Local elections profile: Bromley

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

Where is it? The London Borough of Bromley is in south-east London and borders Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley, Southwark, Lambeth, Croydon, Surrey and Kent.

What's it like? With the most green space in London, the borough is partly urban and partly rural, with a chunk of built-up area of suburban London and the northern part of the North Downs.

Neighbourhoods: Bromley, Penge, Biggin Hill, Hayes, Crystal Palace, West Wickham, Chislehurst, Beckenham and Orpington.

Places of interest: Chislehurst Caves, Down House, Crystal Palace Park, Orpington Palace Superbowl, Churchill Theatre, Crofton Wood, Crofton Roman Villa.

Pub quiz fact: Bromley is the largest London borough by area at 59 sq miles (150 sq km).

Population (2024 estimate): 335,319 according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS)

Demographics: According to the 2021 census, 76.5% identify as white, 8.3% as Asian, 7.6% as black, 5.4% as mixed race and 2.3% as another ethnic group.

Average property price in (December 2025): £535,000 reports the ONS

Average monthly rent (January 2025): £1,599

Council tax: Band D council tax in the borough for 2026/27 is £2,140.

Transport: There are no Tube stations in Bromley. It has three London Overground stations, five tram stops and around 1,060 bus stops. There are 26 railway stations providing links to the rest of London and to Kent.

Local history: Bromley began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement named Bromleag in the 9th century. It was also the site of one of several palatial residences for the Bishops of Rochester. The Bishop's Palace is today part of Bromley Civic Centre.

It was granted a market charter in 1205 and remained a prosperous Kentish town surrounded by farmland until the arrival of the railway in the 1850s, which turned the northern part of what is now the borough of Bromley into the suburbs of London.

During the Second World War, Biggin Hill Aerodrome was the base for RAF Fighter Command. Bromley is the birthplace of H.G. Wells, and musician David Bowie grew up at 4 Plaistow Grove.

What is the borough's electoral history? Bromley, Beckenham, Orpington and Chislehurst were moved from Kent into London to form parts of the borough in 1965. It has been a Conservative-run council since its creation - with the exception of 1998 to 2002 - when a Lib Dem/Labour coalition took control.

What happened in 2022? The turnout was 37.2% and there was a swing of 6% from Conservative to Labour. The Conservatives retained control of the council but lost 14 seats.

Conservative: 36 seats (-14)

Labour: 12 seats (+4)

Lib Dem 5 seats (+5)

Chislehurst Matters 3 seats (+3)

Independent 2 seats (n/c)

Boundary changes reduced the number of seats in 2022 from 60 to 58.

Since the election, two councillors have defected from the Conservatives to Reform UK, and Reform UK also won a by-election.

Professor Tony Travers, of the London School of Economics, said Bromley - like its neighbour Bexley - looks as if Reform UK will do well.

He added that if we look across into Kent last year, "Reform UK did do well there, but the Conservatives are still strong in the borough, so it could well go to no overall control".

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