2022 Somerset Council election

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2022 Somerset Council election
← 2017 5 May 2022 2026 →
All 110 seats of Somerset Council
56 seats needed for a majority
 
Leader David Fothergill Bill Revans Leigh Redman
Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Labour
Last election 35 seats, 47.0% 12 seats, 31.4% 3 seats, 9.3%
 
Party Independent Green
Last election 3 seats, 4.7% 2 seats, 4.7%
Incumbent council control


Conservative



The 2022 Somerset Council election is due to take place on 5 May 2022. It will be the inaugural election of the new unitary authority, Somerset Council, which will replace Somerset County Council on 1 April 2023. All 110 councillors will be elected, representing the same wards as the old county council, but with twice as many councillors representing each. The election will coincide with other local elections across the United Kingdom.

The council election was initially due to take place on 6 May 2021, but Robert Jenrick extended the terms of sitting councillors for a year pending a decision as to which unitarisation scheme would be taken forward: the county council had advocated the eventually successful proposal for a single unitary authority, while the district councils supported introducing two unitary councils.

Background[]

The Conservative governments of Theresa May and Boris Johnson undertook structural changes to local government in England that resulted in several county councils and their district councils being replaced by unitary authorities.[1] Somerset County Council first made plans for unitarisation in 2018.[2] The county council proposed a single unitary authority that would encompass all the districts, while the district councils proposed two unitary authorities representing the east and the west of the county.[3] Robert Jenrick, the minister responsible, approved the plan for a single council.[4][5]

Before the election, the Somerset County Council was led by an Conservative Party majority.

References[]

  1. ^ Bunn, Jon (2 October 2019). "Jenrick: 'no long-term future' for districts in devo push". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  2. ^ "REVEALED: Plans to scrap SIX Somerset councils in bid to save millions". Somerset County Gazette. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Unitary Somerset: 'Based on a giant lie' or 'the right way forward' for the county's future?". Somerset County Gazette. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Somerset councils to merge into single unitary authority". BBC News. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Next steps for new unitary councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset". GOV.UK. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
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