2019 United Kingdom local elections

2019 United Kingdom local elections

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248 councils in England
6 directly elected mayors in England
All 11 councils in Northern Ireland
  First party Second party Third party
  Vince Cable
Leader Theresa May Jeremy Corbyn Vince Cable
Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats
Leader since 11 July 2016 12 September 2015 20 July 2017
Last election 5,521 seats
163 councils
2,278 seats
74 councils
702 seats
4 councils
Popular vote 28% 28% 19%
Swing Decrease7pp Decrease7pp Increase3pp
Councils 93 84 18
Councils +/– Decrease44 Decrease6 Increase10
Councillors 3,564 2,021 1,351
Councillors +/– Decrease1,330 Decrease84 Increase704

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Jonathan Bartley and Siân Berry Arlene Foster Michelle O'Neill
Party Green DUP Sinn Féin
Leader since 4 September 2018 17 September 2015 10 February 2018
Last election 87 seats
Seats before 130 105
Seats won 273 122 105
Seat change Increase 198 Decrease 8 Steady

Map showing council control in England and largest parties by council in Northern Ireland following the election. Areas of England in pale cream did not hold an election, those in light grey are other parts of the United Kingdom which also did not hold elections. Black indicates a council in no overall control; all councils in Northern Ireland are in no overall control.

Map showing the party with the most votes by ward.

The 2019 United Kingdom local elections took place on Thursday 2 May 2019, with 248 English local councils, six directly elected mayors in England, and all 11 local councils in Northern Ireland being contested.

A total of 8,886 councillors were elected: terms were up for 8,861 seats, but eight elections for a total of 14 seats were postponed due to the death of a candidate; there were also casual vacancies to be filled: 38 in England (including on nine councils with no other elections) and one on Dundee City Council in Scotland.

With the exception of areas whose electoral cycle has temporarily changed (due to a boundary review) or permanently changed, or that have been reorganised, the seats up for election in England were last contested in the 2015 local elections, on the same day as the general election of that year. The seats in Northern Ireland were last regularly contested in 2014.

The biggest winners were the Liberal Democrats, who gained 704 seats to make a total of 1,351 councillors. The biggest losers were the Conservative Party down 1,333 from their previous total to 3,561 seats. Labour also lost seats, down by 84 to 2,021 seats. The Green Party gained 194 seats for a total of 265 seats. UKIP lost 145 seats, having only 31 councillors elected.

Voters

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) who were aged 18 or over on the day of the election were entitled to vote in the local elections.

A person with two homes (such as a university student having a term-time address and living at home during holidays) could register to vote at both addresses as long as the addresses are not in the same electoral area, and can vote in the local elections for the two different local councils.

Ten local authorities in England required voters to provide identification as part of trial schemes.

Background

A majority of the councils up for election in this year were last elected in 2015, the same day as the general election. The result of the 2018 local elections saw the collapse of the United Kingdom Independence Party's vote, largely to the benefit of the Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats made gains in 2018; David Cutts, a professor of political science at the University of Birmingham, argued that the 2019 elections would be more a test of their relevance as the elections were in old strongholds of theirs.

In the run-up to the elections, Facebook announced that they would only allow political adverts from authenticated accounts. The government also funded a grant scheme for disabled candidates to participate, funding 60 candidates.

Brexit dominated UK politics leading up to the local elections. In March, there was a demonstration in London, the Put it to the People March, in favour of a second referendum on EU membership, with an attendance reported to be between several hundred thousand and over one million. In addition, an online petition calling for revocation of the UK's withdrawal notification under Article 50 TEU reached over 6 million signatures, becoming the fastest signed petition ever in the UK. On 29 March thousands of pro-Brexit marchers demonstrated in Parliament Square in London. Though the UK was set to leave the European Union on 29 March, this was initially delayed till 12 April, then was further delayed to 31 October. Because of this longer extension, the UK participated within elections to the European Parliament in order to avoid a no-deal scenario on 1 June.

In April, protests in London around Parliament Square and Westminster organised by the environmental pressure group Extinction Rebellion took place, in which activist blocked roads, bridges and glued themselves to public buildings. A total of 1,130 people were arrested during the demonstrations.

Vince Cable, leader of the Liberal Democrats, announced on 14 March that he would be stepping down from that role, with a new leadership election to be held after the May local elections. There has been pressure within the Conservative party on prime minister Theresa May to resign following the local elections, triggering a new leadership election.

Campaigning

The Conservatives stood candidates in 96% of the available seats, Labour contested 77%, the Liberal Democrats 53%, the Green Party of England and Wales 30% and UKIP 16%.

