Polls in Trinity ward close at 10pm today. A Conservative gain takes the party to 30 of 58 seats and an outright majority; a Labour hold leaves nobody with one.
Polling stations in Trinity ward are open until 10pm today, Thursday 27 August, in a by-election that could give the Conservatives outright control of Wandsworth Council.
One seat is being filled. The vacancy follows the resignation of Councillor Lizzy Dobres, elected for Labour in May, as the council’s by-election page records.
Why one ward matters
Wandsworth has 58 councillors. A majority is 30.
The council’s own results by party for 7 May 2026 record the borough-wide outcome:
- Conservative: 29 seats
- Labour: 25 seats
- Labour and Co-operative Party: 3 seats
- Independent Member: 1 seat
That left the Conservatives one short of a majority, running the council as the largest group under Councillor Robert Morritt. Labour and its Co-operative members total 28, and Councillor Malcolm Grimston sits as an Independent for West Hill.
With Trinity vacant, the council’s list of councillors currently shows 57 members: 29 Conservative, 27 Labour and one Independent.
So tonight’s count has two clean outcomes:
- Conservative gain: 30 seats of 58, an outright majority.
- Labour hold: Conservatives stay on 29, Labour returns to 28, and no party has a majority.
Who is standing
Five candidates were validly nominated, according to the Statement of Persons Nominated published by Returning Officer Ana Popovici on 31 July:
- Shirin Chiara Georgiani, Labour Party
- Dylan Connor Peter Henderson, Liberal Democrats
- Otto Jacobsson, Local Conservatives
- Sylvain Magne, Green Party
- Josh Stanton, Reform UK
Two of them stood in Trinity in May. Otto Jacobsson was the Conservatives’ second candidate and Dylan Henderson stood for the Liberal Democrats.
Trinity was tight in May
Trinity elects two councillors, and the ward split between the parties three months ago. The ward result shows how narrow it was.
| Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Lizzy Dobres | Labour | 1,842 (elected) |
| Kirsten Botting | Conservative | 1,647 (elected) |
| Jack Amadeus Mayorcas | Labour | 1,583 |
| Otto Jacobsson | Conservative | 1,518 |
| Georgia Rayner | Green Party | 759 |
| Jed Simister | Green Party | 508 |
| Dylan Connor Peter Henderson | Liberal Democrat | 250 |
| Caroline Ogden | Liberal Democrat | 221 |
| Veronica de Homersley | Reform UK | 199 |
| Mark Andrew Elliott | Reform UK | 198 |
| Mary Ingham | Independent | 56 |
| Adam Karl Powell-Davies | Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition | 11 |
A total of 8,792 votes were cast and 10 ballot papers were rejected. Just 129 votes separated Jacobsson from the second seat. The two Green candidates took 1,267 between them, which is more than the gap between any of the top four.
Councillor Kirsten Botting, elected for the Conservatives in May, keeps the ward’s other seat and is not up for election today.
Voting today
Stations are open from 7am to 10pm, and the Notice of Poll names four:
- Trinity Road Chapel, 205 Trinity Road
- St James Community Centre, 1 Florence Way, Ouseley Road
- St Mark’s United Reformed Church, 53 Rowfant Road
- Holy Trinity Church Upper Tooting, 74 Trinity Road
You can only vote at the station printed on your poll card. You do not have to bring the card itself.
What it means for you
If you live in Trinity ward, the practical points are short:
- You need photo ID. The council’s voter ID page sets out what counts. Expired photo ID is accepted as long as the picture still looks like you.
- The deadline for a free Voter Authority Certificate has gone. It was 5pm on Wednesday 19 August, so there is no way to get substitute ID today.
- Postal voters do not need ID, but the pack has to arrive by 10pm. If yours is still at home, you can hand it in at any polling station in the ward, and staff will ask you to complete an extra form. Without that form it will be rejected.
- Emergency proxy applications close at 5pm today, and only cover an emergency you could not have known about before 5pm on 19 August.
- Registration closed on 11 August. If you are not on the register, you cannot vote in this one.
Beyond today, the seat matters because of what the council is about to decide. Its own Spending Review, considered by Cabinet on 29 July, is built on Government funding sums that assume a 71 per cent council tax rise over two years. The full package of measures is due later this year, and whether the administration has 30 votes or 29 will shape how it gets through.
The result will be published on the council’s democracy site once the count is complete.
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