Community power.
Local voices.
Real change.
Lambeth is full of people who care deeply about where they live, but too many feel unheard, ignored, or locked out of decisions that shape their daily lives.
Shake It Up exists to change that.
Note: This website is under development and will be updated incrementally.
Please do revisit soon.
Know Someone Who Should Be a Councillor?
Nominate them, or step forward yourself, to stand as an independent.
We all want to live in a community where everyone is cared for and nobody is left behind. We want a local Council that listens to us and truly serves us.
Residents across Lambeth are coming together to co-create the borough we want Lambeth to be and we want you to join us.
Together we’re choosing local people to stand as independent councillors who truly represent us, building vibrant neighbourhood networks, and creating new ways for ordinary residents to hold power, not just at election time, but every day.
This is new.
It’s creative.
This is true local democracy.
In difficult times, doing nothing is the biggest risk of all.
What we’re doing
1. Listening to what matters to our neighbours across Lambeth.
We’re meeting as residents to talk about the local issues we care about, how we as a community can address them and what we expect from Lambeth councillors - the borough we want Lambeth to be.
2. Supporting community-chosen independent candidates
Local people are nominating and selecting candidates who live or work in their ward, accountable and committed to residents, not party headquarters. Know someone who’d be a great, honest local councillor? Nominate them, or yourself, via the link here.
3. Building a borough-wide community network
Connecting neighbourhood groups, charities, organisers, creatives and residents to make Lambeth stronger socially, culturally and economically.
4. Creating a Lambeth Community Assembly
A citizens’ assembly will be made up of residents selected by sortition (random selection) from all 25 wards, giving communities a real, ongoing voice to influence and challenge Lambeth Council after the local election. When things aren’t working the community will hold the council to account.
This is new.
This is creative.
This is Lambeth - by Lambeth, for Lambeth.
Why now?
In many Lambeth wards, councillors are elected on the votes of just 10–20% of residents.
Most people don’t vote, not because they don’t care, but because they don’t believe anything will change.
We believe they will vote for something genuinely different:
A local person, standing up for their ward, backed by their community.
Shake It Up is about breaking long-standing patterns of unresponsive, opaque local politics — and replacing them with transparency, accountability and participation.
How decisions are made
Shake It Up is run by a growing core team and borough-wide working groups covering campaigning, training, finance, legal and organising.
At the same time, ward teams have the freedom to shape their own local campaigns, responding to the issues people raise on doorsteps, at stalls and in meetings.
The principle is simple: Shared values, local autonomy, collective accountability.
Get involved
This only works if local people get involved. And it doesn’t take much.
To be in with a real chance of winning, we need around 20 people per ward, each giving just 2 hours a week to talk to neighbours, listen, and spread the word.
There are three easy ways to start:
Come to a meeting
Join our open weekly meetings to hear the latest, ask questions, and meet others getting involved.
Mondays, 6 pm – International House, Brixton. MAP
Nominate a candidate
Know someone who would make a brilliant independent councillor, or thinking about standing yourself?
You can nominate a local community champion from your ward.
Volunteer your time
From canvassing and organising to admin, comms and finance, there’s a role for everyone, whatever your skills or availability.
This is about people power, not party power.
It starts with showing up, working together, and believing that Lambeth can do politics differently.