, ensuring they are accessible to residents for sports and leisure
Fill the empty tree pits across the borough’s streets and parks
Crackdown on fly-tipping hotspots with mobile CCTV and stronger enforcement
Move street cleaning days to coincide with bin collection days
Put more bins on busy streets
Introduce regular power cleaning of high streets

Communities

Fund more visible neighbourhood policing
Reduce CCTV blackout spots and poorly-lit areas
Challenge Met Police to keep officers on streets

Economy and finance

Improve high streets to keep them clean and attractive
Work with business improvement districts
Use council powers, including high street rental auctions, to tackle empty units
Pressure the Government to scrap business rates

The Green Party

Below are some of the key policies The Green Party has pledged for Wandsworth. You can find the full manifesto on their website here: https://wandsworth.greenparty.org.uk/wgp-manifesto-2026/.

Housing and cost of living

Ensure council homes are safe, insulated and cheap to run
Champion community-led housing and shift the power back to residents
Further increase the tax on empty second homes
Drive out rogue landlords
Introduce a radical acceleration of deep retrofitting measures for council tenants
Support the national demand for a “living rent”, where median local rents would take up no more than 35 per cent of local median take-home pay
Push for the inclusion of sexual abuse, modern slavery and PTSD in priority need criteria on housing applications
Expand the council’s letting agency to cut costs and improve transparency
Introduce a council advice channel on ways to cut energy usage

Environment and transport

Issue local climate bonds for residents to invest in sustainable projects
Install solar panels and battery storage across all suitable council assets
Generate the borough’s own power to shield from global energy shocks and slash the cost of living
Revive community car clubs
Carefully manage e-bikes and e-scooters
Introduce a kerbside strategy to create fairer, greener and healthier streets
Provide more bike hangars
Help residents rewild their gardens
Rid Wandsworth of toxic pesticides
Halt the spread of pavement crossovers
Plant new trees and take care of existing ones

Communities

Introduce participatory budgeting for residents to vote on how cash is spent
Set up regular ward citizen assemblies to identify problems and take action
Create a refugee navigation hub to help with housing, benefits, employment, training, healthcare and integration
Slash petition threshold for council debate from 10,000 to 3,000 signatures
Identify and target crime hotspots
Protect right to protest and freedom of expression
Push for increased funding for NHS dentists
Restrict new fast-food outlets near schools
Champion restorative justice programmes
Develop support service for unpaid carers
Invest in services to reduce isolation

Economy and finance

Conduct a referendum on council tax
Work with trade unions to defend pay and rights
Lobby the Government for fairer funding

Reform UK

Reform has not published a manifesto for Wandsworth. However, at a rally in Leeds in March, leader Nigel Farage promised that if his party took control of more authorities in May, it would ensure lower council tax rises than councils run by other parties.

Nationally, Reform has also said it would place mass immigration detention centres in areas where people voted for a Green Party council or a Green MP, while keeping them out of areas that voted Reform. The party also said it would make it mandatory for schools to display the Union Flag and a picture of The King.