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Revision as of 18:15, 5 May 2023

2023 United Kingdom local elections

← 2022 4 May 2023 (England)
18 May 2023 (Northern Ireland)
2024 →

230 Unitary, Metropolitan and District Councils in England
4 directly elected mayors in England
All 11 councils in Northern Ireland
  Rishi Sunak Keir Starmer Ed Davey
Leader Rishi Sunak Keir Starmer Ed Davey
Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats
Last election 3,365 2,131 1,223

  Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay Jeffrey Donaldson Michelle O’Neill
Leader Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay Jeffrey Donaldson Michelle O'Neill[n 1]
Party Green Party of England and Wales (2023) DUP Sinn Féin
Last election 239 122 105

Local authorities up for election:
  •   Metropolitan borough
  •   Unitary authority
  •   District council
  •   District councils in Northern Ireland
  •   No election

Local elections are scheduled to be held in the United Kingdom in May 2023. Elections in England were held on 4 May, with the Northern Ireland election scheduled to be held on 18 May.[1] These will include district councils, unitary authorities, and directly-elected mayors in England, and all local councils in Northern Ireland.[2][3]

England

Background

A majority of the seats up for election were last elected in May 2019. In those elections, the Conservative party lost over a thousand seats and control of several councils while the Liberal Democrats managed to make the most gains at their expense. The Labour party also lost seats and control of some councils in the 2019 local elections.[4] In terms of seat numbers, this day of local elections will be the biggest since 2019.[5] Many wards had new boundaries.[6]

The year up to the 2023 elections included the political crisis leading to Boris Johnson's resignation, the market turbulence caused by the "mini-budget", and the subsequent credibility crisis leading to Liz Truss' resignation and Rishi Sunak's appointment. On top of this the cost of living crisis had been growing, leading to government support for bills. The cost of living crisis and a surge in inflation were significant contributing factors to several strikes in the public sector, with high profile strikes in the transport sector and the health service. There were also extensive strikes in the postal services, education sector and amongst the civil service. In mid-February 2023, Conservative member of the House of Lords, Lord Hayward, said that the strikes had popular support and were therefore damaging the government and party's chances in the local elections. He argued the strikes needed to stop in order to improve their chances.[7]

Changes to waste collection and recycling had been delayed by the Government until after the elections.[8]

These elections were to be the first under the new voter identification laws. This meant voters would be required to show photo identification when attending a polling station. These new laws were controversial[9] and led to accusations of voter suppression.[10][11] There were concerns that turnout would be extremely low at the elections due to a combination of lack of ID held by some voters, and many members of the public remaining unaware of the new requirements.[12][13] The police had been alerted to the possibility of anger and confrontation over these new rules, and polling station staff had been trained to de-escalate situations.[14]

The Liberal Democrats had been utilising recent comments from senior Conservative MPs as part of their advertising in the so-called "blue wall" to draw attention to their undesirable and "toxic" opinions, such as support for the death penalty.[15]

The Labour party had stated to the press that they want to use these local elections to prepare for the next United Kingdom general election.[4]

The Green Party stood 3,331 candidates, 41% of all seats that were up for election, the most they had ever contested.[16] Over half of the party's 536 total local council seats were to be defended at these elections.[17] The Greens launched their national local elections campaign in Stowmarket, Mid Suffolk, where they are aiming to win majority control, which would be the first time the Greens had won a majority on any council.[18] The Greens were said to have been aiming to win at least 100 new seats, with their appeal spreading to both left and right-wing voters due to dissatisfaction with the main two parties.[19]

Predictions

The Conservatives had been performing poorly in national polls leading up to these elections. They had been more than 20 points behind the Labour party in national opinion polling, though the gap had been narrowing.[20] Conservative party chair Greg Hands MP publicly recognised that this election would be difficult for the party and referred to analysis that suggested they would lose more than 1,000 seats.[21][22] This estimate was based on comments by British academics Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, who said current polling would put conservative seat losses at around 1,000, while Labour would gain around 700 seats.[23][24] President of the British Polling Council Sir John Curtice had described the electorate as "increasingly sophisticated" in using tactical voting to defeat the Conservative party candidates.[24] For this reason Sir John Curtice said the Conservative party could actually end up losing well over 1,000 seats if the tactical voting is a big factor, which director of polling company Savanta, Chris Hopkins, agreed with.[24] A website was created to inform voters how to vote to have the best chance to unseat the Conservatives in their local area, and it received publicity thanks to endorsements from several public figures.[25]

