2022 United Kingdom local elections

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2022 United Kingdom local elections
← 2021 5 May 2022 2023 →
  • 146 unitary, metropolitan, county, district and London councils in England
  • 32 councils in Scotland
  • 22 councils in Wales
  • 7 directly elected mayors in England
  • + Referendum to abolish Bristol Mayor
  • 90 members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
  Boris Johnson election infobox.jpg Official portrait of Keir Starmer crop 2.jpg Official portrait of Rt Hon Sir Edward Davey MP crop 2.jpg
Leader Boris Johnson Keir Starmer Ed Davey
Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats
  Nicola Sturgeon election infobox 3.jpg Adam Price 2016 (cropped).jpg Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay.jpg
Leader Nicola Sturgeon Adam Price Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay
Party SNP Plaid Cymru Green

Local elections in the United Kingdom will be held on 5 May 2022. These will include elections for all London borough councils, and for all local authorities in Wales and Scotland. Most seats in England were last up for election in 2018 and in Scotland and Wales in 2017.

England[]

Background[]

Most seats in England up for election in 2022 were last elected in 2018. The exceptions are local authorities which have undergone recent boundary reviews. In the 2018 local elections, Labour made gains in London at the expense of the Conservatives and the Conservatives made gains in the rest of England at the expense of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). Few councils changed overall control.[1] Overall, UKIP lost 237 of the 243 seats it had held before the elections.[2] According to the BBC's analysis, the results reflected a national political situation with Labour and the Conservatives "neck-and-neck".[3]

County councils[]

County councils are elected in full every four years, with the last election having been in 2021. County councils are the upper tier of a two-tier system of local government, with the area each council covers subdivided into district councils with different responsibilities. These are first-past-the-post elections with a mixture of single-member and multi-member electoral divisions. All county councils were due to be elected in 2021. However, due to consultations about possible unitarisation, elections for three county councils were postponed to 2022.[4] The government has announced plans to replace the councils with unitary authorities pending Parliamentary approval.[5] Council elections will go ahead in May for the county councils: if unitarisation goes ahead in 2023, elected councillors will have served for one year as county councillors followed by four years as councillors on the unitary authority without needing to seek re-election.[6]

Council Seats Previous control Details
Cumbria 84 No overall control (Labour/Lib Dem coalition) Details
North Yorkshire 72 Conservative Details
Somerset 55 Conservative Details
3 councils 211

London boroughs[]

Main article: 2022 London local elections

Elections for all councillors in all thirty-two London boroughs will be held in 2022 in line with their normal election schedule. All twenty-five London borough councils which have not had a boundary review since before 2013 will be elected based on new boundaries.[7] The last elections to London borough councils were held in 2018, which saw Labour win its second-best result in any London election and the Conservatives return their lowest-ever number of councillors in the capital. In 2018, Labour won control of Tower Hamlets council which had previously been under no overall control, but did not gain control of Barnet, Wandsworth or Westminster councils, which the party had targeted. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats gained control of Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames borough councils from the Conservatives.[8]

Council Seats Previous control Details
Barking and Dagenham 51[a] Labour Details
Barnet 63[a] Conservative Details
Bexley 45 Conservative Details
Brent 57[a] Labour Details
Bromley 58[a] Conservative Details
Camden 55[a] Labour Details
Croydon 70 Labour Details
Ealing 70[a] Labour Details
Enfield 63[a] Labour Details
Greenwich 55[a] Labour Details
Hackney 57 Labour Details
Hammersmith and Fulham 50[a] Labour Details
Haringey 57[a] Labour Details
Harrow 55[a] Labour Details
Havering 55[a] No overall control (Conservative/Ind coalition) Details
Hillingdon 53[a] Conservative Details
Hounslow 62[a] Labour Details
Islington 51[a] Labour Details
Kensington and Chelsea 50 Conservative Details
Kingston upon Thames 48[a] Liberal Democrats Details
Lambeth 63[b][9] Labour Details
Lewisham 54[a] Labour Details
Merton 57[a] Labour Details
Newham 66[a] Labour Details
Redbridge 63 Labour Details
Richmond upon Thames 54[a] Liberal Democrats Details
Southwark 63 Labour Details
Sutton 55[a] Liberal Democrats Details
Tower Hamlets 45 Labour Details
Waltham Forest 60[a] Labour Details
Wandsworth 58[a] Conservative Details
Westminster 54[a] Conservative Details
All 32 councils 1,817

Metropolitan boroughs[]

There are thirty-six metropolitan boroughs, 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 2022. Birmingham City Council holds its elections on a four-year cycle from 2018, so is also due to hold an election in 2022.

