The local authorityCouncil · london_borough · England · 1 of 33 councils (london_borough)

Waltham Forest.

Labour Party-controlled london_borough. £316m net revenue. 22 wards across 3 parliamentary constituencies.

Typelondon_borough
Seats64 councillors · 22 wards
Last election5 May 2022
Websitewalthamforest.gov.uk
Net revenue · 2025-26
£316m
Core spending power (MHCLG)
Band-D bill
£2,278
For the council slice (incl. precepts)
Composition
50/64
Labour Party 78%
Westminster
3
constituencies overlap · 2 MP parties
Dispatch
31 May 2026

Labour Party chamber, 2-party MP geography.

Waltham Forest is a london_borough controlled by Labour Party (50 of 64 seats). Net revenue is £316m for 2025-26. It covers 22 wards spanning 3 parliamentary constituencies. The MP geography crosses 2 parties — a heterogeneous setup.

§ 01Composition.64 seats · last contested 5 May 2022

Who sits in the chamber.

Lab 50Con 14

Labour Party 78% · last contested 5 May 2022

Councillors — the people.

CouncillorWardElected
Keith RaynerLabCann Hall2022
Kischa-Bianca GreenLabCann Hall2022
Sally LittlejohnLabCann Hall2022
Jonathan Gerrard O'DeaLabCathall2022
Naheed AsgharLabCathall2022
Naheed AsgharLabCathall2018
Louise MitchellLabChapel End2022
Paul DouglasLabChapel End2022
Steve TerryLabChapel End2022
Kay IsaConChingford Green2022
Mitchell GoldieConChingford Green2022
Sazimet ImreConChingford Green2022
Showing 12 of 64·All 64 councillors
§ 02Revenue mix & Band-D bill.MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table

Where revenue comes from.

47%
Council tax
£147.2m · median 47%
38%
Central grants
£118.8m · median 38%
16%
Business rates
£49.9m · median 16%

Revenue mix is close to the councils (london_borough) median: 47% council tax, 38% central grants.

Source · MHCLG — Final LGFS 2025-26 Core Spending Power table · derived (CT exact; grants/rates split from SFA baseline)

Band-D bill.

Council slice£1,787
County / upper-tier£490
Police£0
Fire & rescue£0
GLA precept£0
Total Band-D£2,278

Parish precepts apply on top, vary by parish

For household tax breakdown

Use the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings.

§ 03Service spend, ranked against peers.10 buckets · vs 32 other councils (london_borough)

How does Waltham Forest split its revenue across services, compared with peer councils (london_borough)-class councils? Each row is one of the ten standard service buckets. The vertical line at the centre is the cohort median share; the coloured square is where this council sits. Squares to the right of centre mean a bigger share of revenue than the median peer; to the left, a smaller share.

Education42.6% of net spend · cohort median 42%
15 of 33+2% vs median
Adult Social Care21.3% of net spend · cohort median 22%
18 of 33-1% vs median
Children's Services11.9% of net spend · cohort median 13%
26 of 33-9% vs median
Corporate & Central7.7% of net spend · cohort median 3%
6 of 33+131% vs median
Housing & Homelessness5.9% of net spend · cohort median 6%
16 of 33+5% vs median
Waste & Recycling3.6% of net spend · cohort median 4%
23 of 33-14% vs median
Public Health3.5% of net spend · cohort median 3%
18 of 33-1% vs median
Culture & Leisure1.5% of net spend · cohort median 2%
23 of 33-15% vs median
Highways & Transport1.4% of net spend · cohort median 1%
11 of 33+111% vs median
Planning & Economic Development0.6% of net spend · cohort median 1%
28 of 33-42% vs median
How to read these bars

The subtitle on each row (“X% of net spend”) is what share of this council’s revenue goes to that service. The rank (“15 of 61”) is where this council sits within the cohort, sorted by that share descending. The delta (“+26% vs median”) is a relative reading: the council allocates 26% more of its revenue to that service than the median peer would. A small absolute difference can still be a big relative one.

Higher share doesn’t mean waste — it can reflect demographic need (more older residents), rurality, or a policy choice (e.g. keeping a service in-house). Lower share doesn’t mean efficiency — some councils move costs to fees, ringfenced accounts, or grants. £-per-head would be sharper than share-of-revenue; LAD population is pending ingest. Comparisons are within the same council type only.

§ 04Top suppliers.5,553 payments · £105.6m gross · 3 Dec 202531 Mar 2026

Every invoice over £500, published under the Local Government Transparency Code. Best-effort, not statutory — counts and totals net negatives (refunds/reversals).

Top by total — last 180 days

SupplierPaidSharePmts
ASTON GROUP£10.55m10.0%149
FCC WASTE MANAGEMENT LTD£10.46m9.9%32
MORGAN SINDALL PROPERTY SERVICES LTD£9.27m8.8%95
HILL PARTNERSHIPS LIMITED£5.71m5.4%5
NSL SERVICES GROUP£5.57m5.3%45
J B RINEY & CO LTD£4.92m4.7%121
ACADEMY SERVICES (WALTHAM£4.77m4.5%13
WALTHAM FOREST SERVICES LIMITED_23266£3.04m2.9%327
CHANGE GROW LIVE SERVICES LIMITED£2.95m2.8%4
R G CARTER SOUTHERN LTD£2.19m2.1%4

By service area · top supplier

ServiceTop supplierPaid
Waste And RecyclingFCC WASTE MANAGEMENT LTD£8.43m
Corporate And CentralASTON GROUP£4.81m
Planning And EconomicACADEMY SERVICES (WALTHAM£3.81m
Culture And LeisureCHANGE GROW LIVE SERVICES LIMITED£2.71m
Adult Social CareLONDON BOROUGH OF NEWHAM 1913£1.20m
Childrens ServicesHATS GROUP LIMITED£1.18m
§ 05Westminster constituencies — the overlap.22 wards split across 3 parliamentary seats

Waltham Forest’s territory crosses 3 Westminster constituencies, with 2 MP parties represented. The middle column shows how much of the council each seat carries.

ConstituencyWards% of councilCurrent MP
Walthamstow1359% Stella CreasyInd
Leyton and Wanstead523% Calvin BaileyLab
Chingford and Woodford Green418% Iain Duncan SmithCon
Of note · the mixed-MP geography

This council holds 1 Ind and 1 Ind MPs. That’s an unusually heterogeneous geography for a Labour Party-controlled london_borough — most weeks one MP is asking the council for something and another is praising it.

Sources, methods & last update
Method The dispatch paragraphs are AI-generated from the public sources listed below. Every figure links to its source. If we’re wrong, please tell us — corrections within 48 hours.
CompositionDemocracy Club (live)
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (historic)
Net revenueMHCLG Final LGFS
Core Spending Power table · 2025-26
Service spendDerived from MHCLG CSP shares
vs 32 other councils (london_borough)
Band-DMHCLG CSP · precept schedules
Police, Fire, Parish on top
SuppliersCouncil publication under LGTC
5,553 payments · 3 Dec 202531 Mar 2026
Westminster overlapONS Open Geography Portal
2023 boundaries
PopulationONS mid-year estimates
Pending ingest at LAD level