8,530 / 8,886 (96%)
6,842 / 8,886 (77%)
4,710 / 8,886 (53%)
2,666 / 8,886 (30%)
1,422 / 8,886 (16%)

Seats contested by party, Politics Home

According to the Electoral Reform Society, there were 148 councillors who were elected unopposed, largely Conservatives. New parties the Brexit Party and Change UK, although both standing in European elections later in the month, did not stand in the local elections. Chuka Umunna, Change UK's spokesperson, recommended voters support anti-Brexit parties like the Liberal Democrats or Greens. Leave.EU encouraged people to spoil their ballot paper in protest at delays in Brexit.

Nationally, Labour organised their campaign on raising awareness of the impact of the austerity programme by the Conservative-led government on local councils, which led subsequently to higher council tax and reduced local services. As an effect of cuts to council budgets, council spending per person has fallen 30% since 2010. The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, commented that the economic policies of Preston City Council, where Labour took control of the council in 2011, were a model that he wanted other Labour councils to follow. Their changes saw the public procurement budget rise significantly, unemployment decrease and quality of life improve. Labour sought to avoid talking about Brexit, but internal rows over their Brexit policy continued to create headlines.

Similarly, the Conservatives focused their campaign away from Brexit and instead on efficient local services, low council tax and green credentials. This detraction from Brexit, however, was quite difficult. Internal party sources voiced a negative outlook on the success of these elections, with the deputy chair of the party saying it was an opportunity for voters to protest against the party's handling of the Brexit negotiations. ConservativeHome interviewed ten Conservative councillors about how the campaigning had gone across the country and found a negative attitude. Defence secretary Gavin Williamson was sacked the day before the elections, which was predicted to be unhelpful for the Conservative campaign.

There were isolated incidents of politically motivated violence during the election campaign. There were a few cases of councillors, from the Labour and Conservative parties, being assaulted whilst campaigning. A currently unknown assailant fired shots at the home of a Labour councillor in Sheffield. Homes with Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green signs were damaged in Lewes, and a Liberal Democrat candidate's car was attacked and painted with swastikas in Faversham.


Results

England

Party Councillors Councils Votes[citation needed] Projected national
equivalent
Number Change Number Change Number Share
Conservative 3,564 Decrease1,330 93 Decrease44 2,985,959 31.4% 28%
Labour 2,021 Decrease84 60 Decrease6 2,531,907 26.6% 28%
Liberal Democrats 1,351 Increase704 18 Increase10 1,602,042 16.8% 19%
Green 265 Increase194 0 Steady 878,485 9.2% 25%
UKIP 31 Decrease145 0 Steady 430,455 4.5%
RA 119 Increase49 2 Increase1 1,080,328 11.4%
Health Concern 8 Increase6 0 Steady
Liberal 7 Increase1 0 Steady
Independent and minor parties 1,045 Increase606 2 Increase2
No overall control 73 Increase37

Final results

The Conservatives lost control of 44 councils and more than 1,300 council seats. It was the worst Conservative local election performance since 1995, when the party lost more than 2,000 seats. Labour, despite topping national polls, lost 6 councils and more than 80 seats.

Parties supporting remaining in the EU performed well. The Liberal Democrats made the most gains of any party, while the Greens also picked up seats with the largest percentage growth. This election was the largest rise in Green council seat gains in 20 years. There was also a significant increase in the number of independent and local party councillors, with their number of seats more than doubling. Similarly, in Northern Ireland, Alliance (the Lib Dems' sister party), some smaller parties and independents also made significant gains.

The elections were marked by a number of spoiled ballots expressing anger toward the Brexit stances of the Conservative and Labour parties. In the voter ID trial areas an average of 102 voters in each pilot area failed to vote due to not having the required documentation, compared with 70 per pilot area in 2018.

Analysis

Leading up to the election, journalists had noted the Conservatives' had performed well when these council seats had last been elected in the 2015 local elections due to those elections coinciding with the 2015 general election, where the party made gains. Defending those gains was predicted to be difficult, and when combined with Theresa May's struggle to deliver on Brexit, various sources predicted a loss of between 500 and 1000 seats for the Conservatives. Conservative peer Lord Robert Hayward projected that his party would lose at least 800 seats, with 500 to go to the Liberal Democrats and 300 to Labour.