Due to boundary changes, three councils which elect their councillors in thirds will elect all of their councillors in 2022. They will then return to the thirds schedule, apart from St Helens Council, which is moving to all-out elections every four years starting in 2022. Several other boundary reviews have been delayed to 2023 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The scheduled elections in Liverpool in 2022 have been cancelled and instead the city is expected to move to all-out elections from 2023 on new ward boundaries.[10]

Elections for all councillors[]

Council Seats Previous control Details
Birmingham 101 Labour Details
Bury 51[a] Labour
Rochdale 60[a] Labour
St Helens 48[a] Labour
4 councils 260

Election for one third of councillors[]

Council Seats Previous control Details
up of
Barnsley 21 63 Labour
Bolton 20 60 No overall control (Conservative minority)
Bradford 30 90 Labour
Calderdale 17 51 Labour
Coventry 18 54 Labour
Dudley 24 72 Conservative
Gateshead 22 66 Labour
Kirklees 23 69 No overall control (Labour minority)
Knowsley 15 45 Labour
Leeds 33 99 Labour
Manchester 32 96 Labour Details
Newcastle upon Tyne 26 78 Labour
North Tyneside 20 60 Labour
Oldham 20 60 Labour
Salford 20 60 Labour
Sandwell 24 72 Labour
Sefton 22 66 Labour
Sheffield 28 84 No overall control (Labour/Green coalition)
Solihull 17 51 Conservative
South Tyneside 18 54 Labour
Stockport 21 63 No overall control (Labour minority)
Sunderland 25 75 Labour
Tameside 19 57 Labour
Trafford 21 63 Labour
Wakefield 21 63 Labour
Walsall 20 60 Conservative
Wigan 25 75 Labour
Wirral 22 66 No overall control (Labour minority)
Wolverhampton 20 60 Labour
29 councils 644 1,932

District councils[]

Election for all councillors[]

Some councils which elect all their councillors every four years will do so in 2022. Gosport usually elects its councillors in halves, but all seats will be up for election due to new election boundaries. St. Albans usually elects by thirds but all seats are up on new boundaries.

Council Seats Previous control Details
Gosport 28[a] Conservative
Harrogate[c] 40 Conservative
Huntingdonshire 52 Conservative
Newcastle-under-Lyme 44 Conservative
South Cambridgeshire 45 Liberal Democrats
St. Albans 56[a] Liberal Democrats
6 councils 265

Election for half of councillors[]

District councils which elect their candidates in halves will do so in 2022.

Council Seats Previous control Details
up of
Adur 14 29 Conservative
Cheltenham 20 40 Liberal Democrats
Fareham 16 31 Conservative
Hastings 16 32 Labour
Nuneaton and Bedworth 17 34 Conservative
Oxford 24 48 Labour
6 councils 107 214

Election for one third of councillors[]

District councils which elect by thirds that will hold elections in 2022.

Council Seats Previous control Details
up of
Amber Valley 15 45 Conservative
Basildon 14 42 Conservative
Basingstoke and Deane 18 54 Conservative
Brentwood 13 37 Conservative
Broxbourne 10 30 Conservative
Burnley 15 45 No overall control (Labour/Lib Dem coalition)
Cambridge 14 42 Labour
Cannock Chase 13 41 Conservative
Castle Point 14 41 Conservative
Cherwell 16 48 Conservative
Chorley 14 42 Labour
Colchester 17 51 No overall control (Conservative/independent coalition)
Crawley 12 36 No overall control (Labour/independent coalition)
Eastleigh 14 39 Liberal Democrats
Elmbridge 16 48 No overall control (Lib Dem/Residents Association coalition)
Epping Forest 19 58 Conservative
Exeter 13 39 Labour
Harlow 11 33 Conservative
Hart 11 33 No overall control (Lib Dem/Community Campaign Hart coalition)
Havant 14 38 Conservative
Hyndburn 11 35 Labour Details
Ipswich 16 48 Labour
Lincoln 11 33 Labour
Maidstone 18 55 Conservative Details
Mole Valley 14 41 Liberal Democrats
North Hertfordshire 18 49 No overall control (Labour/Lib Dem coalition)
Norwich 13 39 Labour
Pendle 10 33 Conservative
Preston 16 48 Labour
Redditch 10 29 Conservative
Reigate and Banstead 15 45 Conservative
Rochford 13 39 Conservative
Rossendale 12 36 No overall control (Labour minority)
Rugby 14 42 Conservative
Runnymede 14 41 Conservative
Rushmoor 13 39 Conservative
Stevenage 13 39 Labour
Tamworth 10 30 Conservative
Tandridge 14 42 No overall control (Independent/Residents Association coalition)
Three Rivers 13 39 Liberal Democrats
Tunbridge Wells 16 48 No overall control (Conservative minority)
Watford 12 36 Liberal Democrats
Welwyn Hatfield 16 48 Conservative
West Lancashire 18 54 No overall control (Labour minority)
West Oxfordshire 16 49 Conservative
Winchester 15 45 Liberal Democrats
Woking 10 30 No overall control (Conservative minority)
Worcester 12 35 Conservative
Worthing 13 37 No overall control (Conservative minority)
49 councils 679 2,026

