Bloke known as Austin Powers standing for election in ‘most unpredictable’ race for years
It is unclear whether or not Austin Powers will say ‘groovy baby’ and leap into the air, should he beat Labour’s Tom Cresswell in the upcoming Abbey Wood local elections
A man called Austin Powers is running in the local elections (not the one pictured, obviously)(Image: Getty Images North America)
A bloke called Austin Powers is standing for election for Reform in Abbey Wood, south east London.
The wannabe politician, who shares his name with the main character in the Mike Myers film franchise, is standing alongside Gregory Rodwell and Ruth Handyside and is up against the more conventionally named Labour candidate Tom Creswell.
While Powers’ doesn’t share his fictional namesake’s looks, it’s unclear whether or not the Reform politician will say “shagadelic” every time he addresses the public.
The unusually named bloke’s campaign conjures up a political maverick making speeches while wearing brightly coloured flares and a ruffled jacket. “Groovy, baby.”
The poll will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026 between 7am and 10pm.
Just down the road in Woolwich Arsenal, the husband of former prime minister Liz Truss is running for the Conservatives. The race has been dubbed “the most unpredictable Greenwich Council election for over half a century”.
Hugh O’Leary is standing for the Tories nearly four years after his wife began her short but calamitous spell in Downing Street.
Greenwich has been a safe Labour council since 1971 and the party came close to winning every seat in the town hall at the last poll in 2022. Labour currently has 47 of Greenwich’s 55 councillors.
Only a small number of seats at Woolwich Town Hall typically switch allegiances at each election. But this time almost every ward is up for grabs to some degree, with rumours that Labour might forfeit its majority – a possibility that until lately seemed inconceivable.
The Greens are fielding candidates in every ward for the first time as they aim to expand on their present count of two councillors, while Reform UK is presenting a complete roster of hopefuls, up from merely seven in 2022.
Jeremy Corbyn’s embattled Your Party is making its first appearance in Greenwich politics, putting forward candidates in Plumstead & Glyndon and Woolwich Dockyard.
