2024 United Kingdom local elections
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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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 have last been held in the 2021 local elections, delayed by a year from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background
Significance of these elections
When these elections were last held in 2021 the Conservative Party had made significant gains, mainly at the expense of the Labour Party. Since then the Conservative Party had several high-profile political scandals and crises and had seen a significant decrease to 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 had become 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
Metropolitan boroughs
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
| 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
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
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
| Council | Seats | Previous control | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | 70 | No overall control (Green 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
| 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 | Conservative | Details | |||
| All 14 councils | 219 | 657 | |||||
District councils
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
| Council | Seats | Previous control | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basildon[a] | 42 | Conservative | 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 | 714 | |||
Elections for half of councillors
| 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
London Assembly
Mayoral and council leader elections
Mayor of London
The mayor of London is up for election to a four-year term.
Combined authority mayors
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
One single-authority mayor will be up for election.
| Local authority | Previous mayor | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salford | Paul Dennett (Lab) | Details | |
Police and crime commissioner elections
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Wales
Police and crime commissioner elections
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.
Notes
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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]
References
- ^ Stewart, Heather (27 August 2020). "'Wake up and smell the coffee': Ed Davey elected Lib Dem leader". The Guardian.
- ^ "Local elections 2023: Labour overtakes Conservatives as largest party of local government". Sky News. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Local elections 2023: Voters express anger at ID rule changes". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ "Adam Boulton: MPs returning to Westminster are already embroiled in a bitterly contentious campaign to election day". Sky News. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ Hill, Dave (14 March 2023). "London Conservatives think out loud about how to beat Sadiq Khan". OnLondon. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ LGBCE. "North Tyneside | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
