Local elections profile: Barking and Dagenham

Ahead of the local elections on Thursday 7 May, we have produced short guides to London's 32 boroughs.

Where is it? Barking and Dagenham is in east London. It is bordered by Havering, Redbridge, Newham and the River Thames.

What's it like? It is young, rapidly growing, and highly diverse - 25% of its population is under 16, the highest proportion in England and Wales. It is one of London's most affordable boroughs but also has high levels of deprivation.

Neighbourhoods: Becontree, Barking Town Centre, Barking Riverside, Dagenham Dock, Dagenham East, Chadwell Heath, Parsloes Park, Beam Park, Mayesbrook Park, Rippleside, Central Park.

Places of interest: Eastbury Manor House, Valence House Museum, Eastbrookend Country Park, St Margaret of Antioch, Barking, The Broadway theatre, Barking Abbey ruins.

Pub quiz fact: The Becontree Estate, constructed between 1921 and 1935, is one of the largest council estates in Europe with around 27,000 homes.

Population: In 2024 the population was estimated to be 232,747.

Demographics: According to the 2021 census, 46% of people in the borough identify as white, 16% as black African and 17% as Bangladeshi or Pakistani.

At 17.7%, Barking and Dagenham's population increase was the second-highest in London.

Average property price: According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the provisional average house price in Barking and Dagenham in December 2025 was £354,000.

Average monthly rent: The ONS says the average monthly private rent in Barking and Dagenham was £1,681 in January 2026.

Council tax: Band D council tax in the borough for 2026/27 is £2,198.

Transport: TfL says there are five Tube stations, one Elizabeth line station, one London Overground station and around 385 bus stops in the borough. National Rail stations include Barking, Dagenham Dock and Barking Riverside.

More information about Barking and Dagenham can be found here.

Local history: Barking Abbey, founded in the 7th Century, was one of the most important female establishments in the country, and its abbesses included saints and queens. The abbey was dissolved in 1539 by Henry VIII and the ruins remain a tourist attraction.

The parish of Dagenham also has ancient roots and once included a significant part of the now mostly lost Hainault Forest.

It is probably best-known as the site of what was Europe's largest car plant. Ford Dagenham opened in 1931 and the riverside site had its own blast furnaces and power station. Employment at the plant peaked at around 40,000 workers in 1953, while around 2,000 people work at the site today.

Barking and Dagenham was one of six London boroughs to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.

What is the borough's electoral history? The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, which were then transferred from Essex to Greater London.

Labour has controlled the borough since its creation and has been the only party with councillors since 2010. This has historically been seen as one of Labour's safest councils in London.

In 1968 the Conservatives won 13 councillors and in 2006 the British National Party won 12, but in both cases lost them all to Labour at the next election.

What happened in 2022? The turnout was 24.5% - the lowest in London - and Labour won all of the seats on the council.

Labour - 51 seats.

Since the election, three councillors have defected from Labour to the Greens and one has defected from Labour to the Conservatives.

Barking and Dagenham has always been held by Labour, but this time they're going to lose seats.

The question is how many, probably to Reform, possibly to the Greens, could the council move towards no overall control?

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