With five weeks to go until polling day, both Westminster Labour and the Westminster Conservatives have now published their manifestos for the 7 May local elections. For anyone with interests in the borough, they are worth reading carefully.
Westminster is genuinely in play. Labour won control of the council in 2022 for the first time in its history. The Conservatives are fighting hard to take it back. Fewer than 100 votes across eight wards decided the outcome last time. This is as close as local elections get.
Both parties have set out detailed, substantive programmes. On the issues that matter most to those operating in the borough, including planning policy, housing delivery, Oxford Street, licensing, public realm and enforcement.
Labour is running on a record of delivery and a programme built around social value, environmental ambition and active stewardship of the West End. The Conservatives are offering a change of direction: commercial pragmatism in planning, a legal fight over Oxford Street, a dedicated enforcement lead from day one and a fundamental overhaul of how the council manages contracts and public money.
Whoever wins on 7 May will have a direct bearing on how Westminster is run for the next four years and what that means for planning applications, licensing decisions, housing programmes, public realm investment and the wider commercial environment across the borough.
At Hedry, we work with some of the most significant landowners, developers and businesses operating in Westminster. We have gone through both manifestos in detail and produced a briefing note on each, setting out what is being proposed and what it would mean in practice.
We have kept both notes factual and even-handed. They are not a commentary on which party is right. They are a tool for anyone who needs to understand what each outcome would actually mean for their interests in the borough.
If you would like a copy of either or both briefings, or want to discuss the implications for a specific asset, scheme or project, get in touch with Nathan Parsad-Wyatt at nathan.parsad-wyatt@hedry.co.uk.
You can read the manifestos here:
🔵 Conservative Manifesto
🔴 Labour Manifesto
