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The 2023 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday, 4 May 2023 in England and on Thursday 18 May 2023 in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. These included district councils,
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 directly elected mayors in England, and included all local councils in Northern Ireland. Notably, these elections were the first to be held under the
Elections Act 2022 The Elections Act 2022 (c. 37) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was introduced to the House of Commons in July 2021, and received royal assent on 28 April 2022. The act made photo identification compulsory for in-person vo ...
, a new
voter identification law A voter identification law is a law that requires a person to show some form of identification in order to vote. In some jurisdictions requiring photo IDs, voters who do not have photo ID often must have their identity verified by someone else ( ...
that required voters to show photo ID when attending a polling station, and was a cause for controversy. The elections in England saw significant losses for the governing Conservative Party, which lost over 1,000 council seats. The Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party of England and Wales all made gains, with Labour becoming the party with most members elected to local government for the first time since 2002. The Greens won majority control of
Mid Suffolk District Council Mid Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England. The district is primarily a rural area, containing just three towns, being Stowmarket, Needham Market and Eye. Its council was based in Needham Market until 2017 when it moved to sha ...
, the party's first ever council majority. In Northern Ireland,
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
emerged as the largest party in local government for the first time. These elections were also the first since the creation of Northern Ireland in which
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
candidates received more votes than unionists.


England


Background


Policy

These elections were to be the first under the new
voter identification laws A voter identification law is a law that requires a person to show some form of identification in order to vote. In some jurisdictions requiring photo IDs, voters who do not have photo ID often must have their identity verified by someone else ( ...
. This meant voters would be required to show photo identification when attending a polling station. These new laws were controversial and led to accusations of voter suppression. There were concerns that turnout would be extremely low at the elections due to a combination of lack of ID held by some voters, and many members of the public remaining unaware of the new requirements. The police had been alerted to the possibility of anger and confrontation over these new rules, and polling station staff had been trained to de-escalate situations. Since late 2021, the
cost of living crisis A cost-of-living crisis refers to a socioeconomic situation or period of high inflation where nominal wages have stagnated while there is a sharp increase in the cost of basic goods, such as food, housing, and energy. As a result, living standar ...
had been growing, leading to government support for help with bills. Changes to waste collection and recycling had been delayed by the Government until after the elections.


Narrative

A majority of the seats up for election were last elected in 2019. At those elections, the Conservative Party lost over a thousand seats and control of several councils while the Liberal Democrats managed to make the most gains at their expense. The Labour Party also lost seats and control of some councils at the 2019 local elections. In terms of seat numbers, this day of local elections was the biggest since 2019. Many
wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
had new boundaries. The year up to the 2023 elections included the
political crisis A cabinet crisis, government crisis or political crisis refers to a situation where an incumbent government is unable to form or function, is toppled through an uprising, or collapses. Political crises may correspond with, cause or be caused by an ...
leading to
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
's resignation, the market turbulence caused by the "mini-budget", and the subsequent credibility crisis leading to
Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth da ...
' resignation and
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
's appointment. The cost of living crisis and a surge in inflation were significant contributing factors to several strikes in the public sector, with high-profile strikes in the transport sector and the health service. There were also extensive strikes in the postal services, education sector and amongst the civil service. In mid-February 2023, Conservative member of the House of Lords, Lord Hayward, said that the strikes had popular support and were therefore damaging the government and party's chances in the local elections. He argued the strikes needed to stop in order to improve their chances. The Liberal Democrats had been utilising comments from senior Conservative MPs as part of their advertising in the so-called " blue wall" to draw attention to their undesirable and "toxic" opinions, such as support for the death penalty. The Labour Party had stated to the press that they want to use these local elections to prepare for the
2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...
. The
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
stood 3,331 candidates, 41% of all seats that were up for election, the most they had ever contested. Over half of the party's 536 total local council seats were to be defended at these elections. The Greens launched their national local elections campaign in
Stowmarket Stowmarket ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. o ...
,
Mid Suffolk Mid Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England. The district is primarily a rural area, containing just three towns, being Stowmarket, Needham Market and Eye. Its council was based in Needham Market until 2017 when it moved to sha ...
, where they were aiming to win majority control, which would be the first time the Greens had won a majority on any council. The Greens were said to have been aiming to win at least 100 new seats, with their appeal spreading to both left and right-wing voters due to dissatisfaction with the main two parties.