Labour NEC member Luke Akehurst stated that he expected the party to make its best gains in seat numbers since 2012, when it gained 847 seats (next best being a net gain of 288 seats), but expected varied results in terms of council control.[26]

Sky News reported that YouGov predictions were pointing towards Labour gains in the North and the Midlands.[27][28] That same report showed that Conservative-controlled Swindon council looked set to switch control to Labour, and some other councils would move into Labour control from no overall control, or move to no overall control from Conservative.[27] East Cambridgeshire was predicted to switch from Conservative control to Liberal Democrat.[27] Sky News also reported that if the Conservatives only lost 500 seats they may feel "relatively unscathed", if they lost 750 they could argue that Labour wasn't performing as well as the polls suggest, but over 1,000 seat losses would be "difficult to spin".[29][30]

Campaigning

7,512 / 8,063 (93%)
6,232 / 8,063 (77%)
4,816 / 8,063 (60%)
3,322 / 8,063 (41%)
471 / 8,063 (6%)

Seats contested by party, Election Maps UK[31]

The Conservative Party launched its campaign on 24 March 2023 in the Midlands when Rishi Sunak visited some local sites along with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and local MPs.[32][33] There was some confusion as to whether this had been the campaign launch, but Conservative headquarters later confirmed the launch had happened.[23]

The Liberal Democrats launched its campaign on 29 March 2023 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, when the party leader, Ed Davey, drove a tractor into a ‘Blue Wall’ of hay bales.[34][35]

Labour launched its campaign on 30 March 2023 in Swindon with speeches from Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves.[36][37]

The Green Party launched its campaign in early April 2023 in Stowmarket, Suffolk, with speeches from co-leaders Adrian Ramsay and Carla Denyer.[38][39]

On 31 March 2023, Rishi Sunak was photographed looking at a pothole in Darlington to raise awareness of new powers to prevent potholes from forming and to help fix them.[40][41]

There were rumours that the Conservative Party would turn to Boris Johnson to help boost the parties chances by having him join the campaign trail.[42] There had been earlier reports stating that the conservative party election leaflets and campaign material did not show pictures of Rishi Sunak, but instead showed images of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, and Suella Braverman.[43]

Amid the campaign, Sunak was accused of a conflict of interest over his wife’s shares in a childcare agency that benefits from the latest budget policy.[44] This led to Sunak declaring his wife's shares as a financial interest on 19 April 2023.[45]

Whilst there is no fixed date for the pre-election period to begin, the UK government's guidance was that special care should be taken from 13 April 2023, three weeks before the election date in England.[46] The Liberal Democrats called for an investigation into Rishi Sunak's alleged flouting of these rules by making a speech on his proposed "maths to 18" policy after this date, although a spokesperson for the government said the announcement was within the rules.[47]

A further distraction to the election campaign came in the form of the Dominic Raab bullying scandal. In February 2023 Raab said he would quit if the government's independent ethics adviser, Adam Tolley KC, upheld the bullying claim against him.[48] Sunak received the report on 20 April[49][50] and Raab resigned the next day.[51][52]

The list of candidates put forward in strongly Tory-held Bracknell Forest Council led to local Labour and Liberal Democrat parties being accused of going against their national party leaderships by forming a de facto 'progressive alliance' to defeat the Conservative candidates.[53] The local parties denied this was planned and suggested a struggle for candidates and cash had led to the choices of which seats to challenge for. The Greens were also said to be involved in this arrangement; however, they only stood three candidates in the 2019 locals in Bracknell yet were standing seven in these elections, including in seats also contested by Labour or the Liberal Democrats.