Unitary authorities[]

Election for all councillors[]

Reading Borough Council will have all its councillors elected on new ward boundaries.

Council Seats Previous control Details
Reading 48[a] Labour

Election for one third of councillors[]

Unitary authorities that elect councillors in thirds will do so in 2022.

Council Seats Previous control Details
up of
Blackburn with Darwen 17 51 Labour
Derby 17 51 No overall control (Conservative minority)
Halton 18 54 Labour
Hartlepool 12 36 No overall control (Independent/Conservative coalition)
Hull 19 57 Labour
Milton Keynes 19 57 No overall control (Labour/Lib Dem coalition)
North East Lincolnshire 15 42 Conservative
Peterborough 18 60 No overall control (Conservative minority)
Plymouth 19 57 No overall control (Conservative minority)
Portsmouth 14 42 No overall control (Lib Dem minority)
Slough 14 42 Labour
Southampton 16 48 Conservative
Southend 17 51 No overall control (Labour/Independent/Lib Dem coalition)
Swindon 19 57 Conservative
Thurrock 16 49 Conservative
Wokingham 18 54 Conservative
16 councils 264 808

City of London Corporation[]

Main article: 2022 City of London Corporation election

The Court of Common Council is the main decision-making body of the City of London Corporation, which governs the City of London. The 100 councillors are elected across twenty-five wards. Elections were due on 18 March 2021, but as a result of the coronavirus pandemic were delayed to 23 March 2022.[11][12]

After 2017 election Before 2022 election
Party Seats Party Seats
Independent 85 Independent 84
Temple and Farringdon Together 10 Temple and Farringdon Together 10
Labour 5 Labour 6

Mayors[]

There will be six local authority mayoral elections and one metropolitan mayoral election.

Combined authorities[]

Combined authority Mayor before Details
South Yorkshire Dan Jarvis (Lab) Details

Local authorities[]

Council Mayor before
Croydon Vacant
Hackney Philip Glanville (Lab)
Lewisham Damien Egan (Lab)
Newham Rokhsana Fiaz (Lab)
Tower Hamlets John Biggs (Lab)
Watford Peter Taylor (Lib Dem)

There will also be a Referendum in Bristol to abolish the mayor of Bristol position.

Northern Ireland[]

Northern Ireland Assembly[]

Main article: 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election

The next election to the Northern Ireland Assembly will be held on or before 5 May 2022.

After 2017 election Before 2022 election
Party Seats Party Seats
DUP 28 DUP 26
Sinn Féin 27 Sinn Féin 26
SDLP 12 SDLP 12
UUP 10 UUP 10
Alliance 8 Alliance 7
Green (NI) 2 Ind U 3
TUV 1 Green (NI) 2
People Before Profit 1 TUV 1
People Before Profit 1
Independent 1
Speaker 1

Scotland[]

Councils[]

Main article: 2022 Scottish local elections

Elections will be held for all councillors in all 32 local authorities in Scotland. Local elections in Scotland are conducted by the single transferable vote, which results in the number of seats won by each party more proportionally reflecting their share of the vote.[13] As a consequence, local elections in Scotland result more often in no overall control and local authorities being governed by minority or coalition administrations.[13]

