Local Elections Analysis 2026: Building for the Future in Orpington

The May 2026 local elections represented an important step forward for Reform UK across Bromley and here in Orpington.

We went into the elections with high hopes and, while the final results were not everything we had wanted, there were still significant positives to take from them.

Across the London Borough of Bromley, six Reform UK councillors were elected, increasing our representation from three before the election.

Here in the Orpington constituency, the standout result came in St Paul’s Cray, where Christopher Marlow, Dean Miller and William Rawles secured all three council seats for Reform UK.

Across the remaining wards, Reform candidates attracted significant support, giving our local team valuable experience and a much clearer understanding of where we stand across the constituency.

Learning From the Results

We aren’t going to pretend the results were everything we had hoped for.

They weren’t.

Following the election, our local team took time to properly analyse what happened across Orpington, discuss the campaign with candidates and volunteers and identify both what worked and what needs to improve.

As a relatively new political force locally, we were competing against established parties with decades of campaigning experience, longstanding community connections and considerably more historic knowledge of local voting patterns.

We learned a great deal.

There are things we would do differently, areas where our organisation needs to become stronger and lessons about how we communicate our message to residents.

The important thing is that we have recognised those lessons and are acting on them.

The election also demonstrated that there is significant support for Reform UK across Orpington.

Our subsequent analysis ranked St Paul’s Cray as our strongest ward, followed by St Mary Cray, Farnborough & Crofton, Orpington, Chelsfield, Darwin and Petts Wood & Knoll.

The experience has also given us something we did not previously have: real local election results, greater campaigning experience, stronger local connections and a much better understanding of the constituency.

Those foundations matter.

Since the election, our focus has moved firmly towards the future.

We are strengthening our organisation across the seven wards, developing our local campaigning operation and becoming more involved in the communities we hope to represent.

Our plans include greater canvassing and leafleting, regular ward activity, community events, fundraising and stronger engagement with local organisations and residents. These priorities formed part of the constituency’s post-election planning.

The creation of this website is another part of that work — providing a permanent place where residents can learn about Reform UK Orpington, follow local issues, contact our representatives and find opportunities to get involved. Establishing an Orpington website and newsletter was one of the specific objectives agreed by the local team.

We wanted more from May 2026.

But we also emerged with six Reform councillors across Bromley, three councillors here in Orpington and valuable experience that will make us better prepared for the future.

We have listened. We have learned. And now we’re building.

2026 was not the destination. It was the starting point.