On 7 May 2026, every single seat on Kingston upon Thames Council will be contested. All 48 of them. Across all 19 wards. At the same time.
That does not happen every year. When it does, it hands residents a rare opportunity to pass a collective verdict on how their council has been run — and to shape who takes charge of decisions that affect their daily lives for years to come.
So why does this particular election carry extra weight? Here is what you need to understand before you walk into the polling station.
Kingston operates a system of whole-council elections. Rather than electing a third of councillors each year in a rolling cycle, the entire council is elected at once every four years.
The result is a clean slate — or a strong mandate for continuity, depending on how residents vote. Whoever wins a majority on 7 May 2026 will control Kingston Council until at least 2030, covering a period the council itself has already flagged as financially challenging.
The councillors elected in May will inherit a council in a tight fiscal position.
Kingston's 2026/27 budget set the total Band D council tax bill at £2,608.12 per year — up from £2,488.35 the previous year. That is a rise of £119.77, or 4.99%, made up of a 2.99% general increase and a 2% adult social care precept.
That is not a number pulled from thin air. It reflects real pressure on services. The council's own Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026–2030 projects a £18 million budget gap over four years. At the same time, the council holds £14.2 million in reserves — a figure that sounds substantial until you set it against that projected shortfall.
The arithmetic is uncomfortable. Reserves would not cover the gap even if they were spent in their entirety, which would leave nothing as a financial buffer.
The councillors elected on 7 May will have to make decisions about where that £18 million shortfall is addressed. Through further tax rises? Service reductions? Asset sales? Efficiency savings? Those are political choices — and the people making them will be determined by how Kingston residents vote.
Kingston Council is currently controlled by the Liberal Democrats, who have held a majority on the council for several years. The other parties represented include the Conservatives and Labour, though the Lib Dems hold the balance of power and chair the key committees.
The 7 May election will determine whether that continues — or whether a different political grouping takes control of the council chamber and, with it, the budget, planning decisions, and the allocation of local services.
It is worth being specific, because the role of a local councillor is often misunderstood.
Kingston's 48 councillors vote on the annual budget — including your council tax rate. They approve or reject major planning applications. They set policy on housing, highways, social care, parks, and waste collection. They scrutinise how council money is spent and hold senior officers to account.
Recent decisions that have generated significant public interest include the approval of 965 homes in Tolworth, proposals linked to 150 homes at Kingston Hospital, and ongoing debates about the borough's approach to Metropolitan Open Land. The councillors who take their seats in May 2026 will be the ones making the next round of those calls.
Register to vote. You cannot vote if you are not on the electoral register. The deadline to register is approaching — do not leave it. You can register at gov.uk/register-to-vote. It takes five minutes.
Photo ID is required. This is not optional and it is not new — but it catches people out every election. You must bring an accepted form of photo identification to the polling station. A passport, driving licence, or Voter Authority Certificate will all work. If you do not have any accepted photo ID, you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate through Electoral Commission at electoralcommission.org.uk.
Know your ward. Kingston has 19 wards, and each one elects multiple councillors. The number of seats per ward varies. Check which ward you live in and how many candidates you will be voting for — the council's website and Electoral Commission postcode checker can confirm this.
Postal and proxy votes. If you cannot get to the polling station on the day, you can apply for a postal vote or nominate someone to vote on your behalf as a proxy. Deadlines for both will be set ahead of the election — watch for the Electoral Commission announcements.
Between now and 7 May, candidates from all parties will be knocking on doors and leafleting streets. When they do, residents are well within their rights to press them on specifics.
How will your party close the projected £18 million budget gap without cutting services residents rely on? What is your position on the pace and scale of housing development in the borough? How will you protect green spaces while meeting housing need? What does your party think about the 4.99% council tax rise — and do you think it is justified?
Vague answers are not good enough. These are concrete financial and planning decisions with real consequences. Residents deserve concrete responses.
On Council Clarity, 89 residents are already following the Borough Elections topic — and eight messages have already been sent to councillors about it. That number will grow as the election approaches.
If you want to ask your councillor a question about the election, the budget, or any other local issue, you can do it directly through Council Clarity. It takes less than a minute, your message goes to the right person, and councillors are accountable for their responses.
Use the Council Clarity platform to message your Kingston councillors today. Ask them where they stand on the £18 million budget gap, the 4.99% council tax rise, or any other issue that matters to you. The election is on 7 May 2026 — but the questions are worth asking right now.
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