The BBC and other analysts calculated projected national vote shares from these local election results. These projections aim to assess what the council results indicate the UK-wide vote would be if the results were repeated at a general election. The BBC's estimate put Labour and the Conservatives on 28% (both down 7% from the local elections the previous year), the Liberal Democrats on 18% (up 2%) and all other parties combined on 25%.

Sir John Curtice, who calculated the BBC's national projected vote share, commented that the rise of smaller parties and in particular the independents showed a dissatisfaction with the party system presently. Additionally, Curtice noted how the Green party benefited from recent climate protests across the country.

Some argued that the Conservatives had set their expectations so low so that the perceived significance of their losses was reduced. Media reports described the results as poor for both Labour and the Conservatives, with many noting decline of Labour representation in some leave areas. It was also regarded as a disappointing result for Labour because of expectations that they would make gains.

Will Jennings, a professor at the University of Southampton analysed ward-level data and found little correlation between Labour's decline and the level of Brexit support in a ward. Labour made both gains and loses in areas that both voted to leave and remain in the 2016 referendum. Jennings instead noted the results better fit the transition in British politics at that time; where large cities, areas with high student populations, and professionals were moving towards Labour, whilst deindustrialised towns were moving towards the Conservatives.

Simon Briscoe, statistician and director of The Data Analysis Bureau, was critical of the idea that the Liberal Democrats had experienced a surge on the scale that commentators described. He instead attributed their gains to a much lower turnout when compared to the 2015 local elections. An example of this is that any swings in vote share towards the Liberal Democrats masked the fact that the number of votes for them hadn't changed significantly from 2015.

Martin Baxter, the creator of the political analytics website Electoral Calculus, suggested that the election data indicated that the next general election could produce a Labour-Scottish Nationalist coalition government.

England

In England, council elections were held in 33 metropolitan boroughs, 168 of the second-tier districts, and 47 of the unitary authorities, as well as for six directly elected mayoral posts. 248 of the 343 English local councils held elections, with the exception of eight unitary authorities, the Isles of Scilly, the 26 counties, 24 non-metropolitan districts and boroughs, three metropolitan boroughs, the 32 London boroughs and the City of London. 8,399 seats were up for election (but elections are postponed for 14), with a further 38 casual vacancies to be filled, so 8,423 councillors were elected. Elections also took place for most English parish councils.

By-elections were held for seven county council seats (in Cambridgeshire, Cumbria, Gloucestershire, Kent (two seats), Surrey and West Sussex) and for two seats in the London Borough of Lewisham. Other casual vacancies to be filled (variously by by-election or multiple vacancy election) are indicated in the tables below by a superscript addition (+n).

Metropolitan boroughs

In 33 of the 36 English metropolitan borough councils, one-third of their seats were up for election. Elections were not held in Birmingham, Doncaster or Rotherham.

Council Seats Previous control Result
up of
Barnsley 21 63 Labour Labour
Bolton 20 60 Labour No overall control (Conservative minority with Lib Dem/UKIP/Independent support)
Bradford 30 90 Labour Labour
Bury 17 51 Labour Labour
Calderdale 17 51 No overall control (Labour minority with Lib Dem support) Labour
Coventry 18 54 Labour Labour
Dudley 24 72 No overall control (Labour minority with Independent support) No overall control (Conservative minority)
Gateshead 22 66 Labour Labour
Kirklees 23 69 Labour Labour
Knowsley 15 45 Labour Labour
Leeds 33 99 Labour Labour
Liverpool 30 90 Labour Labour
Manchester 32+1 96 Labour Labour
Newcastle upon Tyne 26+1 78 Labour Labour
North Tyneside 20 60 Labour Labour
Oldham 20 60 Labour Labour
Rochdale 20 60 Labour Labour
Salford* 19 60 Labour Labour
Sandwell 24 72 Labour Labour
Sefton 22+1 66 Labour Labour
Sheffield 28 84 Labour Labour
Solihull 17 51 Conservative Conservative
South Tyneside 18+1 54 Labour Labour
St Helens 16 48 Labour Labour
Stockport 21 63 No overall control (Labour minority) No overall control (Labour minority)
Sunderland 25+1 75 Labour Labour
Tameside 19 57 Labour Labour
Trafford 21 63 No overall control (Labour minority with Lib Dem support) Labour
Wakefield 21 63 Labour Labour
Walsall 20 60 No overall control (Conservative minority) Conservative
Wigan 25 75 Labour Labour
Wirral 22 66 Labour No overall control (Labour minority)
Wolverhampton 20+2 60 Labour Labour
All 33 councils 726+7 2,181
  1. ^ The election for the Salford City Council ward of Walkden South (1 councillor) was postponed as a result of the death of Conservative candidate George Darlington, following a stroke on 26 April 2019. The election was held on 20 June 2019 and resulted in Labour gaining the seat from the Conservatives. – [1]. salford.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2019.