Predictions

The Conservatives had been performing poorly in national polls leading up to these elections. They had been more than 20 points behind the Labour party in national
opinion polling An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of que ...
, though the gap had been narrowing. Conservative party chair
Greg Hands Gregory William Hands (born 14 November 1965) is a British politician who served as Minister for London and Minister of State for Trade Policy from November 2023 to July 2024. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chelsea and Fulham, pre ...
MP publicly recognised that this election would be difficult for the party and referred to analysis that suggested they would lose more than 1,000 seats. This estimate was based on comments by British academics
Colin Rallings Colin Rallings is a British academic, Professor of Politics in the School of Sociology, Politics & Law at the University of Plymouth. Rallings’ first degree was in Politics and Modern History from the University of Manchester. Subsequently, he ...
and
Michael Thrasher Michael Thrasher is a British academic, Professor of Politics in the School of Sociology, Politics & Law at the University of Plymouth. He is also Sky News' election analyst. Thrasher was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire in 1953. he receive ...
, who said current polling would put conservative seat losses at around 1,000, while Labour would gain around 700 seats. President of the
British Polling Council The British Polling Council (BPC) is an association of market research companies whose opinion polls are regularly published or broadcast in media in the United Kingdom. The current President is Jane Green. The BPC was established in 2004, ...
Sir John Curtice had described the electorate as "increasingly sophisticated" in using tactical voting to defeat the Conservative party candidates. For this reason Sir
John Curtice Sir John Kevin Curtice (born 10 December 1953) is a British political scientist and professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde and senior research fellow at the National Centre for Social Research. He is particularly interested in ...
said the Conservative party could actually end up losing well over 1,000 seats if the tactical voting is a big factor, which director of polling company
Savanta Savanta is a market research consultancy based in London, England. Established in 2003 as Communicate Research Ltd, then ComRes, it was a founding member of the British Polling Council in 2004, and, by 2016, it was described one of the UK's "mos ...
, Chris Hopkins, agreed with. A website was created to inform voters how to vote to have the best chance to unseat the Conservatives in their local area, and it received publicity thanks to endorsements from several public figures.
Labour NEC The National Executive Committee (NEC) is the governing body of the UK Labour Party, setting the overall strategic direction of the party and policy development. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affilia ...
member
Luke Akehurst Luke Akehurst (born 2 March 1972) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Durham since 2024. He is also a Labour Party official, and a former councillor. Since 2020, Akehurst has been a membe ...
stated that he expected the party to make its best gains in seat numbers since 2012, when it gained 847 seats (next best being a net gain of 288 seats), but expected varied results in terms of council control.
Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
reported that
YouGov YouGov plc is a international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm headquartered in the UK with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. History 2000–2010 Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim ...
predictions were pointing towards Labour gains in the North and the Midlands. That same report showed that Conservative-controlled Swindon council looked set to switch control to Labour, and some other councils would move into Labour control from no overall control, or move to no overall control from Conservative.
East Cambridgeshire East Cambridgeshire (locally known as East Cambs) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in the cathedral city of Ely. The district also contains the towns of Littleport and Soham and surrounding rural a ...
was predicted to switch from Conservative control to Liberal Democrat. Sky News also reported that if the Conservatives only lost 500 seats they may feel "relatively unscathed"; if they lost 750 they could argue that Labour was not performing as well as the polls suggest, but over 1,000 seat losses would be "difficult to spin".


