The 2009 United Kingdom local elections were elections held to all 27

County Councils A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county council (New South Wales), co ...

, three existing

Unitary Authorities A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

and five new Unitary Authorities, all in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, on 4 June 2009. The elections were due to be held on 7 May 2009, but were delayed in order to coincide with elections to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. The elections resulted in significant gains for the Conservatives. The party won

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

from Labour, as well as

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

from the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats did however win a majority in Bristol. Despite the optimism for the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

in seat and council gains, their share of the vote at 38% was 6% down on 2008. That said, they had a clear 10% lead over the Liberal Democrats who achieved a respectable second place on 28%. This is the last Local Elections until 2024 where the Liberal Democrats polled in 2nd place Labour, taking the blame in government from a worsening economic climate, soaring

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

and the expenses scandal, lost all of its councils, with some authorities being swept clear of any Labour councillors at all. The party also performed poorly in the European elections on the same day.

Summary of results

Source
BBC News
''Isles of Scilly Council not included in the above figures.''

County councils

All 27 English

were up for election. All seats on the councils were contested at this election.

Unitary authorities

Existing authorities

New authorities

Elections were held for five new unitary authorities. All councillors were elected at this election.

Isles of Scilly

The Council of the Isles of Scilly was created by the

Local Government Act 1888 The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect ...

, meaning they lie outside the classifications of authorities used in the rest of England.

Mayoral elections

A mayoral election was also due to be held in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

, however voters in the city voted to abolish the directly elected mayor system in a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

held in October 2008. The referendum decided to replace the mayor and executive system with a council leader and cabinet system of local government.

References

External links

Elections 2009
BBC News
Elections 2009: Councils A-Z
BBC News {{United Kingdom local elections, 2009 2009 elections in the United Kingdom Premiership of Gordon Brown David Cameron Nick Clegg Impacts of the Iraq War