Unitary authorities

Elections took place in 47 of the 55 unitary authorities. No elections took place in Bristol, Cornwall, the Isle of Wight, Shropshire, Warrington or Wiltshire.

By-elections took place in Durham (2 seats) and Northumberland, in addition to those indicated below.

Whole council

In 30 English unitary authorities the whole council was up for election.

Unitary authorities for Bournemouth and Poole had merged with Christchurch district council to form one new unitary for the eastern portion of Dorset. An additional unitary authority replaced the remaining portion of Dorset County Council’s area and the district councils of North, West and East Dorset, Weymouth and Portland and Purbeck. Both authorities had their inaugural elections in May, and their predecessor authorities were all Conservative controlled except for Weymouth and Portland, which is in no overall control. Nine other unitary authorities were elected on new ward boundaries.

Council Seats Previous control Result

Bath and North East Somerset

59 Conservative Liberal Democrats

Bedford

40 No overall control (Labour/Lib Dem coalition) No overall control (Labour/Lib Dem/Independent coalition)

Blackpool

42 Labour Labour

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole*

76 New council (predecessor authorities were all Conservative) No overall control (Lib Dem/Green/Labour/Independent coalition)
Bracknell Forest 42 Conservative Conservative
Brighton and Hove 54 No overall control (Labour minority) No overall control (Labour minority)
Central Bedfordshire 59 Conservative Conservative
Cheshire East 82 Conservative No overall control (Labour/Independent coalition)
Cheshire West and Chester 70 Labour No overall control (Labour minority)
Darlington 50 Labour No overall control (Conservative minority with Lib Dem/Independent support)
Dorset* 82 New council (all predecessors were Conservative except Weymouth and Portland) Conservative
East Riding of Yorkshire 67 Conservative Conservative
Herefordshire 52 of 53 Conservative No overall control (Independent/It's Our County/Green coalition)
Leicester 54 Labour Labour
Luton 48 Labour Labour
Medway 55 Conservative Conservative
Middlesbrough 46 Labour No overall control
North Lincolnshire 43 Conservative Conservative
North Somerset 50 Conservative No overall control (Independent/Green/Lib Dem/Labour coalition)
Nottingham 55 Labour Labour
Redcar and Cleveland 59 No overall control (Labour minority) No overall control (Independent/Lib Dem coalition)
Rutland 27 Conservative Conservative
South Gloucestershire 61 Conservative Conservative
Stockton-on-Tees 56 Labour No overall control (Labour minority)
Stoke-on-Trent 44 No overall control (City Independents/Conservative coalition) No overall control (City Independents/Conservative coalition)
Telford and Wrekin 54 Labour Labour
Torbay 36 Conservative No overall control (Lib Dem/Independent partnership)
West Berkshire 43 Conservative Conservative
Windsor & Maidenhead 41 Conservative Conservative
York 47 No overall control (Conservative/Lib Dem coalition) No overall control (Lib Dem/Green Coalition)
All 30 councils 1,594 of 1,595
* New council (2)
New ward boundaries following an authority area boundary review (9)
  1. ^ Herefordshire: the election in Ross North ward (1 councillor) has been postponed to 6 June following the death of UKIP candidate Gareth Williams. https://localcouncils.co.uk/2019/04/quit-the-elder/

Third of council

In 17 English unitary authorities one third of the council is up for election.

Council Seats Previous control Result
up of
Blackburn with Darwen 17 51 Labour Labour
Derby 17 51 No overall control (Conservative minority with UKIP/Lib Dem support) No overall control (Conservative minority with UKIP/Lib Dem support)
Halton 19 56 Labour Labour
Hartlepool 11 33 Labour No overall control (Independent/Conservative coalition)
Hull 19 57 Labour Labour
Milton Keynes 19 57 No overall control (Labour minority with Lib Dem support) No overall control (Labour minority with Lib Dem support)
North East Lincolnshire 15+1 42 No overall control (Labour minority with Lib Dem support) Conservative
Peterborough 20 60 Conservative No overall control (Conservative minority with Independent support)
Plymouth 19 57 Labour Labour
Portsmouth 14+1 42 No overall control (Lib Dem minority with Labour support) No overall control (Lib Dem minority with Labour support)
Reading 15+1 46 Labour Labour
Slough 14 42 Labour Labour
Southampton 16 48 Labour Labour
Southend-on-Sea 17 51 Conservative No overall control (Labour/Lib Dem/Independent coalition)
Swindon 19 57 Conservative Conservative
Thurrock 16+1 49 No overall control (Conservative minority) No overall control (Conservative minority)
Wokingham 18 54 Conservative Conservative
All 17 councils 285+4 853

Non-metropolitan districts

Elections took place in 168 non-metropolitan districts.

