2024 United Kingdom local elections

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2024 United Kingdom local elections
← 2023 2 May 2024 2025 →

local councillors for 107 unitary, metropolitan and district local councils in England
directly elected Mayor of London
all 25 members of the London Assembly
8 directly elected regional mayors in England
1 directly elected local council mayor in England
38 police and crime or police, fire, rescue, and crime commissioners in England and Wales
  Rishi Sunak Keir Starmer
Leader Rishi Sunak Keir Starmer
Party Conservative Labour
Leader since 24 October 2022 4 April 2020

  Ed Davey Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay
Leader Ed Davey Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay
Party Liberal Democrats Green
Leader since 27 August 2020[n 3] 1 October 2021

The 2024 United Kingdom local elections are due to take place on 2 May 2024. Elections will take place for councils and mayors in England and police and crime commissioners in England and Wales.

The majority of these elections were last held in the 2021 local elections, delayed by a year from 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background[edit]

Significance of these elections[edit]

When these elections were last held in 2021 the Conservative Party made significant gains, mainly at the expense of the Labour Party. Since then the Conservative Party has had several high-profile political scandals and crises and has seen a significant decrease in their popularity in opinion polling. This was reflected in the poor results for the Conservative Party at both the 2022 and 2023 local elections. As a result of the 2023 local elections, Labour became the party with most members elected to local government for the first time since 2002.[2]

These are to be the second set of local elections held under the Elections Act 2022, a voter identification law that was controversial,[3][4] meaning voters are required to show photo ID when attending a polling station. This also means that the mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections will use a first-past-the-post voting system rather than the previously used supplementary vote system.

Unless a general election is called beforehand, these local elections are to be the last set of routine elections before the next general election. For this reason the results are likely to significantly influence both the date the general election is scheduled for[5] and the election strategies for each party.

Some Conservatives suggested framing the London Mayoral election as a de facto referendum on the ULEZ,[6] which could have significant impacts on parties' attitudes towards environmental policy.

In late 2023 Labour suggested persistently high interest rates were going to cause a surge in mortgage costs affecting 630,000 homeowners who would remortgage between then and the local elections in May. They described the situation as a "financial timebomb" and implied this would influence the electorate in the elections.[7]

England[edit]

Metropolitan boroughs[edit]

There are thirty-six metropolitan boroughs, which are single-tier local authorities. Thirty 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 2024. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council holds its elections on a four-year cycle from 2016, so is also due to hold an election in 2024.

Due to boundary changes, some other councils which generally elect their councillors in thirds will elect all of their councillors in 2024.

Elections for all councillors[edit]

Council Seats Previous control Details
Dudley[a] 72 Conservative Details
North Tyneside[a][8] 60 Labour Details
Rotherham 59 Labour Details
All 3 councils 191

Elections for one third of councillors[edit]

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

Council Seats Party control Details
up of Previous
Barnsley 21 63 Labour Details
Bolton 20 60 No overall control (Labour minority) Details
Bradford 30 90 Labour Details
Bury 17 51 Labour Details
Calderdale 17 51 Labour Details
Coventry 18 54 Labour Details
Gateshead 22 66 Labour Details
Kirklees 23 69 Labour Details
Knowsley 15 45 Labour Details
Leeds 33 99 Labour Details
Manchester 32 96 Labour Details
Newcastle upon Tyne 26 78 Labour Details
Oldham 20 60 Labour Details
Rochdale 20 60 Labour Details
Salford 20 60 Labour Details
Sandwell 24 72 Labour Details
Sefton 22 66 Labour Details
Sheffield 28 84 No overall control Details
Solihull 17 51 Conservative Details
South Tyneside 18 54 Labour Details
Stockport 21 63 No overall control Details
Sunderland 25 75 Labour Details
Tameside 19 57 Labour Details
Trafford 21 63 Labour Details
Wakefield 21 63 Labour Details
Walsall 20 60 Conservative Details
Wigan 25 75 Labour Details
Wolverhampton 20 60 Labour Details
All 28 councils 615 1845

Unitary authorities[edit]

There are sixty-two unitary authorities, which are single-tier local authorities. Fifteen 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 2024. Two unitary authorities hold all-out elections on a four-year cycle that includes 2024, and the recently-established Dorset Council held its first election in 2019, with its next election in 2024 and subsequent elections every four years from 2029.

