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Keith Anthony Prince (born September 1958) is a British Reform UK politician who has served as leader of Havering London Borough Council since May 2026, and as Member of the London Assembly (AM) for Havering and Redbridge since 2016. He previously served as leader of Redbridge London Borough Council from 2009 to 2014.

Background

Prince was born and raised in Havering before moving to Redbridge. Before entering politics, Prince was a marketing manager and worked for LBC Radio. He was later an advisor to Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Stephen Greenhalgh.[3][4]

Political career

Prince served as a Conservative Party councillor on Havering London Borough Council from 1990, representing Gidea Park ward, before being defeated by the Residents Association in 1994. He was elected as a councillor on Redbridge London Borough Council for the Barkingside ward from 2003 until 2018, serving as leader of the council between 2009 and 2014, in coalition with the Liberal Democrats after May 2010.[5] In 2014 Labour won control of Redbridge Council[6] which consigned Prince to opposition.

In 2016, Prince stood to become the Conservative candidate for the London Assembly seat of Havering and Redbridge, after the retirement of the incumbent, Roger Evans.[7] Prince was elected as the assembly member in May 2016 with a majority of 1,438,[8] and re-elected in the 2021 and 2024 elections with majorities of 15,327 and 15,476 respectively.

In 2017, Prince had a heated row with a fellow passenger during his daily Dartford-to-London commute on the Southeastern train service.[9] The confrontation was filmed and was reported on social media and in print and broadcast media. Prince subsequently stated that “I’d like to apologise to my fellow commuters for the disturbance our initial disagreement caused.”[10]

In 2022, Prince was elected as a councillor on Havering Council for the Squirrels Heath ward with a majority of 1,207. In May 2023 he was elected as leader of the Havering Conservatives.[11] He resigned from the position in January 2025.[12]

In 2023, Prince was re-selected as the Conservative candidate for the Havering and Redbridge constituency in the 2024 London Assembly election, in which he was re-elected with a majority of 15,476.

On 4 October 2025, Prince defected from the Conservative Party to join Reform UK.[13] In the 2026 Havering London Borough Council election, he was elected as councillor for the Gooshays ward.[14] Reform UK won control of the council, and Prince was appointed leader of the new Reform UK administration.[15]

References

  1. ^ https://democracy.havering.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=9542
  2. ^ https://reformukhavering.com/about
  3. ^ “Keith Prince”. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  4. ^ “‘Local boy’ Keith Prince stands for the community in Havering and Redbridge”. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
  5. ^ Binns, Daniel (19 May 2010). “REDBRIDGE: Tories and Lib Dems form council coalition”. Wanstead and Woodford Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  6. ^ Hill, Dave (23 May 2014). “Local elections: Labour wins control of Redbridge council for first time”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  7. ^ “Havering’s London Assembly member, Roger Evans, will not stand in election”. Romford Recorder. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  8. ^ Cox, Michael (11 May 2021). “UKIP vote from 2016 ‘significant’ to Tory win in Havering and Redbridge”. Romford Recorder. Archived from the original on 17 November 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2025. Mr Prince’s majority represented a marked increase on the 2016 election, when he defeated then-Labour candidate Ivana Bartoletti by around 1,400 votes.
  9. ^ “Man caught up in race row with woman on train is Tory councilor in charge of transport”. The Independent. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  10. ^ “Tory councillor apologises over bizarre ‘feet on seat’ train row”. Sky News. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  11. ^ “Keith Prince elected as Leader of the Conservative Group in Havering”. The Havering Daily. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  12. ^ Brencher, Holly (23 January 2025). “Havering Conservatives get new leader”. Romford Recorder. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  13. ^ Lydall, Ross (4 October 2025). “London Tory defects to Reform and ‘charismatic’ Nigel Farage in fresh blow to Kemi Badenoch on eve of party conference”. Archived from the original on 4 October 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  14. ^ “Local Election 2026 Results: Full breakdown per ward”. Havering Council. 23 April 2026. Archived from the original on 10 May 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  15. ^ Ross, Jordon. “Havering Council appoints new administration and Mayor at annual meeting”. London Borough of Havering. Retrieved 9 June 2026.