The new districts of Somerset West and Taunton, East Suffolk and West Suffolk held their first elections in 2019. They replace Taunton Deane, West Somerset, Waveney, Suffolk Coastal, Forest Heath, and St Edmundsbury.

Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, Corby, Daventry, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, Northampton, South Bucks, South Northamptonshire, Wellingborough and Wycombe originally had elections scheduled for 2019, but the elections were postponed in law following a decision to merge these councils into unitary authorities covering Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.

Additionally, there were no elections in Adur, Cheltenham, Fareham, Gloucester, Gosport, Harrogate, Hastings, Huntingdonshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Oxford, South Cambridgeshire or Stroud.

A by-election was held in Newcastle-under-Lyme, in addition to those indicated below.

Whole council

In 121 English district authorities the whole council was up for election.

46 of these councils were electing on new ward boundaries, including six councils which normally elect by thirds: Carlisle, Crawley, Norwich, Preston, Reigate and Banstead and Runnymede. In addition, Great Yarmouth and Wyre Forest switched from thirds to whole council elections.

Council Seats Previous control County Result
Allerdale 49 No overall control (Labour minority) Cumbria No overall control (Independent/Conservative coalition)
Arun 54 Conservative West Sussex No overall control (Lib Dem minority)
Ashfield 35 No overall control (Ashfield Independents minority) Nottinghamshire Ashfield Ind.
Ashford 47 Conservative Kent Conservative
Babergh 32 Conservative Suffolk No overall control (Conservative/Independent/Lib Dem coalition)
Barrow-in-Furness 36 Labour Cumbria Labour
Bassetlaw 48 Labour Nottinghamshire Labour
Blaby 39 Conservative Leicestershire Conservative
Bolsover 37 Labour Derbyshire No overall control (Labour/Independent coalition)
Boston 30 Conservative Lincolnshire Conservative
Braintree 49 Conservative Essex Conservative
Breckland 49 Conservative Norfolk Conservative
Broadland 47 Conservative Norfolk Conservative
Bromsgrove 31 Conservative Worcestershire Conservative
Broxtowe 42 of 44 Conservative Nottinghamshire No overall control (Labour/Lib Dem/Independent coalition)
Canterbury 39 Conservative Kent Conservative
Carlisle ‡! 39 No overall control (Labour minority) Cumbria No overall control (Conservative minority with UKIP/Lib Dem/Independent support)
Charnwood 52 Conservative Leicestershire Conservative
Chelmsford 57 Conservative Essex Liberal Democrats
Chesterfield 48 Labour Derbyshire Labour
Chichester 36 Conservative West Sussex No overall control (Conservative minority)
Copeland 33 Labour Cumbria Labour
Cotswold 34 Conservative Gloucestershire Liberal Democrats
Crawley ‡! 36 Labour West Sussex Labour
Dacorum 51 Conservative Hertfordshire Conservative
Dartford 42 Conservative Kent Conservative
Derbyshire Dales 39 Conservative Derbyshire Conservative
Dover 32 Conservative Kent Conservative
Eastbourne 27 Liberal Democrats East Sussex Liberal Democrats
East Cambridgeshire 28 Conservative Cambridgeshire Conservative
East Devon 60 Conservative Devon Independent
East Hampshire 43 Conservative Hampshire Conservative
East Hertfordshire 50 Conservative Hertfordshire Conservative
East Lindsey 55 Conservative Lincolnshire Conservative
East Staffordshire 39 Conservative Staffordshire Conservative
East Suffolk * 55 New Council (both predecessor districts were Conservative) Suffolk Conservative
Eden 38 Conservative Cumbria No overall control (Lib Dem/Independent coalition with Green/Labour support)