Elections for all councillors[edit]

Council Seats Previous control Details
Bristol 70 No overall control (Labour minority) Details
Dorset 82 Conservative Details
Warrington 58 Labour Details
Wokingham[a] 54 No overall control Details
All 4 councils 264

Elections for one third of councillors[edit]

Council Seats Party control Details
up of Previous
Blackburn with Darwen 17 51 Labour Details
Halton 18 54 Labour Details
Hartlepool 12 36 No overall control Details
Hull 19 57 Liberal Democrats Details
Milton Keynes 19 57 No overall control Details
North East Lincolnshire 15 42 Conservative Details
Peterborough 20 60 No overall control Details
Plymouth 19 57 Labour Details
Portsmouth 14 42 No overall control Details
Reading 16 48 Labour Details
Southampton 17 51 Labour Details
Southend-on-Sea 17 51 No overall control Details
Swindon 19 57 Labour Details
Thurrock 16 49 No overall control Details
All 14 councils 219 657

District councils[edit]

There are 164 district councils, which are the lower tier local authorities in a two-tier system, with county councils above them. Forty-eight elect their councillors in thirds and seven elect their councillors in halves. Three district councils elect all their councillors on a four-year cycle that includes 2024, with North Hertfordshire changing from the thirds system for the first time. Due to boundary changes, some other councils which usually elect their councillors in thirds or halves will elect all of their councillors in 2024.

Elections for all councillors[edit]

Council Seats Previous control Details
Basildon[a] 42 Conservative Details
Brentwood[a] 39 No overall control Details
Cannock Chase[a] 36 No overall control Details
Cheltenham[a] 40 Liberal Democrats Details
Epping Forest[a] 54 Conservative Details
Fareham[a] 32 Conservative Details
Gloucester 39 Conservative Details
Harlow[a] 33 Conservative Details
Havant[a] 36 Conservative Details
Maidstone[a] 49 No overall control Details
North Hertfordshire[a] 51 No overall control Details
Nuneaton and Bedworth[a] 38 Conservative Details
Redditch[a] 27 Conservative Details
Rossendale[a] 30 Labour Details
Stevenage[a] 39 Labour Details
Stroud 51 No overall control Details
Tandridge[a] 43 No overall control Details
Tunbridge Wells[a] 39 No overall control Details
Worcester[a] 35 No overall control Details
All 18 councils 753

Elections for half of councillors[edit]

Council Seats Party control Details
up of Previous
Adur 15 29 Conservative Details
Gosport 14 28 Liberal Democrats Details
Hastings 16 32 No overall control Details
Oxford 24 48 No overall control Details
All 4 councils 69 141

Elections for one third of councillors[edit]

Council Seats Party control Details
up of Previous
Basingstoke and Deane 18 54 No overall control Details
Broxbourne 10 30 Conservative Details
Burnley 15 45 No overall control Details
Cambridge 14 42 Labour Details
Castle Point 13 41 No overall control Details
Cherwell 16 48 No overall control Details
Chorley 14 42 Labour Details
Colchester 17 51 No overall control Details
Crawley 12 36 Labour Details
Eastleigh 13 39 Liberal Democrats Details
Elmbridge 16 48 No overall control Details
Exeter 13 39 Labour Details
Hart 11 33 No overall control Details
Hyndburn 12 35 No overall control Details
Ipswich 16 48 Labour Details
Lincoln 11 33 Labour Details
Mole Valley 13 39 Liberal Democrats Details
Norwich 13 39 No overall control Details
Pendle 12 33 No overall control Details
Preston 16 48 Labour Details
Reigate and Banstead 15 45 No overall control Details
Rochford 13 39 No overall control Details
Rugby 14 42 No overall control Details
Runnymede 13 41 No overall control Details
Rushmoor 13 39 Conservative Details
St Albans 18 56 Liberal Democrats Details
Tamworth 10 30 No overall control Details
Three Rivers 13 39 Liberal Democrats Details
Watford 12 36 Liberal Democrats Details
Welwyn Hatfield 16 48 No overall control Details
West Lancashire 15 45 Labour Details
West Oxfordshire 17 49 No overall control Details
Winchester 14 45 Liberal Democrats Details
Woking 10 30 Liberal Democrats Details
Worthing 13 37 Labour Details
All 36 councils 481 1444

London Assembly[edit]

Mayoral and council leader elections[edit]

Mayor of London[edit]

The mayor of London is up for election to a four-year term.

Combined authority mayors[edit]

Nine combined authority mayors will be up for election.

Combined authority Previous mayor Details
East Midlands New position Details
Greater Manchester Andy Burnham (Labour Co-op) Details
Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram (Lab) Details
North East[b] New position Details
South Yorkshire[9] Oliver Coppard (Labour Co-op) Details
Tees Valley Ben Houchen (Con) Details
West Midlands Andy Street (Con) Details
West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin (Labour Co-op) Details
York and North Yorkshire[10] New position Details

Single-authority mayors[edit]

One single-authority mayor will be up for election.

