Given what was expected to be a clearcut Tory hold – a different perspective on an overnight local election count in Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC): live from the gallery.
Arriving at Kensington Town Hall, you would be forgiven to not realise it was 11.15pm on a Thursday given the swarms of people.
Plenty of security, a thorough bag check, name check, signature, a wristband and a media badge later and I was welcomed by a man named Alisdair who is on the council’s press team.
Perhaps unsurprising in a way, but here in RBKC they keep the media up in the gallery watching from above and therefore unable to chat directly with any councillor.
What was immediately apparent was the friendly camaraderie of the counters below – a hugely diverse group of people getting on with arguably the most mundane task of the evening: splitting the ballot papers into groups of 25 to verify numbers.
And yet, the vibes are positive and energetic with the whole method remaining archaic and analogue: humans counting.
Stephen Tyler, Head of News for Kensington & Chelsea Council, came to chat to me and welcome me to the night ahead – including a coffee on the house.
We even got down to chatting about Teeline shorthand with another member of the media team claiming to have been 160wpm ‘back in the day’.
I learnt that counters are all council staff, and the role is oversubscribed and – thankfully – paid.
A smattering of red, blue and green rosettes but otherwise not a political allegiance to be seen – nor a councillor for that matter.
A brief speech by returning officer Maxine Holdsworth to confirm all ballots have arrived and are being verified – along with postal votes – and now we wait.
An hour after first arrival and tables appear to have been emptied of ballot papers as thousands of ballots have been organised into packs of 25.
Half an hour after midnight and we get an update as Holdsworth tells us verification is still being done and then a break before the count officially starts – time to settle in.
Nearly 1am and verification has finished with an overall turnout of 37.3% consisting of 35,344 voters, up 4.6% on 2022.
It’s 1.36am and the count has officially begun. Ballot papers are sorted into parties if all votes cast and all for one party, into non-block if not all votes cast or for mix of parties and into doubtful if it does what it says on the tin.
The room goes relatively quiet for the first time.
As I nose over the gallery balcony, it is very hard to gain much insight, but councillors and candidates stand on one side watching in hope as ballot papers get dropped – or not – into their box.
The quiet is similar to a casino, I am told, with the watchers – or councillors in this case – keeping a very close eye on what papers go where and some even offering unsolicited advice. It is borderline tense to have the hopeful candidates literally tallying their votes in live.
It all looks quite efficient but the number going into the ‘Non Block’ category for a cross-by-cross count does not allow for optimism on fast results announcements.
St Helen’s ward counters and councillors remain standing whilst most others are content sitting.
As hands cross to place papers in different boxes, it is not unimaginable for ballots to be misplaced but I am told the training is rigorous.
Pembridge ward had the fewest votes of 1,459 so, at 2.26am, I sit hopeful for an announcement sometime soon.
A lady has a red bag, red scrunchie but is adorned with the bright blue Conservative rosette – hard to tell what outcome she is after.
At 3.27am it would be reasonable to suggest I can’t be trusted to infer what one might consider ‘interesting’ but the count system is hypnotic to watch.
Nearly two hours down and the ‘Non Block’ categories now get split into one, two or three votes before being literally tallied onto a separate sheet. It’s almost like they’ve done it before.
Meanwhile announcements are made periodically about which ward’s doubtful ballot papers are being adjudicated and where – to allow for more watchful eyes.
The standing crowd at St Helen’s remains the largest in the room – likely a reflection of the Labour Green fight.
By 4.04am, we are less than an hour from when The Independent said RBKC would have announced their results. All 18 wards in the next 56 minutes? It somehow seems unlikely.
4.24am and Pembridge results are in – Conservatives hold both seats. The Tories appear to cheer the loudest, but time will tell if that is simply the winning cheer.
Surprisingly, the candidates are whispered the result by the returning officer before the room is told over the mic – suddenly not so close to the X Factor final after all. Somewhat anticlimactic.
4.56am and Courtfield Ward’s results are whispered to the candidates – five from five for Conservatives as it stands with the same three as 2022 in this ward.
The results begin to come quicker with Norland at 5.05am. Conservatives hold both their seats. Two new candidates from 2022.
5.25am and Brompton and Hans Town ward is up. Conservatives maintain the same three 2022 candidates and seats.
Four wards in and ten from ten for the Tories. Perhaps I’ll leave it to the results page now?
You can check out all of South West Londoner’s 2026 local election coverage here.
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