The results from yesterday’s local elections voting is now starting to come in. At the time of writing, over half of council counts have been completed for England, Labour have made significant gains in London.
Outside of London, Labour has taken Southampton from the Tories and the Liberal Democrats have gained 57 seats across England including control of Hull City Council. Some Tory candidates have blamed the rising cost of living and ongoing Partygate for their loss.
There is a mixed picture in Manchester at the moment, with Labour losing significant areas. Out of 10 Greater Manchester councils only six have been counted so far. The remaining votes are due to be counted today for Manchester, Trafford, Bury and Rochdale.
Read more: Local elections 2022 LIVE: Results and reaction from Greater Manchester and UK
The results show Stockport council remains in no overall control and Greater Manchester ’s only Tory-run council Bolton remains in no overall control. But what does no overall control mean and how does it work?
What does no overall control mean?
No overall control is when no party or political group achieves a majority of seats and is the localised equivalent to a hung parliament.
Under these circumstances, the largest grouping will form alliances to create an ad hoc governing coalition. They are designed to operate as effectively as majority-controlled councils, with the potential added bonus of extra opinions in decision-making and political debate.
How are no overall control councils run?
In a no overall control setting, it is common for two or more political groups to form a majority through a formal coalition and operate on a power sharing basis.
They can also allow the largest political group to govern as a minority administration and do it alone, if the other groups don’t agree on enough to oppose them effectively.
In no overall control councils with a leader-cabinet model, a leader will still be elected by the council to form the ruling administration, from a coalition or the largest party governing alone.
In the case of a directly elected mayor, although they may be less vulnerable to the power of the party group, they will still have to persuade other party leaders in the council to cooperate. The collaboration usually takes place by forming a cabinet or facilitating the passage of mayoral initiatives through council, or both.