Election day

Impact of voter ID requirement

ITV News reported that tellers had told them between 10-25% of voters in Oxfordshire were unable to cast their ballots due to the new measures.[54] The chair of the Electoral Commission was quoted as saying that "It appears that the government has designed a system which denies the prospect of sensible and co-ordinated information collection and makes it almost impossible to judge the true impact of the introduction of voter ID".[54] The Guardian reported that some transgender electors were not being allowed to vote because their identity documents did not match their new name as recorded on the electoral roll.[55] Disabled and clinically vulnerable voters were also turned away due to a requirement to remove face masks.[55]

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 2023. Due to boundary changes, seven councils which generally elect their councillors in thirds, will elect all of their councillors in 2023. They will then return to the thirds schedule.

In 2021, the government appointed commissioners to oversee Liverpool City Council following an investigation into the mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson. In 2022, the government announced it would take greater control of the council.[56] Liverpool was required to move to all-out elections from 2023 under new boundaries following a report by the government commissioner Max Caller.[57]

Wirral Council has also decided to move to all-out elections from 2023, on the existing ward boundaries.[58]

Whole council

Council Seats Party control Details
Previous Result
Bolton 60[a][59] No overall control (Conservative minority) No overall control (Labour largest party) Details
Liverpool 85[a][60] Labour Labour Details
Oldham 60[a][61] Labour Labour Details
Stockport 63[a][62] No overall control (Lib Dems minority) No overall control Details
Tameside 57[a][63] Labour Labour Details
Trafford 63[a][64] Labour Details
Wigan 75[a][65] Labour Labour Details
Wirral 66[58] No overall control (Labour minority) Details
Wolverhampton 60[a][66] Labour Labour Details
All councils 609

Third of council

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 Result
Barnsley 21 63 Labour Labour Details
Bradford 30 90 Labour Labour Details
Bury 17 51 Labour Labour Details
Calderdale 17 51 Labour Labour Details
Coventry 18 54 Labour Labour Details
Dudley 24 72 Conservative Conservative Details
Gateshead 22 66 Labour Labour Details
Kirklees 23 69 Labour Labour Details
Knowsley 15 45 Labour Labour Details
Leeds 33 99 Labour Labour Details
Manchester 32 96 Labour Labour Details
Newcastle upon Tyne 26 78 Labour Labour Details
North Tyneside 20 60 Labour Labour Details
Rochdale 20 60 Labour Labour Details
Salford 20 60 Labour Labour Details
Sandwell 24 72 Labour Labour Details
Sefton 22 66 Labour Labour Details
Sheffield 28 84 No overall control (Labour minority) No overall control Details
Solihull 17 51 Conservative Conservative Details
South Tyneside 18 54 Labour Labour Details
Sunderland 25 75 Labour Labour Details
Wakefield 21 63 Labour Details
Walsall 20 60 Conservative Conservative Details
All councils

Unitary councils

Whole council

Council Seats Party control Details
Previous Result
Bath and North East Somerset 59 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Bedford 46[a][67] No overall control (Lib Dem mayor; Lib Dems/Lab/Ind coalition) Details
Blackpool 42[a][68] Labour Labour Details
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 76 No overall control (Conservative minority) No overall control Details
Bracknell Forest 41[a][69] Conservative Labour Details
Brighton and Hove 54[a][70] No overall control (Green minority) Labour Details
Central Bedfordshire 63 Conservative No overall control Details
Cheshire East 82 No overall control (Labour/Independent coalition) Details
Cheshire West and Chester 70 No overall control (Labour minority) Labour Details
Darlington 50 No overall control (Conservative minority) No overall control Details
Derby 51[a][b][71] No overall control (Conservative minority) No overall control Details
East Riding of Yorkshire 67 Conservative No overall control Details
Herefordshire 53 No overall control (Independent/Green coalition) No overall control Details
Leicester 54 Labour Labour Details
Luton 48[a][72] Labour Labour Details
Medway 59[a][73] Conservative Labour Details
Middlesbrough 46 No overall control (Independent mayor) Labour Details
North Lincolnshire 43[a][74] Conservative Conservative Details
North Somerset 50 No overall control (Ind/Lib Dem/Lab/Ind Group/Green coalition) No overall control Details
Nottingham 55 Labour Labour Details
Redcar and Cleveland 59 No overall control (Independent Group/Liberal Democrat coalition) Details
Rutland 27 No overall control No overall control Details
Slough 42[a][75] Labour No overall control Details
Southampton 51[a][76] Labour Details
South Gloucestershire 61 Conservative No overall control Details
Stockton-on-Tees 56[a][77] No overall control (Labour minority) No overall control Details
Stoke-on-Trent 44[a][78] No overall control (Conservative minority) Labour Details
Telford and Wrekin 54[a][79] Labour Labour Details
Torbay 36 No overall control Conservative Details
West Berkshire 43 Conservative Liberal Democrats Details
Windsor & Maidenhead 41 Conservative Liberal Democrats Details
York 47 No overall control (Lib Dems/Green coalition) Labour Details
All councils

