About the council elections
On 5 May all councils in Scotland and Wales held elections for all of their councillors. In England, the picture is more complex. Many parts of England held no election at all. Others held elections for a third of seats as part of a four-yearly cycle in which a third of lower-tier seats are elected each year, with the upper-tier being chosen in the fourth year. In other areas there is a “unitary” council, being elected in its entirety.
There are also four new councils, although two consist of single-tier councils replacing two-tier arrangements: North Somerset and North Yorkshire. Cumbria will now have two separate councils, Cumberland, and Westmorland and Furness. In all of these cases the new councils come into effect in 2023 with the councillors elected this year.
The data on councillor numbers comes from PA Media. Because PA only reports on complete councils, the numbers for councillor change may differ from those reported by other sources who report each council seat as it comes in. In addition, there are differences in the point of comparison: PA calculates change based on the status of each seat just before the election, not on its status after the preceding election. Lastly, there are frequent changes in ward boundaries and the number of councillors per ward, to maintain equality of representation. This may mean that parties’ net seat changes in one particular council may not balance each other out.
Local councils have responsibility for services and amenities including roads, parks and refuse collection, as well as education in the case of upper tier or unitary authorities.