Campaigning

The Conservative Party launched its campaign on 24 March 2023 in
the Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefords ...
when
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
visited some local sites along with West Midlands Mayor
Andy Street Sir Andrew John Street CBE (born 11 June 1963) is a British businessman and Conservative Party politician who was the managing director of John Lewis from 2007 to 2016 and Mayor of the West Midlands from 2017 to 2024. He was Britain's first o ...
and local MPs. There was some confusion as to whether this had been the campaign launch, but Conservative headquarters later confirmed the launch had happened. The Liberal Democrats launched its campaign on 29 March 2023 in
Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the River Bulbourne, Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which ...
, Hertfordshire, when the party leader,
Ed Davey Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, leader of the Liberal Democrat party since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State ...
, drove a tractor into a ‘Blue Wall’ of hay bales. Labour launched its campaign on 30 March 2023 in
Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...
with speeches from
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
,
Angela Rayner Angela Rayner (' Bowen; born 28 March 1980) is a British politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government since 2024 United Kingdom general election, Jul ...
and
Rachel Reeves Rachel Jane Reeves (born 13 February 1979) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds West and Pudsey, formerly Leed ...
. The Green Party launched its campaign in early April 2023 in
Stowmarket Stowmarket ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. o ...
, Suffolk, with speeches from co-leaders Adrian Ramsay and Carla Denyer. On 31 March 2023, Rishi Sunak was photographed looking at a
pothole A pothole is a pot-shaped depression in a road surface, usually asphalt pavement, where traffic has removed broken pieces of the pavement. It is usually the result of water in the underlying soil structure and traffic passing over the affecte ...
in
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
to raise awareness of new powers to prevent potholes from forming and to help fix them. There were rumours that the Conservative Party would turn to Boris Johnson to help boost the parties chances by having him join the campaign trail. There had been earlier reports stating that the Conservative Party election leaflets and campaign material did not show pictures of Rishi Sunak, but instead showed images of Boris Johnson,
Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove, Baron Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician and journalist who served in various Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet positions under David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rish ...
and
Suella Braverman Sue-Ellen Cassiana "Suella" Braverman (; ''née'' Fernandes; born 3 April 1980) is a British politician and barrister who served as Home Secretary from 6 September 2022 to 19 October 2022, and again from 25 October 2022 to 13 November 2023. A ...
. Amid the campaign, Sunak was accused of a conflict of interest over his wife's shares in a childcare agency that benefits from the latest budget policy. This led to Sunak declaring his wife's shares as a financial interest on 19 April 2023. Whilst there is no fixed date for the pre-election period to begin, the UK government's guidance was that special care should be taken from 13 April 2023, three weeks before the election date in England. The Liberal Democrats called for an investigation into Sunak's alleged flouting of these rules by making a speech on his proposed "maths to 18" policy after this date, although a spokesperson for the government said the announcement was within the rules. A further distraction to the election campaign came in the form of the
Dominic Raab Dominic Rennie Raab ( ; born 25 February 1974) is a British former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor from September 2021 to September 2022 and again from October 2022 to ...
bullying scandal. In February 2023 Raab said he would quit if the government's independent ethics adviser, Adam Tolley KC, upheld the bullying claim against him. Sunak received the report on 20 April and Raab resigned the next day. The list of candidates put forward in strongly Tory-held
Bracknell Forest Council Bracknell Forest Council, also known as Bracknell Forest Borough Council, is the local authority for Bracknell Forest, a local government district with borough status in Berkshire, England. Since 1998, the council has been a unitary authority, be ...
led to local Labour and Liberal Democrat parties being accused of going against their national party leaderships by forming a ''de facto'' '
progressive alliance The Progressive Alliance (PA) is a political international of progressive and social democratic political parties and organisations founded on 22 May 2013 in Leipzig, Germany. The alliance was formed as an alternative to the existing Socia ...
' to defeat the Conservative candidates. The local parties denied this was planned and suggested a struggle for candidates and cash had led to the choices of which seats to challenge for. The Greens were also said to be involved in this arrangement; however, they only stood three candidates in the 2019 locals in Bracknell yet were standing seven in these elections, including in seats also contested by Labour or the Liberal Democrats.