Epsom and Ewell 38 Residents Association Surrey Residents Association
Erewash 47 Conservative Derbyshire Conservative
Fenland 39 Conservative Cambridgeshire Conservative
Folkestone & Hythe 30 Conservative Kent No overall control (Conservative minority with UKIP/Independent support)
Forest of Dean 35 of 38 No overall control (Conservative minority) Gloucestershire No overall control (Independent/Green/Labour coalition)
Fylde 51 Conservative Lancashire Conservative
Gedling 41 Labour Nottinghamshire Labour
Gravesham 44 No overall control (Gravesham Independents minority) Kent Labour
Great Yarmouth 39 Conservative Norfolk Conservative
Guildford 48 Conservative Surrey No overall control (Lib Dem minority)
Hambleton 28 Conservative North Yorkshire Conservative
Harborough 34 Conservative Leicestershire Conservative
Hertsmere 39 Conservative Hertfordshire Conservative
High Peak 43 Conservative Derbyshire Labour
Hinckley and Bosworth 34 Conservative Leicestershire Liberal Democrats
Horsham 48 Conservative West Sussex Conservative
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 55 Conservative Norfolk Conservative
Lancaster 60 Labour Lancashire No overall control (Labour/Green coalition with Lib Dem support)
Lewes 41 No overall control East Sussex No overall control (Conservative minority)
Lichfield 47 Conservative Staffordshire Conservative
Maldon 31 Conservative Essex Conservative
Malvern Hills 38 Conservative Worcestershire No overall control (Independent/Lib Dem/Green coalition)
Mansfield 36 No overall control (Mansfield Independent Forum minority) Nottinghamshire Mansfield Independent
Melton 28 Conservative Leicestershire Conservative
Mendip 47 Conservative Somerset No overall control (Lib Dem minority)
Mid Devon 42 Conservative Devon No overall control (Independent/Lib Dem coalition)
Mid Suffolk 34 Conservative Suffolk No overall control (Conservative minority)
Mid Sussex 54 Conservative West Sussex Conservative
New Forest 60 Conservative Hampshire Conservative
Newark and Sherwood 39 Conservative Nottinghamshire Conservative
North Devon 41 of 42 No overall control (Conservative minority) Devon Liberal Democrats
North East Derbyshire 53 Labour Derbyshire Conservative
North Kesteven 43 Conservative Lincolnshire No overall control (Conservative/Independent coalition)
North Norfolk 40 No overall control Norfolk Liberal Democrats
North Warwickshire 35 Conservative Warwickshire Conservative
North West Leicestershire 38 Conservative Leicestershire Conservative
Norwich ‡! 39 Labour Norfolk Labour
Oadby and Wigston 26 Liberal Democrats Leicestershire Liberal Democrats
Preston ‡! 48 Labour Lancashire Labour
Reigate and Banstead ‡! 45 Conservative Surrey Conservative
Ribble Valley 40 Conservative Lancashire Conservative
Richmondshire 24 Conservative North Yorkshire No overall control (Independent/Lib Dem/Green coalition)
Rother 38 Conservative East Sussex No overall control (Independent/Lib Dem/Labour/Green coalition)
Runnymede ‡! 41 Conservative Surrey Conservative
Rushcliffe 44 Conservative Nottinghamshire Conservative
Ryedale 30 No overall control (Conservative minority) North Yorkshire No overall control (Conservative/Independent coalition)
Scarborough 46 No overall control (Conservative minority) North Yorkshire No overall control (Labour minority)
Sedgemoor 48 Conservative Somerset Conservative
Selby 31 Conservative North Yorkshire Conservative
Sevenoaks 54 Conservative Kent Conservative
Somerset West and Taunton * 59 New Council (both predecessor districts were Conservative) Somerset Liberal Democrats
South Derbyshire 36 Conservative Derbyshire Conservative
South Hams 31 Conservative Devon Conservative
South Holland 37 Conservative Lincolnshire Conservative
South Kesteven 56 Conservative Lincolnshire Conservative