Third of council

Council Seats Party control Details
up of Previous Result
Blackburn with Darwen 17 51 Labour Labour Details
Halton 18 54 Labour Labour Details
Hartlepool 12 36 No overall control No overall control Details
Hull 19 57 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Milton Keynes 19 57 No overall control (Lab/Lib Dems coalition) No overall control Details
North East Lincolnshire 15 42 Conservative Conservative Details
Peterborough 20 60 No overall control (Con minority) No overall control Details
Plymouth 19 57 No overall control (Con minority) Labour Details
Portsmouth 14 42 No overall control (Lib Dems minority) No overall control Details
Reading 16 48 Labour Labour Details
Southend-on-Sea 17 51 No overall control (Lab/Lib Dems/Ind coalition) No overall control Details
Swindon 19 57 Conservative Labour Details
Thurrock 16 49 Conservative Conservative Details
Wokingham 18 54 No overall control (Lib Dems/Lab/Ind coalition) No overall control Details
All councils

District councils

District councils are the lower tier of a two-tier system of local government, with several district councils covering the same area as a county council with different responsibilities.

Whole council

Council Seats Party control Details
Previous Result
Amber Valley 42[a] Conservative Details
Arun 54 No overall control (Conservative minority) Details
Ashfield 35 Ashfield Ind. Ashfield Ind. Details
Ashford 47 Conservative No overall control Details
Babergh 32 No overall control No overall control Details
Bassetlaw 48 Labour Labour Details
Blaby 36[a] Conservative Conservative Details
Bolsover 37 Labour Labour Details
Boston 30 No overall control Independent Details
Braintree 49 Conservative Conservative Details
Breckland 49 Conservative Conservative Details
Broadland 47 Conservative No overall control Details
Bromsgrove 31 Conservative No overall control Details
Broxtowe 44 No overall control Labour Details
Canterbury 39 Conservative No overall control Details
Charnwood 52[a] Conservative No overall control Details
Chelmsford 57 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Chesterfield 40[a] Labour Labour Details
Chichester 36 No overall control (Conservative minority) Liberal Democrats Details
Cotswold 34 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Dacorum 51 Conservative Liberal Democrats Details
Dartford 42 Conservative Conservative Details
Derbyshire Dales 34[a][80] Conservative Details
Dover 32 Conservative Labour Details
Eastbourne 27 Liberal Democrats Details
East Cambridgeshire 28 Conservative Conservative Details
East Devon 60 No overall control No overall control Details
East Hampshire 43 Conservative Details
East Hertfordshire 50 Conservative No overall control Details
East Lindsey 55 Conservative No overall control Details
East Staffordshire 37[a] Conservative Labour Details
East Suffolk 55 Conservative No overall control Details
Epsom and Ewell 35 Residents Association Residents Association Details
Erewash 47 Conservative Labour Details
Fenland 43[a][81] Conservative Conservative Details
Folkestone & Hythe 30 No overall control No overall control Details
Forest of Dean 38 No overall control No overall control Details
Fylde 37[a][82] Conservative Conservative Details
Gedling 41 Labour Labour Details
Gravesham 39[a] No overall control Labour Details
Great Yarmouth 39 Conservative No overall control Details
Guildford 48[a] No overall control Details
Harborough 34 Conservative No overall control Details
Hertsmere 39 Conservative No overall control Details
High Peak 43 No overall control Labour Details