Rishi Sunak attack ads

A month before the local elections, several attack ads were produced by Labour targeting
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
and the Conservative Party's record in government as a whole, focusing on issues such as crime, the economy, and health and social care. One of these ads featured the controversial claim that Sunak did not want child sex abusers to be jailed, which referred to the Conservatives' record on prosecuting child sex abusers. The figures covered the period starting in 2010 - five years before Sunak became an MP and 11 years before he became prime minister - and ending in 2022. Other attack ads accused Sunak of being soft on gun crime and suggesting thieves should not be punished, and another referred to Sunak's wife
Akshata Murty Akshata Narayana Murty (born 25 April 1980) is an Indian heiress, businesswoman, fashion designer, and venture capitalist. She is married to former prime minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak and is the daughter of N. R. Narayana Murthy, ...
and her previously held non-dom tax status. Labour's decision to target Sunak personally caused upset amongst current and former MPs from a wide range of parties, with Liberal Democrat leader
Ed Davey Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, leader of the Liberal Democrat party since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State ...
saying that parties "should not have personal attacks on other politicians". Senior Conservative MP
Tobias Ellwood Lieutenant Colonel Tobias Martin Ellwood (born 12 August 1966) is a former British Conservative Party politician and soldier who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bournemouth East from 2005 to 2024. He chaired the Defence Select ...
called the attack "appalling" and said politicians "should be better than this", while former Labour Home Secretary
David Blunkett David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, (born 6 June 1947) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Employment from 1997 to 2001, Home Secretary from 2001 to 2004 and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2005. ...
said it was "deeply offensive". Journalist
Andrew Marr Andrew William Stevenson Marr (born 31 July 1959) is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and presenter. Beginning his career as a political commentator at ''The Scotsman,'' he subsequently edited ''The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to ...
called the attack ads "disgraceful", saying "Attack ads are fundamental to politics. But the smear campaign against Rishi Sunak is a strategic and moral error." When asked about the controversial claim, Sunak said politicians should offer "less talk, more action". Starmer responded by backing the message "no matter how squeamish it might make some feel" by saying: "I make no apologies for highlighting the failures of this government. This argument that because they've changed the prime minister five times that somehow the PM doesn't bear responsibility for 13 years of grief for many people I just don't think stacks up."
Wes Streeting Wesley Paul William Streeting (; born 21 January 1983) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford ...
said it was "perfectly reasonable to challenge a Conservative prime minister on the abysmal failure of 13 years of Conservative government". In September 2023, another attack ad targeting Sunak was released, this time accusing him of not believing schools should be safe. The ad was released amid the government's investigation of the extent of problems with crumbling concrete, which effected dozens of schools.


Election day


Impact of voter ID requirement

''
ITV News ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British news television channel of ITV (TV network), ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. ITN, Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the netwo ...
'' reported that tellers had told them between 10 and 25% of voters in
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
were unable to cast their ballots due to the new measures. The chair of the
Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
was quoted as saying that "It appears that the government has designed a system which denies the prospect of sensible and co-ordinated information collection and makes it almost impossible to judge the true impact of the introduction of voter ID". ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported that some transgender electors were not being allowed to vote because their identity documents did not match their new name as recorded on the electoral roll. Disabled and clinically vulnerable voters were also turned away due to a requirement to remove face masks.


Results

The table below shows the results of these elections, along with the overall number of councillors in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
for each party following the elections.


Results analysis

The Labour Party achieved its largest lead in local elections over the Conservative Party since 1997. Its support recovered after a series of mediocre local election results over the previous few years; however, its
projected national share Projected National Share (PNS) is a statistic used in British politics. It refers to the translation of Local elections in the UK, local election results to reflect national party support in a future General elections in the uk, general election. ...
of the vote remained at 35%, the same as in 2022. The Conservative Party fell to 26% in the BBC
Projected National Share Projected National Share (PNS) is a statistic used in British politics. It refers to the translation of Local elections in the UK, local election results to reflect national party support in a future General elections in the uk, general election. ...
, its worst result ever in local elections, apart from
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
and
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
. The Liberal Democrats and Greens made significant gains in the
south of England Southern England, also known as the South of England or the South, is a sub-national part of England. Officially, it is made up of the southern, south-western and part of the eastern parts of England, consisting of the statistical regions of ...
, with some councils with safe Conservative seats at the parliamentary level voting for the opposition parties. The Liberal Democrats achieved their best result in local elections since the
Cameron–Clegg coalition The Cameron–Clegg coalition was formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg when Cameron was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government, following the resignation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, after the general el ...
in 2010 with a projected national vote share of 20%. The Greens achieved their best ever result in English local elections, winning majority control of a council for the first time.


