‘I’ll talk to work on Monday’: what happens when a ‘paper candidate’ actually wins | Local elections 2026
You’d expect most political candidates who score a shock win to celebrate their victory, perhaps with a glass of merriment and excitement about the challenges of elected office ahead. But while thousands of new councilors celebrated their victory on Friday, some surprise winners were less than pleased.
Green party leaders have apologized to a newly elected councilor in Finsbury Park, north London, who was nominated as a “candidate on paper” in an unexpected victory. “You will be great, we will support you” they said, According to the Islington Tribune.
On paper, a candidate is someone who embraces the understanding that a party has a very low chance of winning in order to ensure that it appears on the ballot in as many places as possible. Reform UK was so keen to register candidates across the country that the party called members of the public, including a Guardian journalist, to ask them to stand. But this year’s local elections, which saw Labour’s worst results in history, meant many new candidates were elected.
Camden by-election expected after secondary school teacher elected to Green ticket resign now He serves as a city council member because he is not allowed to hold this position while also teaching in the district.
So what’s it like to get a surprise win? Tyrone Scott has been a member of the Green Party for 12 years. Four years ago he came tantalizingly close to power, losing the race to become a Hackney councilor by 27 votes. “It was pretty devastating at the time,” the 34-year-old said. Months later, he ran for the party’s vice chairman, but finished second to Zack Polanski, who has since become the leader.
He withdrew from politics to take a job at a charity. “It seemed difficult for me to run again, I had too many work commitments,” he said. He still wanted to race that way as a compromise and preferred a venue “where we were less likely to win.” He was elected in Hackney Wick, where Labor cruised to victory in the last seat contested in 2022. However, he called himself a “cardboard candidate” rather than a paper candidate because the party felt victory was possible in every part of the district.
Activists did “a very small amount of campaigning” in Hackney Wick compared to the rest of the borough, where they campaigned for a year.
The first indication that things might be better than expected was the large pile of votes cast for his ward in Thursday’s confirmation. “There was a little feeling, but even then I didn’t really believe it,” Scott said. Things became clear as the Greens racked up win after win early on. “The first nine or 10 seats were all Green, including a few unlikely seats,” he said.
On a shocking day for the Greens in London, the party won 42 out of 57 seats, taking out a majority on Hackney council, ousting Labor from power for the first time since 2002. Zoë Garbett became the borough’s first Green mayor, loosening Labor’s 24-year grip on the job.
When the results for his ward were announced and the three councilors elected were all Greens, Scott said it was “a mix of emotions”, including some “nervous excitement”.
“I thought there was a small chance, but not at all to get all three,” he said. “It was quite a surreal feeling and we were so happy. I think we all have a moment where we’re like, ‘Oh wait, this is real now’.”
Scott works as head of campaigns for an anti-poverty charity. He told his bosses of his intention to join, and they said he could “go ahead with it” “with the understanding that I was less likely to get in”. The business said they could solve this problem if he won. “I’m sure they’re thinking now: ‘Actually, this is real,’ and we’ll talk when I get back to work on Monday,” he said.
Scott hopes the Greens can rebuild “community cohesion” in Hackney and show that “we can be a shining example of building hope rather than hate”, especially in light of Reform UK’s gains across the country.