Hinckley and Bosworth 34 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Horsham 48 Conservative Details
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 55 Conservative No overall control Details
Lancaster 61[a] No overall control Details
Lewes 41 No overall control (Lib Dems/Green/Ind/Lab coaltion) No overall control Details
Lichfield 47 Conservative No overall control Details
Maldon 31 No overall control No overall control Details
Malvern Hills 31[a][83] No overall control No overall control Details
Mansfield 36[a] No overall control (Labour mayor) Labour Details
Melton 28 Conservative No overall control Details
Mid Devon 42 No overall control Liberal Democrats Details
Mid Suffolk 34 No overall control Green Details
Mid Sussex 48[a] Conservative Details
Mole Valley 39[a][84] Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
New Forest 48[a] Conservative Details
Newark and Sherwood 39 Conservative No overall control Details
North Devon 42 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
North East Derbyshire 53 No overall control Labour Details
North Kesteven 43 No overall control Conservative Details
North Norfolk 40 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
North Warwickshire 35 Conservative No overall control Details
North West Leicestershire 38 Conservative No overall control Details
Oadby and Wigston 26 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Ribble Valley 40 Conservative No overall control Details
Rother 38 No overall control No overall control Details
Rushcliffe 44[a][85] Conservative Conservative Details
Sevenoaks 54 Conservative Details
South Derbyshire 36 No overall control Details
South Hams 31 Conservative Liberal Democrats Details
South Holland 37 Conservative Conservative Details
South Kesteven 56 Conservative No overall control Details
South Norfolk 46 Conservative Conservative Details
South Oxfordshire 36 No overall control Liberal Democrats Details
South Ribble 50 No overall control Labour Details
South Staffordshire 42[a][86] Conservative Conservative Details
Spelthorne 39 No overall control No overall control Details
Stafford 40 No overall control (Conservative minority) No overall control Details
Staffordshire Moorlands 56 Conservative No overall control Details
Stratford-on-Avon 41[a][87] Conservative Liberal Democrats Details
Surrey Heath 35 No overall control (Conservative minority) Liberal Democrats Details
Swale 47 No overall control No overall control Details
Teignbridge 47 No overall control (Liberal Democrats minority) Liberal Democrats Details
Tendring 48 No overall control No overall control Details
Test Valley 43 Conservative Conservative Details
Tewkesbury 38 Conservative No overall control Details
Thanet 56 No overall control (Conservative minority) Labour Details
Tonbridge and Malling 44[a][88] Conservative No overall control Details
Torridge 36 No overall control No overall control Details
Uttlesford 39 R4U R4U Details
Vale of White Horse 38 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Warwick 44 No overall control No overall control Details
Waverley 50[a] No overall control Details
Wealden 45 Conservative No overall control Details
West Devon 31 Conservative No overall control Details
West Lancashire 45[a] No overall control (Labour minority) Labour Details
West Lindsey 36 No overall control (Conservative minority) No overall control Details
West Suffolk 64 Conservative No overall control Details
Wychavon 43[a][89] Conservative Conservative Details
Wyre 50 Conservative Details
Wyre Forest 33 No overall control Conservative Details
All councils

