Political Make-up Of Local Councils In The United Kingdom
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This article documents the strengths of political parties in the 333 local authorities of England, 32
local authorities of Scotland Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as councils. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive the majori ...
, 22 principal councils of Wales and 11 local councils of Northern Ireland. England's 333 local authorities are made up of: 32
London borough councils The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at t ...
, 24
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. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
and 181 district councils (two tiers of local government which share responsibility for the same physical area), 36 metropolitan district councils and 58
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 ...
, plus the ''sui generis''
City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
and
Council of the Isles of Scilly The Council of the Isles of Scilly is a ''sui generis'' unitary local government authority covering the Isles of Scilly off the west coast of Cornwall. It is currently made up of 16 seats, with all councillors being independents. The council w ...
. This article does not cover the
Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym "City Hall", is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London. It consists of two political branches: the executive Mayoralty (currently led by Sadiq Khan) and the ...
or the 10 combined authorities of England (and their respective mayors). It also doesn't cover the 35 police and crime commissioners or the four police, fire and crime commissioners in England and Wales. And it also doesn't include the thousands of parish/local councils of England,
community councils A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory Parish councils in England, parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may ...
of Scotland and
community councils A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory Parish councils in England, parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may ...
of Wales. English local authorities have a choice of executive arrangements out of a mayor and cabinet executive, a leader and cabinet executive, a committee system or alternative arrangements approved by the Secretary of State. Councils in England and Northern Ireland run on four year cycles, while councils in Scotland and, from 2022, in Wales run on five year cycles. An English local authority's councillors may be elected all at once, by halves or by thirds. Because of this disparate system, various local elections take place every year, but changes in party representation arise frequently regardless due to resignations, deaths, by-elections, co-options and changes of affiliation.


Summary

''Last full update: 22 June 2022''


Political control of the Local Government in England

The table below shows who has political control of each of the 24 non-metropolitan county councils (NMC), the 58
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 ...
(UA), the 36
metropolitan districts Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...
(MD), the 32
London boroughs The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at t ...
(LB) as well as the two
sui generis ''Sui generis'' ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind", "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". A number of disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. These include: * Biology, for species that do not fit in ...
entities: the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
(CL) and the
Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...
(IS). In total, 152 local government councils. The table differentiates between councils fully controlled by one party and others where a certain party leads a coalition that governs the council. All parties apart from the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
(CON),
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
(LAB) and Liberal Democrats (LDM); as well as independents, are grouped in the category: OTHER.


England: London borough councils

''Last full update: 22 June 2022''


England: two-tier county and district councils


County councils

''Last full update: 6 June 2022''


District councils

''Last full update: 11 June 2022''


England: metropolitan district councils

''Last full update: 22 June 2022''


England: unitary authorities

''Last full update: 22 June 2022''


England: ''sui generis'' councils

''Last full update: 22 June 2022''


Scotland

All 32 Scottish
Councils A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
had all their seats up for election by
Single Transferable Vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
in May 2022. Elections are on a five-year cycle and are next due in May 2027. Only two mainland councils are controlled by majority administrations: Dundee and West Dumbartonshire, who are controlled by Scottish Labour and the
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, PĂ rtaidh NĂ iseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...
, respectively. The three island councils (Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles) are each controlled by local independents. Political control may be held by minority governments (min), coalitions (co), joint leadership arrangements (j.l.) or partnership working arrangements (p.w.). ''Last update 6 May 2022.''


Wales

All 22 Welsh unitary authorities had all of their seats up for election in May 2022, and the next elections are expected in May 2027. ''Last update 9 June 2022.''


Northern Ireland

Elections were held for 11 newly created councils in Northern Ireland in May 2014, and May 2019, and on a four-year cycle after that, with the next scheduled to be held in May 2023. All seats are filled at once by Single Transferable vote within district electoral areas of 5 to 7 wards. The councils have ceremonial mayors elected by council members. Uniquely in the UK, vacancies are filled by co-option by whichever party won the seat at the previous election. ''Last update 25 November 2022.''


See also

* List of political parties in the United Kingdom by representation *
Local government in the United Kingdom Local government in the United Kingdom has origins that pre-date the United Kingdom itself, as each of the four countries of the United Kingdom has its own separate system. For an overview, see Administrative geography of the United Kingdom. For de ...
**
Local government in England Local government in England broadly consists of three layers: regional authorities, local authorities and parish councils. Legislation concerning English local government is passed by Parliament, as England does not have a devolved parliament. Th ...
**
History of local government in England The history of local government in England is one of gradual change and evolution since the Middle Ages. England has never possessed a formal written constitution, with the result that modern administration (and the judicial system) is based on ...
**
Local government in Scotland Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as councils. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive the major ...
**
Local government in Wales Since 1 April 1996, Wales has been divided into 22 single-tier principal areas ( cy, Awdurdodau unedol), styled as counties or county boroughs ( or ) for local government purposes. The elected councils of these areas are responsible for the ...
**
Local government in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is divided into 11 districts for local government purposes. In Northern Ireland, local councils do not carry out the same range of functions as those in the rest of the United Kingdom; for example they have no responsibility f ...


References

{{United Kingdom elections Local government in the United Kingdom Political parties in the United Kingdom United Kingdom politics-related lists