South Norfolk 46 Conservative Norfolk Conservative
South Oxfordshire 36 Conservative Oxfordshire No overall control (Lib Dem/Green coalition)
South Ribble 48 of 50 Conservative Lancashire No overall control (Labour minority with Lib Dem support)
South Somerset 60 Liberal Democrats Somerset Liberal Democrats
South Staffordshire 47 of 49 Conservative Staffordshire Conservative
Spelthorne 39 Conservative Surrey Conservative
Stafford 40 Conservative Staffordshire Conservative
Staffordshire Moorlands 56 Conservative Staffordshire No overall control (Conservative minority)
Stratford-on-Avon 36 Conservative Warwickshire Conservative
Surrey Heath 35 Conservative Surrey Conservative
Swale 47 Conservative Kent No overall control (Labour/Independent/Lib Dem/Green coalition)
Teignbridge 47 Conservative Devon Liberal Democrats
Tendring 46 of 48 Conservative Essex No overall control (Conservative minority with UKIP/Independent support)
Test Valley 43 Conservative Hampshire Conservative
Tewkesbury 38 Conservative Gloucestershire Conservative
Thanet 56 No overall control Kent No overall control (Conservative minority)
Tonbridge and Malling 54 Conservative Kent Conservative
Torridge 36 Conservative Devon No overall control (Independent minority)
Uttlesford 39 Conservative Essex R4U
Vale of White Horse 38 Conservative Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats
Warwick 44 Conservative Warwickshire No overall control (Conservative minority with Residents Association support)
Waverley 57 Conservative Surrey No overall control (Lib Dem/Residents Association coalition)
Wealden 45 Conservative East Sussex Conservative
West Devon 31 Conservative Devon Conservative
West Lindsey 36 Conservative Lincolnshire Conservative
West Suffolk * 64 New Council (both predecessor districts were Conservative) Suffolk Conservative
Wychavon 45 Conservative Worcestershire Conservative
Wyre 50 Conservative Lancashire Conservative
Wyre Forest 33 Conservative Worcestershire No overall control (Independent/Lib Dem/Labour/Green coalition)
All 121 councils 5,123 of 5,135
* New council (3)
Minor ward boundary changes due to parish boundary changes (4)
New ward boundaries following a district boundary review (42)
! Returns to electing by thirds next year (6)
Previously elected by thirds (2)
  1. ^ Broxtowe: Due to the death of Conservative candidate Chris Rice, the election in Stapleford South East ward (2 councillors) has been postponed. https://localcouncils.co.uk/2019/04/have-a-happy-halliday/
  2. ^ Forest of Dean: Newent & Taynton: election of 3 councillors delayed due to the death of a candidate. – Local Councils, 1 May 2019. https://twitter.com/councilsUK/status/1123716880274001920. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  3. ^ North Devon: the election in Chittlehampton ward (1 councillor) has been postponed due to the death of independent candidate Walter White. https://localcouncils.co.uk/2019/04/have-a-happy-halliday/
  4. ^ South Ribble: Farington West: election of 2 councillors delayed due to the death of a candidate. – Local Councils, 1 May 2019. https://twitter.com/councilsUK/status/1123716880274001920. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  5. ^ South Staffordshire: the election in Wombourne South West ward (2 councillors) has been postponed to 6 June due to the death of Conservative candidate Mary Bond. https://localcouncils.co.uk/2019/04/have-a-happy-halliday/
  6. ^ Tendring: the election in St Osyth ward (2 councillors) has been postponed to 23 May following the death of Conservative candidate Anita Bailey. https://www.halsteadgazette.co.uk/news/north_essex_news/17564047.tributes-paid-to-dedicated-parish-councillor/