Results by party


Conservative

These elections were the first local elections of the
Premiership of Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 25 October 2022 when he accepted an invitation from King Charles III to form a government, succeeding Liz Truss, and ended on 5 July 2024 upon his resignation. He is the fir ...
, and saw 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 ...
lose over 1,000 councillor seats, with major gains achieved by Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the Greens. Labour also overtook the Conservatives as holding the highest number of members elected to local government for the first time since
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
. The Conservatives did take two councils;
Torbay Council Torbay Council is the local authority for Torbay, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a count ...
in
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
Wyre Forest District Council Wyre may refer to: Places * Wyre, Orkney, an island in Scotland * Borough of Wyre, a local government district in Lancashire, England ** Wyre (UK Parliament constituency) * River Wyre, a river in Lancashire, England * Wyre Forest, a woodland in ...
in
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
.


Labour

Labour saw a net gain of 537 councillors and 22 councils. Labour became the party with most members elected to local government for the first time since
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
. The only council that Labour lost was
Slough Borough Council Slough Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Slough in Berkshire, England. Slough has had an elected council since 1863, which has been reformed several times. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a di ...
, where 16 Tory gains took the council into
no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...
, the first time in 15 years. Labour also retained
Leicester City Council Leicester City Council is the local authority for the city of Leicester, in the ceremonial county of Leicestershire, England. Leicester has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council ...
but lost 22 seats to the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens.


Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats saw considerable gains, gaining 407 councillors and winning control of 12 more councils. Gains were concentrated in the Blue wall.


Independents

Independents and residents associations were reported to have benefitted from voter disillusion. The
Canvey Island Independent Party The Canvey Island Independent Party (CIIP) is a local political party active on Canvey Island, in Essex, England. It was established in 2004 by Labour Party (UK), Labour councillor Dave Blackwell to campaign for a separate Non-metropolitan distric ...
gained increased seats on
Castle Point Borough Council A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
, despite the Council remaining under no overall control. The Boston District Independents won a majority on
Boston Borough Council Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...
. The
Ashfield Independents The Ashfield Independents are a political party in the Ashfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. Electoral history In 2017, the Ashfield Independents stood candidates in the Nottinghamshire County Council elections. They won five seats. ...
increased their majority by two seats on the Ashfield District Council, taking a seat each off of the Conservatives and Labour, for a total seat count of 32.


Green Party

The
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
gained over 240 councillors across England, and won majority control of
Mid Suffolk District Council Mid Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England. The district is primarily a rural area, containing just three towns, being Stowmarket, Needham Market and Eye. Its council was based in Needham Market until 2017 when it moved to sha ...
, the party's first ever council majority. Despite losing minority-control of
Brighton and Hove City Council Brighton and Hove City Council is the local authority for Brighton and Hove, a local government district with city status in the ceremonial county of East Sussex, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also per ...
to Labour, the Greens became the largest party on seven other councils:
East Hertfordshire District Council East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...
,
Lewes District Council Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the South Downs. A traditional market town ...
, Warwick, Babergh, East Suffolk, Forest of Dean and Folkestone & Hythe. 2023 saw the party's best ever results in a local election.


