Keith Prince

Keith Anthony Prince (born September 1958) is a consultant and Conservative Party politician. Formerly a Havering councillor and leader of Redbridge Council, since 2016 he has been Assembly Member for Havering and Redbridge Constituency.

Born in Elm Park, Prince subsequently lived in Romford until he was 28. In 1990 he was elected to Havering London Borough Council as one of two Conservative councillors representing Gidea Park Ward, Romford. At the next borough council elections in 1994 he lost his seat when both were won by Residents Association candidates. In 1998 he tried to return to Havering Council at the two-member Oldchurch Ward, Romford. The ward had been held by the Labour Party, but they were defeated by the Liberal Democrats, and the Conservatives took fifth and sixth place.

It took until 2006 for Prince to return to local government. Having been resident in Ilford for many years, he was elected to Redbridge London Borough Council as one of three councillors for Barkingside Ward. In March 2009 Prince became leader of the Conservative-controlled council. He held the seat by a greatly-reduced margin in the 2010 election, and the Conservatives lost their majority on the council, forming a joint administration with the Liberal Democrats. Prince continued as leader of the council until the 2014 elections when the Labour Party gained a majority on the council for the first time since its creation in 1965. Prince held his own council seat by less than 200 votes, but resigned as leader of the Conservative group.

In September 2015 Prince was chosen as Conservative candidate to defend the Havering and Redbridge Constituency at the 2016 London Assembly election. In the event he was elected, with a margin of less than one percent.