Residents in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, will head to the polls on Thursday 7 May 2026 for local borough elections. Voters in 13 of the borough’s 14 wards will elect one councillor per contested ward; the borough council is responsible for local services such as bin collections, parks and planning decisions.
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has confirmed these elections will follow a return to the ‘election by thirds’ — the first such cycle under the new ward boundaries and reduced council size after the 2024 all‑out election and boundary review.
To vote in person at polling stations (open 7:00am–10:00pm on polling day), residents must present an accepted form of photographic identification. Voters without an accepted form of ID can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate from the Electoral Commission; applications for the free ID must be submitted by 5pm on Tuesday 28 April 2026.
The deadline to register to vote is Monday 20 April 2026. The national deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm on Tuesday 21 April 2026. Note that postal voters who made their current postal application before 31 October 2023 were required to reapply by 31 January 2026 or their postal vote may have been cancelled; Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has been contacting affected electors about this requirement.
Residents are urged to check their registration and ID status well before the deadlines to ensure they can vote in the borough elections on 7 May 2026.
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