The 1995 United Kingdom local elections took place on 4 May 1995. The Conservative Party lost over 2,000

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s in the election, while the Labour Party won 48% of the vote, a record high for the party in local elections. The elections were the first to be contested under Labour's new leadership of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, who had been elected the previous year following the sudden death of his predecessor John Smith. This was also the first election of 22 Welsh and 14 English

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governme ...

, creating shadow authorities which ran in parallel with existing councils until taking power in April 1996, except for the new

Isle of Wight Council The Isle of Wight Council is a unitary authority covering the Isle of Wight, an island in the south of England. It is currently made up of 39 seats. Since the 2021 election, there has been an 'Alliance' coalition administration of Independents, ...

which took power immediately.

England

Metropolitan boroughs

All 36 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.

Unitary authorities

These were the first elections to the first 14 unitary authorities established by the Local Government Commission for England (1992). They acted as "shadow authorities" until 1 April 1996. ‡ New ward boundaries from predecessor authorities

District councils

Whole council

In 167 districts the whole council was up for election. These were the last elections to the district councils of Blackpool, Bournemouth,

Bracknell Forest Bracknell Forest is a unitary authority area in Berkshire, southern England. It covers the two towns of Bracknell and Sandhurst and the village of Crowthorne and also includes the areas of North Ascot, Warfield and Winkfield. The borough bor ...

, Darlington, Leicester,

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

, Newbury,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, Plymouth, Poole, Rutland,

The Wrekin The Wrekin is a hill in east Shropshire, England. It is located some five miles (8 km) west of Telford, on the border between the unitary authorities of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. Rising above the Shropshire Plain to a height of 4 ...

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

and

Windsor and Maidenhead The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a Royal Borough of Berkshire, in South East England. It is named after both the towns of Maidenhead and Windsor, the borough also covers the nearby towns of Ascot and Eton. It is home to Windsor ...

before they were made

by the Local Government Commission for England (1992). These were also the last elections to the district councils of

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th c ...

and

Rochester-upon-Medway Rochester-upon-Medway was a local government district in north Kent, England from 1974 to 1998. It covered Rochester, Chatham, Luton, Lordswood, Walderslade, Strood and the Hoo Peninsula. The district was formed as the District of Medway under t ...

before they were abolished and replaced by

by the Local Government Commission for England (1992).

Third of council

In 107 districts one third of the council was up for election. These were the last elections to the district councils of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, Milton Keynes,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, Stoke-on-Trent and Thamesdown before they were made

by the Local Government Commission for England (1992). These were also the last elections to the district council of Brighton before it was abolished and replaced by a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

by the Local Government Commission for England (1992).

Scotland

These were the first elections to the 29 council areas established by the

Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current local government structure of 32 unitary authorities covering the whole of Scotland. It abolished the two-tie ...

. †Council was renamed shortly after election.

Wales

These were the first elections to the 22 principal areas established by the

Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the Local Government Act 1972 to create the current local government structure in Wales of 22 unitary authority areas, referred to as ...

. †Council was renamed shortly after election.

References

The local elections of 4 May 1995. House of Commons Library Research Paper 95/59. (Includes appendix in Scottish local elections of 6 April 1995).Vote 1999 BBC NewsVote 2000 BBC News
{{United Kingdom elections

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

Local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...