Local authority Previous mayor Details
Salford Paul Dennett (Lab) Details

Police and crime commissioner elections[edit]

All Police and Crime Commissioners (or Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner) in England are up for election.

Constabulary Previous PCC Details
Avon and Somerset Police Mark Shelford (Con) Details
Bedfordshire Police Festus Akinbusoye (Con) Details
Cambridgeshire Constabulary Darryl Preston (Con) Details
Cheshire Constabulary John Dwyer (Con) Details
Cleveland Police Steve Turner (Con) Details
Cumbria Constabulary Peter McCall (Con) Details
Derbyshire Constabulary Angelique Foster (Con) Details
Devon and Cornwall Police Alison Hernandez (Con) Details
Dorset Police David Sidwick (Ind) Details
Durham Constabulary Joy Allen (Lab) Details
Essex Police Roger Hirst (Con) Details
Gloucestershire Constabulary Chris Nelson (Con) Details
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary Donna Jones (Con) Details
Hertfordshire Constabulary David Lloyd (Con) Details
Humberside Police Jonathan Evison (Con) Details
Kent Police Matthew Scott (Con) Details
Lancashire Constabulary Andrew Snowden (Con) Details
Leicestershire Police Rupert Matthews (Con) Details
Lincolnshire Police Marc Jones (Con) Details
Merseyside Police Emily Spurrell (Lab) Details
Norfolk Constabulary Giles Orpen-Smellie (Con) Details
Northamptonshire Police Stephen Mold (Con) Details
Northumbria Police Kim McGuinness (Lab) Details
North Yorkshire Police Zoë Metcalfe (Con) Details
Nottinghamshire Police Caroline Henry (Con) Details
South Yorkshire Police Alan Billings (Lab) Details
Staffordshire Police Benedict Adams (Con) Details
Suffolk Constabulary Tim Passmore (Con) Details
Surrey Police Lisa Townsend (Con) Details
Sussex Police Katy Bourne (Con) Details
Thames Valley Police Matthew Barber (Con) Details
Warwickshire Police Philip Seccombe (Con) Details
West Mercia Police John Paul Campion (Con) Details
West Midlands Police Simon Foster (Lab) Details
Wiltshire Police Phillip Wilkinson (Con) Details

Wales[edit]

Police and crime commissioner elections[edit]

All four police and crime commissioners in Wales are up for election, to represent the four police force areas of Dyfed-Powys, Gwent, North Wales and South Wales.

Constabulary Previous PCC Details
Dyfed-Powys Police Dafydd Llywelyn (Plaid Cymru) Details
Gwent Police Jeffrey Cuthbert (Lab) Details
North Wales Police Andy Dunbobbin (Lab) Details
South Wales Police Alun Michael (Labour Co-op) Details

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ All vote shares in the infobox are projected national vote shares calculated by the BBC.
  2. ^ Swing figures are between the BBC national projected vote share extrapolation from 2023 local elections, and the BBC equivalent vote share projection from these local elections held in different areas.
  3. ^ Davey served as Acting Leader from 13 December 2019 to 27 August 2020 alongside the Party Presidents Baroness Sal Brinton and Mark Pack, following Jo Swinson's election defeat in the 2019 general election. Davey was elected Leader in August 2020.[1]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t New election boundaries
  2. ^ The North East Mayoral Combined Authority will replace both the non-mayoral North East Combined Authority and the North of Tyne Combined Authority, whose incumbent mayor is Jamie Driscoll

References[edit]

  1. ^ Stewart, Heather (27 August 2020). "'Wake up and smell the coffee': Ed Davey elected Lib Dem leader". The Guardian.
  2. ^ "Local elections 2023: Labour overtakes Conservatives as largest party of local government". Sky News. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  3. ^ Kerslake, Bob (6 April 2022). "With all eyes on Ukraine, the UK is quietly set to disenfranchise 2 million citizens". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Local elections 2023: Voters express anger at ID rule changes". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Adam Boulton: MPs returning to Westminster are already embroiled in a bitterly contentious campaign to election day". Sky News. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  6. ^ Hill, Dave (14 March 2023). "London Conservatives think out loud about how to beat Sadiq Khan". OnLondon. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  7. ^ Partington, Richard (2 November 2023). "Labour says 630,000 will be hit by surge in mortgage costs before 2024 elections". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  8. ^ LGBCE. "North Tyneside | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  9. ^ "South Yorkshire's Mayor to seek approval to become Police & Crime Commissioner". South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner. Sheffield. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  10. ^ Kenyon, Megan (1 February 2023). "Getting devolution deal was 'a roller-coaster', says North of Tyne mayor". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). Retrieved 12 May 2023.