Havering and Hackney voters choose opposing visions of change
Voters in two east London boroughs have chosen a new political path for their respective councils but the winning parties are offering very different visions.
Havering was the first to signal this change when an overnight count saw Reform UK win control of its first council in the capital.
In Hackney, voters delivered another political first with Zoë Garbett winning the Green Party's first directly elected mayor as well as a majority on the council.
BBC London spoke to voters in Romford and Dalston about why they voted for change and what they want that change to be.
At Romford Market on Friday morning, traders carried on serving customers as residents reacted to Reform UK's breakthrough result.
Many of those who spoke to BBC London said they felt frustrated with the main political parties and wanted something different.
Irene said she voted for Reform UK because she was "so fed up with everything that's happening".
"The council's going to pot," she added.
Another voter said: "If I'm honest, I have no faith in any of the other ones, so that's why I voted for Reform and let's hope they can do a job."
Rosemary, who said she had supported Labour "all my life", said the party is "now rubbish".
Speaking about immigration, she added: "We've got migrants all coming into the country."
Not everyone welcomed Havering's new Reform administration.
One woman said the result was "bad for us" and described Reform UK as "prejudiced and racial and horrible".
Josh told the BBC: "People are voting for hatred. They'd rather have hatred than money in their pockets. They'd rather have hatred than freedom in their pockets."
He said that people had believed in "misinformation" to vote Reform.
Stallholder David told BBC London that Reform's only council in the capital should cede back to its historic county home of Essex.
"I'd rather get out of London and go back to Essex, 100%," he said.
Rather than an issue of identity for the town, David said "we've got a terrible mayor" in Sir Sadiq Khan and he "needs to go next".
Speaking of his hopes for a Reform-run council, he said: "I just hope they spend money on the town, we are always promised money for the market but nothing comes to the table.
"They're letting it slip and haven't spent money on it for 20 years."
Reform takes over Havering Council from a residents' association while the Greens ended Labour's long hold of the Hackney mayoralty.
In Dalston, voters described a different kind of political change after the Green Party won the borough's mayoral election.
Kris said Garbett's win of the mayoralty was "fantastic".
"I've seen her out in the streets in the last couple of weeks speaking to local people, so to know she's already out there making an impact in the community is quite important," he said.
As a cyclist, Kris said he hopes the Greens will make roads safer along with improvements to the borough's outdoor spaces.
Another resident said: "Maybe we need a change.
"They're talking about supporting people, helping the community and all those things."
Lee said he was concerned about the Green Party winning in the borough he grew up, with particular concern for their stance on immigration and small boat crossings in the English Channel.
"It feels like we can't do anything about it," he said.
Valerie said she noticed "a lot of young people" when she went to vote.
"I told my daughter, I think the Green Party is going to win in Hackney," she said.
Another voter said: "I think it's a huge move, it's positive.
"There hasn't been much confidence in Labour recently."
While the political messages in Havering and Hackney were very different, voters in both boroughs spoke about wanting change from the status quo.
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