Other parties

Reform UK Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...
jointly nominated some of the winning
Reform Derby Reform Derby is a British political party based in Derby, Derbyshire. It was founded in 2020 by a group of five Brexit Party councillors on Derby City Council. Although it serves as the local affiliate of Reform UK, it is a separate entity. Hi ...
candidates who won 6 seats on
Derby City Council Derby City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Derby, in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire in the East Midlands region of England. Derby has had a council from medieval ...
. but failed to make a breakthrough with its own candidates on any other councils, averaging 6% of the vote in the wards where it stood. The
UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
lost all six seats it was defending. ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' reported that UKIP voters had flocked to Labour and independents. The
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
won four seats bringing their total to five. The
Yorkshire Party The Yorkshire Party is a regionalist political party in Yorkshire, a historic county of England. Founded in 2014, it campaigns for the establishment of a devolved Yorkshire Parliament within the United Kingdom, with powers over education, envir ...
won three seats in the
East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...
. The
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
won a second seat on
Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...
.


Metropolitan boroughs

There are thirty-six
metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...
s, which are single-tier local authorities. Thirty-three of them elect a third of their councillors every year for three years, with no election in each fourth year. These councils hold their elections on the same timetable, which includes elections in 2023. Due to boundary changes, seven councils which generally elect their councillors in thirds, will elect all of their councillors in 2023. They will then return to the thirds schedule. In 2021, the government appointed commissioners to oversee Liverpool City Council following an investigation into the mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson. In 2022, the government announced it would take greater control of the council. Liverpool was required to move to all-out elections from 2023 under new boundaries following a report by the government commissioner Max Caller. Wirral Council has also decided to move to all-out elections from 2023, on the existing ward boundaries.


Whole council


Third of council

By-elections or uncontested wards can cause the seats up for election to be above or below one third of the council.


Unitary councils


Whole council


Third of council


District councils

District councils are the lower tier of a two-tier system of local government, with several district councils covering the same area as a county council with different responsibilities.


Whole council


Third of council


Mayoral elections

The voting system for mayoral elections was
first-past-the-post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
- replacing the supplementary vote used for all previous mayoral elections.


Post-election vacancies

A number of seats remained vacant following the elections resulting in at least 24 post election vacancies: *
Bath and North East Somerset Council Bath and North East Somerset Council is the local authority for Bath and North East Somerset, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also pe ...
, Paulton ward, death of candidate. *
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, which styles itself BCP Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Th ...
, East Cliff and Springbourne ward, resignation of councillor five days after being elected due to health issues. *
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, also known as Dudley Council, is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England. The town of Dudley had been a borough since the thirteenth century, being reformed ...
, Cradley and Wollescote ward, death of councillor within a week of his re-election. *
South Derbyshire District Council South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
, Hilton ward, death of candidate. *
Southampton City Council Southampton City Council is the local authority of the city of Southampton in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southampton has had a council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council ...
, Coxford ward, death of candidate. *
Sunderland City Council Sunderland City Council is the local authority of City of Sunderland, Sunderland, a metropolitan borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. It is one of five such ...
, Hendon ward, death of candidate. * Surrey Heath Borough Council, Frimley Green ward, death of candidate. *
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is the Local government in England, local authority of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, which straddles the ceremonial county, ceremonial counties of County Durham and North Yorkshire in England. Since 1996 the co ...
, Hartburn ward, death of candidate. *
West Devon Borough Council West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
, Burrator Ward, death of candidate. *
Worcester City Council Worcester City Council is the local authority for Worcester, a non-metropolitan district with city status in Worcestershire, England. The council consists of 35 councillors, elected from 15 wards. History Worcester was an ancient borough whi ...
, Nunnery ward, death of councillor within a week of his re-election. *
Wyre Borough Council Wyre may refer to: Places * Wyre, Orkney, an island in Scotland * Borough of Wyre, a local government district in Lancashire, England ** Wyre (UK Parliament constituency) * River Wyre, a river in Lancashire, England * Wyre Forest, a woodland in ...
, Warren ward, death of candidate.


Opinion polling

Multiple polls were undertaken and published to ascertain voting intention ahead of the local elections.


Northern Ireland


References

;Footnotes ;Citations {{United Kingdom elections
Local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
Premiership of Rishi Sunak Keir Starmer Ed Davey