The Green Party retained the Hackney Central ward seat in a by-election held on June 25, with candidate Noah Birksted-Breen securing victory by a margin of 52 votes over Labour's Sheila Suso-Runge. The by-election was triggered after Green councillor James Tilden resigned shortly after the May elections due to ineligibility under the Local Government Act 1972, as his employment as a primary school teacher barred him from holding office.
Election results and turnout
Birksted-Breen won with 676 votes on a turnout of 15.16%. Labour's Suso-Runge garnered 624 votes, increasing her party's vote share by 12.4 percentage points. She previously represented Hackney Central from 2022 until May 2026, when she finished sixth and lost her seat. Liberal Democrat Ken Gabbott-Rolph came third with 83 votes (5.6%), Reform UK's Vahid Almasi fourth with 59 votes (4%), and Conservative Serhan Bay last with 49 votes (3.3%). A total of 1,491 votes were cast.
Impact on council composition
Alongside the Dalston ward by-election also held on June 25, which the Greens also won, the Green group at Hackney Town Hall now totals 42 councillors. This dashed Labour's hopes of reclaiming seats lost in May. Labour opposition leader Cllr Anntoinette Bramble said: "We came close to winning in Hackney Central ward which shows that there is a significant number of people in Hackney Central who would like to see a Labour councillor elected. It was a well fought campaign and the vote in both wards indicates that people are moving back to Labour and its values – as is being seen in other parts of London."
Candidate background
Birksted-Breen, a creative and researcher who teaches international relations at Queen Mary, University of London, also mentors refugees and runs the independent theatre company Sputnik. Accepting victory, he thanked supporters and election staff for "another amazing, well-run election," adding: "I've just loved getting to know the residents of Hackney Central. They're all faces that will be on my mind now and I'll be thinking of them, and I just can't wait to go back and start working for them."
Reason for by-election
The Hackney Central by-election was called after James Tilden, one of three Green candidates elected in May with 1,681 votes, was barred from taking office due to his job at a Hackney primary school. The Green Party told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it was unaware of the eligibility issue until after Tilden was nominated, too late to withdraw his candidacy. Similarly, the Dalston by-election arose because Zoë Garbett was constitutionally unable to assume her council seat upon being re-elected, as she was also elected Mayor of Hackney on the same day.