Third of council

Council Seats Party control Details
up of Previous Result
Basildon 14 42 Conservative Conservative Details
Basingstoke and Deane 18 54 No overall control (Conservative Minority) No overall control Details
Brentwood 12 37 Conservative No overall control Details
Broxbourne 10 30 Conservative Conservative Details
Burnley 15 45 No overall control (Labour/Lib Dems coalition) No overall control (Labour/Lib Dems coalition) Details
Cambridge 14 42 Labour Labour Details
Cannock Chase 15 41 Conservative No overall control Details
Castle Point 14 41 No overall control (Independent coalition) No overall control Details
Cherwell 16 48 Conservative No overall control Details
Chorley 14 42 Labour Labour Details
Colchester 17 51 No overall control (Lib Dems/Labour/Green coalition) No overall control Details
Crawley 12 36 Labour Labour Details
Eastleigh 13 39 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Elmbridge 16 48 No overall control (Lib Dems/residents coalition) No overall control Details
Epping Forest 18 58 Conservative Conservative Details
Exeter 13 39 Labour Labour Details
Harlow 11 33 Conservative Conservative Details
Hart 11 33 No overall control (Community Campaign (Hart)/Lib Dems coalition) No overall control Details
Havant 10 38 Conservative Conservative Details
Hyndburn 12 35 No overall control (Labour minority) No overall control Details
Ipswich 16 48 Labour Labour Details
Lincoln 11 33 Labour Labour Details
Maidstone 18 55 Conservative No overall control Details
North Hertfordshire 16 49 No overall control (Labour/Lib Dems coalition) No overall control Details
Norwich 13 39 Labour Labour Details
Pendle 11 33 Conservative No overall control Details
Preston 16 48 Labour Labour Details
Redditch 10 29 Conservative Conservative Details
Reigate and Banstead 15 45 Conservative Conservative Details
Rochford 13 39 Conservative No overall control Details
Rossendale 12 36 Labour Labour Details
Rugby 14 42 Conservative No overall control Details
Runnymede 14 41 Conservative No overall control Details
Rushmoor 13 39 Conservative Conservative Details
St Albans 18 56 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Stevenage 13 39 Labour Labour Details
Tamworth 10 30 Conservative No overall control Details
Tandridge 14 42 No overall control No overall control Details
Three Rivers 13 39 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Tunbridge Wells 16 48 No overall control (Lib Dems/Ind/Labour coalition) No overall control Details
Watford 12 36 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Welwyn Hatfield 16 48 Conservative No overall control Details
West Oxfordshire 16 49 No overall control (Lib Dems/Labour/Green coalition) No overall control Details
Winchester 16 45 Liberal Democrats Details
Woking 10 30 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Details
Worcester 11 35 No overall control No overall control Details
Worthing 11 37 Labour Details
All councils

Mayoral elections

Council Mayor before Mayor-elect
Bedford Dave Hodgson (Lib Dem)
Leicester Peter Soulsby (Lab) Peter Soulsby (Lab)
Mansfield Andy Abrahams (Lab) Andy Abrahams (Lab)
Middlesbrough Andy Preston (Ind) Chris Cooke (Lab)

The voting system for mayoral elections will be first past the post - replacing the supplementary vote used for all previous mayoral elections.[90]

Opinion polling

Multiple polls were undertaken and published to ascertain voting intention ahead of the local elections.

Dates
conducted
Pollster Client Sample
size
Con Lab Lib Dems Green Reform Other Lead
27–28 Apr 2023 Omnisis N/A 759 26% 37% 17% 9% 4% 6% 11
24–28 Apr 2023 Survation Good Morning Britain 2,014 23% 33% 18% 11% 14% 10
10–13 Feb 2023 Focaldata ? 1,039 29% 49% 8% 3% 6% ?% 20
2 May 2019 2019 local elections[c] 9,509,176 31.4% 26.6% 16.8% 9.2% [d] 15.9% 4.8

Northern Ireland

Council Seats Largest party (elected in 2019) Details
Prior Post
Belfast 60 Sinn Féin (18) Details
Ards & North Down 40 DUP (14)[e] Details
Antrim & Newtownabbey 40 DUP (14) Details
Lisburn & Castlereagh 40 DUP (15)[f] Details
Newry, Mourne & Down 41 Sinn Féin (16) Details
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 41 DUP (11) Details
Mid & East Antrim 40 DUP (15)[g] Details
Causeway Coast & Glens 40 DUP (14)[h] Details
Mid Ulster 40 Sinn Féin (17) Details
Derry City & Strabane 40 Sinn Féin (11) Details
SDLP (11)
Fermanagh & Omagh 40 Sinn Féin (15) Details

