HACKNEY — Green party candidate Tyrone Scott won a Hackney Wick council seat in Thursday's local election in the London borough of Hackney. The Green party took all three councillor seats in the Hackney Wick ward, which Labour had won in the 2022 election.

The Green party secured a majority on Hackney council by winning 42 of the 57 seats, ending Labour's control of the authority since 2002. Labour recorded its worst results on record in the 2026 local elections.

Scott has been a member of the Green party for 12 years. Four years ago, he lost his race to become a Hackney councillor by 27 votes. "It was quite devastating at the time," he said of the earlier defeat.

Months after that loss, Scott ran for deputy leader of the Green party and finished second to Zack Polanski, who has since become leader of the party. He then retreated from politics to work at a charity, where he serves as head of campaigns for an anti-poverty organisation. Scott informed his employers of his intention to stand in the election, and they gave him permission to run on the understanding that he was unlikely to win.

"I'm sure now they're thinking: 'Oh actually, it's real', and we'll have a conversation when I get back to work on Monday," he said.

Describing the moment results began to be announced at the count, he said: "The first nine or 10 seats rolled through as all Green, including a couple of unexpected ones." He said he had not anticipated a clean sweep in his own ward.

"I had a little feeling but, even then, I didn't really believe it," he said. "I thought there was a minor chance but not at all to have got three across the board."

Reflecting on the outcome after the announcement, Scott said: "It felt quite surreal and we were very elated. I think all of us are having a moment of, 'Oh, wait, this is real now'." Looking ahead to his term on the council, he added: "We can be a shining example of how to build hope rather than hate."