Council Seats Previous control Details
Aberdeen 45 No overall control (Aberdeen Labour/Conservative/independent coalition)
Aberdeenshire 70 No overall control (Conservative/Lib Dem/independent coalition)
Angus 28 No overall control (Lib Dem/Conservative/independent coalition)
Argyll and Bute 34[a] No overall control (Lib Dem/Conservative/independent coalition)
Clackmannanshire 18 No overall control (SNP minority)
Dumfries and Galloway 43 No overall control (Labour/SNP coalition)
Dundee 29 No overall control (SNP minority)
East Ayrshire 32 No overall control (SNP minority)
East Dunbartonshire 22 No overall control (Lib Dem/Conservative coalition)
East Lothian 22 No overall control (Labour minority)
East Renfrewshire 18 No overall control (SNP/Labour coalition)
Edinburgh 63 No overall control (SNP/Labour coalition)
Falkirk 30 No overall control (SNP minority)
Fife 75 No overall control (SNP/Labour coalition)
Glasgow 85 No overall control (SNP minority) Details
Highland 73[a] No overall control (Independent/Lib Dem/Labour coalition)
Inverclyde 22 No overall control (Labour minority)
Midlothian 18 No overall control (Labour minority)
Moray 26 No overall control (SNP minority)
Na h-Eileanan Siar 29[a] Independent
North Ayrshire 33[a] No overall control (Labour minority)
North Lanarkshire 77 No overall control (Labour minority)
Orkney 21[a] Independent
Perth and Kinross 40 No overall control (Conservative/independent coalition)
Renfrewshire 43 No overall control (SNP minority)
Scottish Borders 34 No overall control (Conservative minority)
Shetland 23[a] Independent
South Ayrshire 28 No overall control (SNP/Labour/independent coalition)
South Lanarkshire 64 No overall control (SNP minority)
Stirling 23 No overall control (SNP/Labour coalition)
West Dunbartonshire 22 No overall control (SNP minority)
West Lothian 33 No overall control (Labour minority)
All 32 councils 1,223

Wales[]

Main article: 2022 Welsh local elections

Elections will be held for all councillors in all 22 local authorities as well as for all community council seats in Wales. In all twenty-two councils, the elections will be contested under new boundaries. This will be the first time Welsh councils can choose between conducting the vote with the current first-past-the-post system or the proportional single transferable vote system.

Councils[]

Council Seats Previous control Details
Anglesey 35[a] No overall control (Plaid Cymru/independent coalition)
Blaenau Gwent 33[a] Independent
Bridgend 51[a] No overall control (Labour minority)
Caerphilly 69[a] Labour
Cardiff 79[a] Labour Details
Carmarthenshire 75[a] No overall control (Plaid Cymru/independent coalition)
Ceredigion 38[a] No overall control (Plaid Cymru/independent coalition)
Conwy 55[a] No overall control (Conservative/independent coalition)
Denbighshire 48[a] No overall control (Conservative/independent coalition)
Flintshire 66[a] No overall control (Labour minority)
Gwynedd 69[a] Plaid Cymru
Merthyr Tydfil 30[a] Independent
Monmouthshire 46[a] Conservative
Neath Port Talbot 60[a] Labour
Newport 51[a] Labour
Pembrokeshire 60[a] No overall control (Independent/Labour/Plaid Cymru/Lib Dem coalition)
Powys 68[a] No overall control (Independent/Conservative coalition)
Rhondda Cynon Taf 75[a] Labour
Swansea 75[a] Labour
Torfaen 40[a] Labour
Vale of Glamorgan 54[a] No overall control (Labour/independent coalition)
Wrexham 56[a] No overall control (Independent/Conservative coalition)
All 22 councils 1,233

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf New election boundaries
  2. ^ May take place on new election boundaries subject to parliamentary approval
  3. ^ Election may be cancelled pending possible unitary authority reorganisation

References[]

  1. ^ "Local election results 2018: The results in maps and charts". BBC News. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  2. ^ "The Guardian view on the 2018 local elections: few changes but big lessons | Editorial". The Guardian. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Local election results 2018: No clear winner as Labour and Tories neck and neck". BBC News. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Local elections postponed in three English counties". BBC News. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Next steps for new unitary councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  6. ^ Hill, Jessica (10 November 2021). "Exclusive: North Yorkshire unitary blueprint released amid concerns of 'headlong rush'". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  7. ^ "LGBCE | Local government in London is changing | LGBCE Site". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  8. ^ Grafton-Green, Chloe Chaplain, Patrick (5 May 2018). "The full list of results for London's local elections". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Lambeth". LGBCE. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Liverpool City Council: Government reveals 'reset' plans". BBC News. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Forthcoming elections". City of London. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Court of Common Council 8th October 2020" (PDF). City of London. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  13. ^ a b Cromar, Chris (10 September 2021). "Should England introduce PR for local elections like Scotland?". Public Sector Executive. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
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