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ The leader of Sinn Féin is Mary Lou McDonald, who sits as a TD in the Irish Dáil Éireann for Dublin Central. O'Neill is the leader of the party in Northern Ireland.
  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 New election boundaries
  2. ^ This is the first election where all seats in Derby City Council are up for election having previously elected by thirds
  3. ^ The majority of the seats up for election in 2023 were last up for election in 2019.
  4. ^ Party had recently formed at the time of the elections, but was unable to contest the election and field candidates due to electoral law.
  5. ^ Reduced to 12 due to defections.
  6. ^ Reduced to 14 due to defections.
  7. ^ Increased to 16 due to defections
  8. ^ Reduced to 13 due to defections.
Citations
  1. ^ Hughes, Brendan (21 December 2022). "NI council election date moved due to King Charles III coronation". BelfastLive. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Election timetable". Her Majesty's Government. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Local government elections". Local Government Association. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b Crerar, Pippa (1 February 2023). "Labour to use May vote to sharpen campaign ahead of general election". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Local Elections 2023: Is there an election in my area?". BBC News. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  6. ^ "New Wards 2023". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  7. ^ Turner, Camilla (11 February 2023). "Strikes 'must end for Tories to survive local elections'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Bin collections: Recycling changes delayed until after local elections". BBC News. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  9. ^ 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 20 April 2023.
  10. ^ Toynbee, Polly (25 November 2022). "Call these voter ID laws what they really are: voter suppression and an attack on young people". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  11. ^ Demianyk, Graeme (19 April 2023). "Why Critics Say Photo ID Law Amounts To 'Voter Suppression' To Benefit The Tories". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  12. ^ Sleigh, Sophia (14 April 2023). "Awareness Of Voter ID Change Is 'Worryingly Low', Campaigners Warn". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  13. ^ Baynes, Chris (18 April 2023). "Local elections 2023: Fears voter ID will cut Barnsley turnout to new low". BBC News. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  14. ^ Savage, Michael (23 April 2023). "Police in England on alert for polling day rage over voter ID rules". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  15. ^ Helm, Toby (11 February 2023). "Lib Dems aim to use Lee Anderson's views as weapon to win 'safe' Tory seats". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Green Party to stand record number of candidates in local elections". Bright Green. Retrieved 14 April 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ "Open Council Data UK - England". Open Council Data UK. 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Local elections 2023: Greens eye first council win in former Tory heartland". BBC News. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  19. ^ Chaplain, Chloe (5 April 2023). "Rural Tories are 'panicking' Green leaders say as party targets Conservative seats". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  20. ^ Chaplain, Chloe (19 April 2023). "Keir Starmer 'unconcerned' as polls narrow under Rishi Sunak ahead of local elections". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  21. ^ James, William (8 February 2023). "New UK Conservative Party chairman predicts difficult local elections". Reuters. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  22. ^ Singh, Arj (16 April 2023). "Tory councils among worst-hit by cuts as party braces to lose 1,000 seats in local elections". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  23. ^ a b Crerar, Pippa; Walker, Peter (31 March 2023). "Tories hope Sunak will boost damaged brand as local elections loom". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  24. ^ a b c Forrest, Adam (16 April 2023). "Tactical voting could see 'terrible' local election loss for Rishi Sunak, say polling experts". The Independent. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  25. ^ Evans, Alex (30 April 2023). "Carol Vorderman issues 'stop the Tories' tactical voting instructions". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  26. ^ Akehurst, Luke (12 April 2023). "What would good 2023 local election results look like for Labour?". LabourList. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  27. ^ a b c Coates, Sam (28 April 2023). "Local elections 2023: Red wall set to abandon Conservatives, projection suggests". Sky News. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  28. ^ English, Patrick (28 April 2023). "Local elections 2023: YouGov MRP predicts Conservative losses in key battleground councils | YouGov". yougov.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
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