Third of council

In 47 English district authorities, one-third of the council is up for election.

Seven other district councils normally elect by thirds. As noted above, due to boundary changes, six of these have all-up elections. Daventry originally had elections scheduled for 2019, but the elections were postponed following a decision to merge the seven districts of Northamptonshire into two unitary authorities covering the county from 2020.

Council Seats Previous control County Result
up of
Amber Valley 15 45 Conservative Derbyshire Labour
Basildon 14 42 Conservative Essex No overall control (Conservative minority with UKIP support)
Basingstoke and Deane 20 60 Conservative Hampshire Conservative
Brentwood 12 37 Conservative Essex Conservative
Broxbourne 10+1 30 Conservative Hertfordshire Conservative
Burnley 15 45 Labour Lancashire No overall control (Independent/Lib Dem/Conservative coalition with UKIP/Green support)
Cambridge 14+2 42 Labour Cambridgeshire Labour
Cannock Chase 15 41 Labour Staffordshire No overall control (Labour minority)
Castle Point 14 41 Conservative Essex Conservative
Cherwell 16+1 48 Conservative Oxfordshire Conservative
Chorley 15 47 Labour Lancashire Labour
Colchester 17 51 No overall control (Lib Dem/Labour/Independent Coalition) Essex No overall control (Lib Dem/Labour/Independent Coalition)
Craven 10+1 30 Conservative North Yorkshire No overall control
Eastleigh 13 39 Liberal Democrats Hampshire Liberal Democrats
Elmbridge 16 48 No overall control (Conservative minority) Surrey No overall control (Lib Dem/Residents Association coalition)
Epping Forest 18 58 Conservative Essex Conservative
Exeter 13+1 39 Labour Devon Labour
Harlow 11 33 Labour Essex Labour
Hart 11+1 33 No overall control Hampshire No overall control
Havant 10+1 38 Conservative Hampshire Conservative
Hyndburn 12 35 Labour Lancashire Labour
Ipswich 16 48 Labour Suffolk Labour
Lincoln 11 33 Labour Lincolnshire Labour
Maidstone 18 55 No overall control (Lib Dem minority with Independent support) Kent No overall control (Lib Dem minority with Independent/Labour support)
Mole Valley 14 41 Conservative Surrey Liberal Democrats
North Hertfordshire 16 49 Conservative Hertfordshire No overall control (Labour/Lib Dem Coalition)
Pendle 17 49 Conservative Lancashire No overall control (Labour/Lib Dem coalition)
Redditch 10 29 Conservative Worcestershire Conservative
Rochford 13 39 Conservative Essex Conservative
Rossendale 12 36 Labour Lancashire Labour
Rugby 14 42 Conservative Warwickshire Conservative
Rushmoor 13 39 Conservative Hampshire Conservative
St Albans 20+1 58 Conservative Hertfordshire No overall control (Liberal Democrat minority with Green/Independent support)
South Lakeland 16 51 Liberal Democrats Cumbria Liberal Democrats
Stevenage 13 39 Labour Hertfordshire Labour
Tamworth 10 30 Conservative Staffordshire Conservative
Tandridge 14 42 Conservative Surrey No overall control (Conservative minority)
Three Rivers 13+1 39 Liberal Democrats Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats
Tunbridge Wells 16+2 48 Conservative Kent Conservative
Watford 12+1 36 Liberal Democrats Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats
Welwyn Hatfield 16+2 48 Conservative Hertfordshire No overall control (Conservative minority)
West Lancashire 18 54 Labour Lancashire Labour
West Oxfordshire 16 49 Conservative Oxfordshire Conservative
Winchester 16 45 Conservative Hampshire Liberal Democrats
Woking 10 30 No overall control Surrey No overall control (Conservative minority)
Worcester 11 35 No overall control Worcestershire No overall control (Conservative/Labour coalition)
Worthing 11 37 Conservative West Sussex Conservative
All 47 councils 657+15 1,983

Mayoral elections

Six direct mayoral elections were held. Five are for local authorities (the Mayoralty of Torbay is abolished this year):

Local Authority Incumbent Mayor Result
Bedford Dave Hodgson (Lib Dem) Dave Hodgson (Lib Dem)
Copeland Mike Starkie (Ind) Mike Starkie (Ind)
Leicester Peter Soulsby (Lab) Peter Soulsby (Lab)
Mansfield Kate Allsop (MIF) Andy Abrahams (Lab)
Middlesbrough Dave Budd (Lab) Andy Preston (Ind)

One election was held for a regional mayor: this newly established combined authority was set up by groups of local councils, much like similar devolution deals across the country, giving the combined authorities additional powers and funding.

Combined authority Interim mayor/chair Result Details
North of Tyne Norma Redfearn (Lab) Jamie Driscoll (Lab) Details

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, local elections were last held in 2014. No party held a working majority on any council (proportional representation makes this less likely) before the 2019 election, although the Democratic Unionist Party came close on Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, with half of the seats.

The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland published lists and total numbers of candidates Archived 14 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, showing that a total of 819 persons were nominated to stand. Elections are by single transferable vote in 5- to 7-member district electoral areas.

Council Seats Largest party
before election
Largest party
after election
Belfast 60 Sinn Féin (19) Sinn Féin (18)
Ards & North Down 40 DUP (17) DUP (14)
Antrim & Newtownabbey 40 DUP (15) DUP (14)
Lisburn & Castlereagh 40 DUP (20) DUP (15)
Newry, Mourne & Down 41 Sinn Féin (14) Sinn Féin (16)
SDLP (14)  
Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon 41 DUP (13) DUP (11)
Mid & East Antrim 40 DUP (16) DUP (15)
Causeway Coast & Glens 40 DUP (11) DUP (14)
Mid Ulster 40 Sinn Féin (18) Sinn Féin (17)
Derry & Strabane 40 Sinn Féin (16) Sinn Féin (11)
  SDLP (11)
Fermanagh & Omagh 40 Sinn Féin (17) Sinn Féin (15)
All eleven councils 462 DUP (130) DUP (122)

Scotland

The council by-election in Scotland (seat previously Labour) was won by the Scottish National Party, resulting in the party taking control of Dundee City Council.


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